National Convention Highlights
If you missed the NFB National Convention, or if you would just like to relive the excitement, audio and video from past conventions is now available. This page will be continually updated with more highlights, so please visit often.
2009 - 2008
2009 National Convention Highlights
Monday, July 6, 2009
Audio
- March for Independence Rally Program (48 MB)
- Celebration of Freedom: Veterans Recognized
Dwight Sayer, President, National Association of Blind Veterans (12 MB) - 2009 Presidential Report
Dr. Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind (56 MB) - Policies to Enhance Employment, Inclusion, Safety, and Productivity
The Honorable John D. Dingell, Member of Congress (20 MB) - Promoting Pedestrian Safety: A Priority for Manufacturers
The Honorable Dave McCurdy, President and CEO, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (13 MB) - The Journey of Braille: From the Hands of the Creator to Earth Orbit (10 MB)
- The Value of a Coin, of a Communication System, and of a Class of Human Beings
Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D., Research Professor, San Diego State University (16 MB) - Providing the Fundamental Tools: Braille Books
Brian A. MacDonald, President, National Braille Press (15 MB)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Audio
- Expanding Access to Digital Information for the Blind
Gilles Pepin, Chief Executive Officer, HumanWare (25 MB) - A Blind Athlete in the Paralympics
Tyler Merren, 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team Member, Men’s Goalball (11 MB) - Developments at the First Educational Institution for the Blind in the United States, Perkins
Steven M. Rothstein, President, Perkins School for the Blind (12 MB) - The Federation in the World from the Perspective of the World Blind Union
Maryanne Diamond, President, World Blind Union (23 MB) - Strategic Initiatives Report
John Pare, Executive Director for Strategic Initiatives, National Federation of the Blind (24 MB)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Video
Audio
- The Near-Perfect Audio Book: How We Do It
Frank Kurt Cylke, Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (31 MB) - The Demand, the Crisis, the Solution in Education for the Blind
Edward Bell, Ph.D., Director, Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness, Louisiana Tech University (14 MB) - The Theory and the Practice: Education for the Blind in the Public School
Denise M. Robinson, Ph.D., Teacher and Coordinator of Programming for Blind and Visually Impaired Students (19 MB) - Why Are You Trying to Make that Child Blind?
Carol Castellano, President, National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (19 MB) - Teaching an Essential Skill: Braille
- Jerry Whittle, Teacher-Counselor, Louisiana Center for the Blind
- April Davis, Coordinator of Summer Programs for Blind Children, Louisiana Center for the Blind
- James Mays, Industrial Arts Teacher, Louisiana Center for the Blind
- Deja Powell, Cane Travel Instructor, Utah Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
- Anil Lewis, President, National Federation of the Blind of Georgia
- Terri Rupp, President, National Federation of the Blind of Nevada (35 MB) - From the Center of History: Five Years into the Future of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute
Mark Riccobono, Executive Director, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute (27 MB) - NFB-NEWSLINE: From Phone to Computer to Podcast to Pocket
Scott White, Director of Sponsored Technology, National Federation of the Blind (12 MB) - Shaping the Standard for the Legal Community: The Neccessity for Access to Information for All
Daniel Goldstein, Esq., Partner, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP (21 MB) - Negotiating Accessible Electronic Books: A Massive Undertaking, A Smashing Success
Jack Bernard, Esq., Chair, Counsel for Disability Concerns, and Assistant General Counsel, University of Michigan (18 MB) - The Commitment of Microsoft to Accessible Technology
Rob Sinclair, Director of Accessibility, Microsoft Corporation (14 MB) - Transcending the Barriers of Yesterday, Anticipating the Romance of the Human Experience with the Technology of Tomorrow
Ray Kurzweil, President and Chief Executive Officer, KNFB-Reading Technology, Inc. (15 MB) - Representing the City of Chicago
Patti Chang, Esq., Senior Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago (21 MB) - Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards
Gary Wunder, Chairperson, Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee, and Secretary, National Federation of the Blind (39 MB) - The Right of the Pedestrian to be Safe in the World
Ronald Medford, Acting Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (9 MB) - Banquet Speech: The Value of Decision
Dr. Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind (61 MB)
2008 National Convention Highlights
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Video
Audio
- 2008 Presidential Report
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind - Independent and On the Move: The Blind Have a Friend in Congress
