[duxuser] Joe Sullivan honored as one of 14 Champions of Change in STEM in the Disability Community
- From: "Neal" <neal@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 16:38:19 -0400
Although these are not yet up on the website, but next week should be
available from:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions
> Please circulate and note the announcement that Monday's event will be
live streamed.
> THE WHITE HOUSE
> Office of Communications
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> May 7, 2012
>
> White House Highlights STEM Innovators in the Disability Community as
"Champions of Change"
>
> WASHINGTON, DC - On Monday, May 7th, the White House will honor 14
individuals as Champions of Change for leading the fields of science,
technology, engineering, and math for people with disabilities in education
and employment.
>
> "STEM is vital to America's future in education and employment, so equal
access for people with disabilities is imperative, as they can contribute to
and benefit from STEM," said Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President
for Disability Policy. "The leaders we've selected as Champions of Change
are proving that when the playing field is level, people with disabilities
can excel in STEM, develop new products, create scientific inventions, open
successful businesses, and contribute equally to the economic and
educational future of our country."
>
> The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama's
Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different sector is highlighted
and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to
community leaders, are recognized for the work they are doing to serve and
strengthen their communities.
>
> To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 1:30 pm ET on
May 7th.
>
> The White House "Champions of Change" are:
> Joseph Sullivan is president of Duxbury Systems, Inc., a small company
that has specialized in software for braille since its founding in 1975, and
which now employs two blind people and which provides braille translation
software for more than 130 languages worldwide. He has also served on many
braille-related committees, including the Literary Braille and Computer
Braille Committees of the Braille Authority of North America, was chair of
the technical design subcommittee of the Unified English Braille (UEB)
project of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB), and
currently serves on the UEB Maintenance Committee of ICEB. Joe believes that
braille is the key to literacy for blind persons, that literacy is the key
to an informed citizenry, and that an informed citizenry is essential to
civilization.
>
>> Ralph Braun is the founder and CEO of The Braun Corporation. Diagnosed
with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in 1947, he began using a wheelchair for
mobility. Determined to maintain his independence, he engineered the world's
first motorized scooter and followed with the first accessible vehicle a few
years later. Ralph is now 71 years old and is the father of five adult
children.
>
> University of North Texas (UNT) Biochemistry graduate student Nasrin Taei
is developing a model peptide system to investigate the effects of mutations
that cause sudden cardiac arrest in young adults. >
>
> Maria Dolores Cimini, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director for Prevention and
Program Evaluation at the University at Albany Counseling Center and has
served as the Principal Investigator for over six million dollars in
behavioral health projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the U.S.
Department of Education during the past decade.
>
> As a professional and a parent, Virginia Stern has been working for more
than four decades to raise expectations of persons with disabilities, their
families, educators, and employers, especially employers in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Since 1977 she was a
guiding force of the Project on Science, Technology and Disability of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
>
> Steve Jacobs is President of IDEAL Group. Steve is dedicated to enhancing
the accessibility of STEM curriculum for students with disabilities. Steve's
company offers software that translates printed STEM materials into digital
formats for conversion into speech and Braille. Steve's company also
developed fully-accessible STEM-enabled eBook reading software. >
>
> Rafael San Miguel began his career at NASA working on the Space Shuttle
program, and has spent the past 23 years as a scientist for The Coca-Cola
Company. >
>
> David H. Rose, EdD, is a developmental neuropsychologist and educator
whose primary focus is on the development of new technologies for learning.
In 1984, Dr. Rose co-founded CAST. >
>
> Christine Reich is Director of Research and Evaluation at the Museum of
Science, Boston, one of the world's largest science centers.
>
> George Kerscher began his IT innovations in 1987 and coined the term
"print disabled." As Secretary General of the DAISY Consortium and President
of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF)
>
> As a child in the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind in
1949, John Boyer found that contemporary scientific material in braille was
almost non-existent. His first company was a Braille publishing enterprise
which served an international client base. Abilitiessoft, Inc., his current
company, creates open source adaptive software which makes Web pages
available to blind persons through a Braille display.
>
> Dr. Dimitri Kanevsky is a Research staff member in the Speech and Language
Algorithms Department at the IBM T.J.Watson Research Center. In 1979, he
invented a multi-channel vibration based hearing aid, and founded a company
to produce and market this device.
>
> Henry Wedler is a graduate student at the University of California, Davis,
working towards his Ph.D. in organic chemistry. Inspired by programs offered
by the National Federation of the Blind in high school and with
encouragement from professors, colleagues and others, Henry gained the
confidence to challenge and refute the mistaken belief that STEM fields are
too visual and, therefore, impractical for blind people. Henry is not only
following his own passion; he is working hard to develop the next generation
of scientists by founding and teaching at an annual chemistry camp for blind
and low-vision high school students.
>
> Sina Bahram is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at
North Carolina State University. His field of research is Human Computer
Interaction (HCI). Sina's passion for his field originally stems from the
fact that he is mostly blind and uses assistive technologies such as a
screen reader to navigate computer systems and technological devices.
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