Anindya (Bapin) Bhattacharyya’s
Anindya Bhattacharyya's was brought up in a village twenty miles south of Calcutta. He was born deaf; the cause of his deafness is unknown. Since eighty-five percent of the village's population lives in poverty and illiteracy, He is very grateful to have been born to parents who are prestigiously educated. In contrast to most parents of disabled children receiving help and counseling from agencies for parents newly exposed to disability, his parents, as teachers themselves, knew how to handle his deafness without any assistance from outside specialists.
Bhattacharyya holds a bachelor's degree in political science from UALR and works full time as an adaptive technology instructor at the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC). Bhattacharyya has always had a goal to help other deaf-blind people in India and other countries to achieve their dreams to become a batch of successful people.
Dr. Beth Loy
Dr. Beth Loy is a Principal Consultant with the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). In this capacity, she leads JAN's external evaluation process and internal continuous improvement process, providing leadership to JAN's teams of service delivery and information systems. This includes JAN's outreach and education, training programs, and Website development. Beth is a national researcher and speaker in the disability field and has a Ph.D. in Resource Economics with a specialization in social policy. At JAN, she provides research, writing, and statistics support regarding accommodation benefits and costs and the economic impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Beth is a member of the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North American (RESNA) and HTML Writers Guild. She holds certificates in Web Technologies and Web Graphics/Multimedia. Beth has been with JAN since 1996 and is a member of the Management Team.
Brian Goemmer
Brian Goemmer owner of Lab Computers, Inc., is a certified technological specialist. He sells assistive technology and consults with individuals to meet their educational or vocational needs. Brian also works directly with teachers to instruct them on how to reach IEP goals of their students. He has received various awards for his expertise in product sales and continues to exceed company goals.
Byron Sykes
Byron Sykes works for Bosma Enterprises at Humana in Louisville, Kentucky. Byron has a wide range of employment history in working in the state of Virginia, Industries for the Blind, LC Industries in Kentucky,as a inside sales representative and VA Hospital in Kentucky, Working on the Switchboard.
Colleen Wunderlich
Colleen Wunderlich is North Central Regional Manager for Freedom Scientific BLV since 2005. She holds an MBA from University of Chicago Booth, School of Business and a Bachelors Degree from Purdue University in Psychology and Spanish. Colleen enjoys leveraging adaptive technology to enhance independence and contribute equally in education and at work.
Dr. Debbie Bauder
Dr. Bauder has been in the field of special education for nearly 35 years. She has been a teacher, technical consultant, computer specialist, technology training specialist, instructor in higher education, and a director of statewide training in assistive technology. Dr. Bauder has her educational specialist and doctorate from the University of Kentucky with an emphasis on preparing personnel in the use of technology in special education.
Debbie Sharon
Debbie Sharon is an Assistive Technology Specialist, the Outreach Coordinator for Project CARAT: a collaborative Reuse of Assistive Technology project focused on rural Appalachia, and is the Acting Executive Director of Bluegrass Technology Center: A Resource Center for People with Disabilities.
After the birth of her children, Debbie left the business world to explore and develop skills in the area of Assistive Technology to meet her family's needs. After twenty-six years of living and working with AT every day, she remains passionate and committed to helping others in their quest to seek out new solutions to life's challenges.
As an Adult Mentor to the Greater Lexington Chapter of Kentucky Self-Advocates for Freedom, Debbie is acutely aware of the need for more supportive services. Debbie has presented at numerous local, state, regional, national, and international conferences and is recognized for her expertise in the area of funding Assistive Technology devices and services. Over the years she has volunteered extensively on numerous local, regional and state-level boards and committees and served in leadership positions, including the Kentucky Developmental Disabilities Council, ARC of Kentucky, Bluegrass Region 5 Medicaid Managed Care Regional Board of Directors, Kentucky Assistive Technology Services Network, Shriners' Hospital Parent Group, and Lexington Urban County Government's Special Needs Assessment Work Group.
Don Cronk
Don Cronk is a Technology Specialist. Don served as the COTR for the Disabled Employees Support Accessibility Contract, (DESAC). The contract provided support and training in the use of the technology.