The Honorable Pete Sessions; Member of Congress (10 MB) - The Quiet Car Revolution
Deborah Kent Stein; Chairperson; Committee on Automobiles and Pedestrian Safety (8 MB) - A Safer Environment, Safer Travel for the Blind: A Champion in Congress
The Honorable Edolphus Towns, Member of Congress (16 MB) - Building Cars for the Future: A Partnership That Includes the Blind
Robert S. Strassburger; Vice President, Vehicle Safety & Harmonization (12 MB) - Devising Solutions That Work for Pedestrian Safety
Daniel J. Selke; Chairperson, Society of Automotive Engineers Safety and Human Factors Committee (14 MB) - The tenBroek Law Symposium: The Impact of Jacobus tenBroek on the Legal System of the United States and the World
- Dutch tenBroek, son of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek (12 MB)
- Lou Ann Blake, Chairperson; Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium Committee (24 MB)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Audio
- Access for the Blind to American Business: A Priority for Amazon
Craig Woods; Senior Manager for the Content Platform; Amazon.com (16 MB) - Making Capcha More Accessible for the Blind
Dr. Jonathan Lazar; Director; Universal Usability Laboratory, Department of Computer and Information Sciences; Towson University (16 MB) - Equal Access to Web 2.0 and Beyond
Dr. Wayne Dick; Professor; Computer Engineering and Computer Science; California State University (18 MB) - National Federation of the Blind Nonvisual Access Certification
Anne Taylor; Director of Access Technology; National Federation of the Blind (14 MB) - Congressional Decision-Making, Government Policy, and Blindness
The Honorable Louie Gohmert; Member of Congress (24 MB) - Access for the Blind to Consumer Products: A Commitment from General Electric
Michael Eisenreich; Leader; GE.com Digital Media Technologies (13 MB) - Developing Technologies for School and Work
Larry Skutchan; Technology Project Leader; Department of Educational Research; American Printing House for the Blind (15 MB) - System Access to Go
Mike Calvo; Chief Executive Officer, Serotek Corporation (8 MB) - Pacmate Omni: The Newest PDA from Freedom Scientific
Jonathan Mosen; Vice President of Blindness Hardware Product Management; Freedom Scientific (15 MB)
Friday, July 4, 2008
Video
Audio
- Honoring America's Veterans
Dwight Sayer; President; National Association of Blind Veterans, National Federation of the Blind (12 MB) - The Federation in the World From the Perspective of South Africa and Four Years of International Effort
Dr. William Rowland; President; World Blind Union (7 MB) - The Federation in the World From the Perspective of a Human Rights Advocate and Blind Leader In Australia
Graeme Innes AM; Human Rights and Disability Discrimination Commissioner; Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (9 MB) - Protecting the Rights of Blind Individuals in the United States
Daniel Goldstein, Esq.; Partner; Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP (23 MB) - Building the Dream: Collection Development at Your National Library
Frank Kurt Cylke; Director; National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; Library of Congress (9 MB) - Twenty-five Years of Program Initiatives for Parents and Their Blind Children
Barbara Cheadle; President; National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (16 MB) - Technologies Developed in Partnership with the Blind
Gilles Pepin; Chief Executive Officer; HumanWare (9 MB) - National Center For Excellence in Enterprise Computing
Luke Kowalski; Corporate User Experience Architect; Oracle (8 MB) - Crashing Through In Technology, In Business, and In Living
Mike May; President; Sendero Group (9 MB) - The Future of Technology for the Blind
Ray Kurzweil; President and Chief Executive Officer; KNFB-Reading Technology, Inc. (10 MB) - Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Presentations
Gary Wunder; Chairperson; Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee; and Secretary; National Federation of the Blind (40 MB) - Literacy, Learning, and Enlightenment
Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder; Research Professor; San Diego State University; and First Vice President; National Federation of the Blind (12 MB) - Believing Enough to Question: The Jernigan Institute—A Revolution in Education and Research
Mark Riccobono; Executive Director; National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute (12 MB) - Blind Youth in Computer Science: An Educational Commitment
Richard E. Ladner; Boeing Professor in Computer Science and Engineering; Department of Computer Science & Engineering (7 MB) - Education of Blind Youth: A Worldwide Imperative
Larry Campbell; President, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI); International Program Administrator, Overbrook School for the Blind (5 MB) - Banquet Speech: The Urgency of Optimism
Dr. Marc Maurer; President; National Federation of the Blind (63 MB) - Banquet: Jacobus tenBroek Award Presentation (10 MB)
- Banquet: Scholarship Awards Presentation (23 MB)
