Events

Webinar: Introducing a New Low Vision Resource from Prevent Blindness

November
16
2022

Webinar on the New Living Well With Low Vision Resource

Are you living with vision loss and blindness, have a family member or loved one with vision loss, or work with individuals with vision loss? If you answered yes, please join us on November 16 from 6:00-6:45pm Eastern to:

  • Understand what low vision is and how trusted information and resources can ease the burden of vision loss
  • Become familiar with the Living Well With Low Vision website- a resource designed for people living with vision loss or blindness and those providing care
  • Learn about the accessibility features and resources available for individuals living with vision loss and their caregivers on the Living Well With Low Vision website

Moderator:

  • Tracy Williams, OD, FAAO; Executive Director, Spectrios Institute; Clinical Professor, Department of Ophthalmology; Loyola University

Speakers:

  • Tracy Williams, OD, FAAO; Executive Director, Spectrios Institute; Clinical Professor, Department of Ophthalmology; Loyola University
  • Virginia A. Jacko, President & CEO of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
  • Ken West, Senior Director of Communications, Prevent Blindness
  • Dan Roberts; Editor, Living Well With Low Vision; Patient Advocate with AMD

More about our Presenters:

Virginia A. Jacko

President & CEO, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc.
President, Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program, LLC
Founding President, Miami Lighthouse Academy, LLC

Virginia Jacko is a blind visionary.  She was a financial executive at Purdue University for 22 years, including 12 years directing financial affairs for the President and Provost. During her 17-year tenure as President & CEO at Miami Lighthouse she has grown the organization’s net assets from $10 million to over $80 million.  In her leadership role, she applies her acumen in financial and program development, governmental and donor relations, accreditation and compliance arenas in overseeing Miami Lighthouse. Her expertise was enhanced by obtaining a certificate of completion in “Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management” from the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program.

She is a national expert in website and distance learning accessibility for people with vision impairment, having been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Forbes and the Chronicle of Higher Education and on NPR. She has also been featured in national publications such as The Saturday Evening Post and Ability Magazine.

Miami Lighthouse’s web accessibility and ADA compliance service was recently featured in two national publications:

  • Forbes, September 27, 2022, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, “U.S. Midterm Candidate Websites Lacking in Basic Accessibility”
  • Time, September 27, 2022, “None of These Major Midterm Campaign Websites Are Fully Accessible to Disabled Voters”

These articles, unfortunately, echo previous findings.  In 2019, Ms. Jacko and her visually impaired IT team after analyzing all 2020 presidential candidates’ websites notified the candidates that seniors with vision impairment could not learn about the candidates’ policies since none of their website were accessible. Joe Biden’s staff contacted Miami Lighthouse for further counsel. Some months later, this collaboration helped pave the way for the incoming Biden administration’s pledge towards maintaining a fully accessible WhiteHouse.Gov site with an immediate addition being a robust accessibility statement. The Miami Lighthouse September 2022 ADA Compliance Meter Report is available at www.miamilighthouse.org under the “Web Accessibility” tab.

Ms. Jacko is the author and principal investigator of numerous peer-reviewed archival journal publications, and was named Distinguished Alumni by the College of Health and Human Sciences and the HHS Alumni Association, Purdue University.  She has served on boards of foundations and nonprofits like the Girl Scouts, Easter Seals and the Red Cross and was an accreditation reviewer for the National Accreditation Council for Blind and Low Vision Services.

She has collaborated with the Miami Dade Beacon Council to obtain mainstream employment for people with disabilities in the Greater Miami Area and founded the Miami Lighthouse Music Program that trains blind teenagers and adults in the use of accessible music software leading to music industry employment and post-secondary education.

Dan Roberts

Editor, Living Well With Low Vision
Patient Advocate with AMD

Dan Roberts is editor-in-chief of Living Well With Low Vision, Founding Director of MD Support, Inc. and Founding Director of the International Low Vision Support Group. He is also a published author, a member of several boards, and a leading patient advocate/consultant.

Ken West

Senior Director of Communications, Prevent Blindness

Ken West has worked for Prevent Blindness since 2001. He oversees an expanding web presence at preventblindness.org that encompasses eye health and safety education, event marketing, donor outreach, and online vision screening training and certification for the national organization, The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, The Center for Vision and Population Health at Prevent Blindness, and Prevent Blindness affiliates, as well as Living Well with Low Vision.

Tracy Williams, OD, FAAO

Executive Director, Spectrios Institute
Clinical Professor, Department of Ophthalmology; Loyola University

Dr. Tracy Williams is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry, (ICO). He served an internship at the Chicago Lighthouse training under Dr. Alfred A. Rosenbloom, then President of ICO.  He completed a Low Vision Residency at the New York Association for the Blind under the mentorship of Eleanor Faye, MD.

Dr. Williams served four years as an ICO Faculty Member and was twice selected as Faculty of the Year.  He also served as Clinical Director of the Low Vision Service at the Chicago Lighthouse for over a decade and received the CLB Outstanding Service Award.

Dr. Williams established the Spectrios Institute for Low Vision Rehabilitation, an accredited multidisciplinary nonprofit agency in 1986. This year celebrates the Institute’s 35th Anniversary serving thousands of children and adults with vision loss. A statewide children’s program called “Seeing is Believing” celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year which received the Hog Ogden Metal Award from the CDC. The Institute also has provided Residency training in Low Vision for 28 Doctors who serve nationwide.

Dr. Williams is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Loyola University and has served as the Director of Low Vision Rehabilitation for over two decades.  Dr. Williams has served as Co-Chair of the Low Vision Committee at the NEI/NEHEP, Chair of the National Accreditation Council, Chair of the AOA Low Vision Section, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, served as the SightFirst Technical Advisor for Lions Club International, is a Board Member for Prevent Blindness, served as a Paralympic Medical Examiner, and is a Team Doctor for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Fire.

Dr. Williams was selected and worked with the World Health Organization to establish Standards for Vision Rehabilitation worldwide. Dr. Williams has served on many Mission trips including to Guatemala, Haiti, India, Bosnia, and Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Williams feels blessed and grateful to be active in practice today and reminds us that Low Vision Rehabilitation is an important treatment modality that offers great hope supported by science and compassion for people with vision loss.