Don has served in a wide range of jobs during his 31 year career at the IRS. He began his career in Louisville KY, as a Taxpayer Service Representative and transferred to Indianapolis where he became a Taxpayer Service Specialist, and later managed a group of Taxpayer Service Representatives in the Indianapolis Call Center.
Don has spent the last 16 years of his career in Washington, DC. where his first eleven years he served as a program analyst and program manager in the Wage and Investment Division Telephone Operations Office. He was primarily responsible for the Telefax system (an automated tax information system). He also worked in a project office developing automated work stations for use in Various call centers.
Don currently serves as the Director of Finance for the Kentucky Association of Blind Athletes Inc. Don also volunteers with a local cancer support organization known as "Friend for Life". Don also enjoys serving in his Church and participating in various Bible studies.
Evangeline Day
Evangeline Day is a the Disability Services Coordinator at Morehead State University and a Licensed Clinical Counselor. She is a member of the planning committee of INSIGHT, an orientation-to-college camp for B/VI students in Kentucky.
James Brown
James is the Assistive Technology (AT) and Information Technology (IT) Coordinator for the KATS Network, a federally funded program under the AT Act of 1998, as amended. James is a graduate of Western KY University, with a (BA) degree in psychology. Prior to coming to the KATS Network, James worked on a federal grant through the Dept. of Labor as a Disability Navigator, ensuring accessibility of One-Stop employment centers in a seven county region in Southern Indiana. Through the KATS Network, James provides training and consultation to both individuals and agencies on a wide range of accessibility and AT related issues.
Jeremy Curry
Jeremy Curry holds a B.S. in Secondary Education and is a licensed teacher in Indiana. He combines his educational skills with his extensive technology background to provide assistive technology training for GW Micro. He currently serves as the Director of Training for GW Micro, a 22-year old global assistive technology firm focused on providing technology for people who are blind and visually impaired. He is responsible for training large corporations, such as Apple and Microsoft, in addition to curriculum creation and creating and improving innovative training avenues and processes.
Kenneth Jones
Kenny Jones has been a teacher for 28 years, 26 at the Kentucky School for the Blind. Before joining the Outreach Program in 1995, he taught a variety of courses in the middle and high school center based program. Kenny currently serves as an Outreach Consultant for the Central Kentucky Special Education Cooperative, providing technical assistance services for students, staff, and parents. He is also the athletic director for The Kentucky School for the Blind and has previously coached wrestling and track & field. In addition, he coached goalball for the Kentucky Association of Blind Athletes, an organization that he presently serves as Executive Director.
Kimberly Thurman
Kimberly Thurman is a graduate of the Kentucky School for the Blind. Kim has an array of work history, including such positions as collection adjuster, Braille book colater, customer service representative, and medical transcreptionist. All these jobs were made possibel with the use of various types of assistive technology over the years. I am married with one adult child and enjoy my two wonderful grandchildren. I currently use many high and low tech adaptive methods to deal with everyday obstacles.
Laura Strickland
As an occupational therapist with over 31 years’ experience, Laura has worked alongside individuals to create supportive environments for enhancing functional performance in daily living, work, and community participation. Since 2005, she has overseen service provision of Enabling Technologies of Kentuckiana (enTECH), one of four (4) State designated Assistive Technology Centers in Kentucky. Laura is a Professor at Spalding University. Her doctorate degree is in Leadership Education. She holds master’s degrees in Behavioral Medicine from University of Houston and Health Sciences from the University of Florida, and she has a BS degree in Occupational Therapy from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Lonnie Swafford
Lonnie Swafford graduated from the Kentucky School for the Blind in 1999 and attended one year of college in North East Kentucky. In August of 2001, Lonnie was hired as a telephone operator at the Louisville VA Medical Center. He began his career with Citibank in February, 2006 as a Sales and Service Associate in customer service. With continued support from the Office for the Blind, for the area of Assistive Technology, he was successful in adapting to Citi’s systems. As a result, in August of 2007, Lonnie received a promotion with Citi in the collections department. Lonnie is married to his wonderful wife, Ashley for 5 years amd the have one child, Emma born in October of 2011.
Luis Perez
Luis Pérez is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida. His research focuses on the lived experiences of graduate students with visual disabilities, disability studies, assistive technology and the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in higher education. Luis was recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator for his work on technology integration for pre-service teachers with the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. At FCIT, he was the project manager for the Tech Ease for All website, a collection of free assistive technology and web accessibility tutorials for teachers. Currently, Luis provides professional development to pre-service teachers in the iteach Initiative, a 1-to-1 iPad program in the USF College of Education. Luis has presented at many national and international conferences that focus on technology and accessibility, including those of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) and the International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN).
Maria Delgado
Maria Delgado is a native of Mexico. She became totally blind after graduating from High School at the age of 19. She briefly attended a school for the blind in Mexico, then she came to Louisville, KY where she went through the Rehabilitation Program for the Blind. After finishing this program, she trained in New York with her first guide-dog and months later attended college. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1997 with a B.A. in Communications.
Her former work experience ranges from hosting a billingual radio show, to testing web pages and applications for accessibility. She is also a Level I Legal Interpreter and a certified Medical Interpreter. Maria currently works at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). She develops and coordinates field training and product presentations that she delivers in person throughout the U.S. In addition, she developed a distance education program where she provides training and presentations via webcast, reaching hundreds of people annually throughhout the world.
Mathew Lindsay
Matthew Lindsay teaches French in the little town of Cadiz, Kentucky. He has been teaching this beautiful language for 14 years. Matthew is married to his lovely wife Linda who also teaches in Cadiz. He enjoys spending time with his wife and four dogs. Why is he presenting today? Matthew has had glaucoma since the age of 10. He is now 36 years old and needless to say, his glaucoma is very advanced. In spite of his significant vision loss the new technology today is providing him much-needed assistance.
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams has worked with medical professionals for over 15 years. First in the neutriceutical industry (fancy word for “vitamins & supplements) helping MD’s to see the value in preventive treatment options. Michelle then partnered with Enhanced Vision to work with their doctor program, which progressed to working with all the professionals who touch the lives of our low vision population. She has worked hard to keep people in the field educated on our devices ergonomics and which activities they successfully address. Michelle also takes the feedback from the field and brings it to the engineers to keep everything going in the right direction.
Mike Tindall
Mike began his is career with Freedom Scientific as a Technical Support Specialist. Through his expertise and knowledge, he was promoted to Escalation Support Specialist for hardware products.
In December of 2007, Mike joined HumanWare as the Eastern Blindness Product Specialist, providing educational workshops, training, technical support and conference presentations.
Sarah Richardson
Sarah graduated from Brescia College with a BS in Business with an emphasis in management. Sarah began working with the KY Assistive Technology Loan Corporation in May of 2005. She has previously worked with the Statewide Independent Living Council and Centers for Independent Living in Kentucky.
Scott Hegle
Scott Hegle has been is Assistive Technology industry since 2002, providing sales management and product support for major AT companies and conducting sales management and product support for major AT companies and conducting hundreds of training/sales presentations. He is currently a sales manager for HIMS, specializing in products for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Sean McKeever
Manager of Support Services for VitalSource Technologies Bookshelf platform.
Susan Fogg
Susan Fogg works with students who have physical disability attending the University of Kentucky. She has worked with the UK disabilility Resource Center for 35 years.
Tonia Gatton
Tonia Gatton has been a rehabilitation teacher for nine years, providing blindness skills instruction in the areas of Assistive Technology, Computer Keyboarding, Braille and Home & Financial Management. She also coordinated the Work Experience program at the Charles W. McDowell Center in Louisville for five years. For the past year, she has been teaching Assistive Technology full-time. In addition, as a blind person, Tonia uses assistive technology, both personally and professionally for over 30 years.
Tracey Frazier
Tracey has been practicing law since passing the Kentucky Bar Exam in April, 2009. She is assigned to the D. U. I. unit where she prosecutes people who are impaired by alcohol and/or other drugs while operating motor vehicles. In this role, she reviews case documents, interviews officers and other witnesses, deals with victims of crashes (and/or their attorneys), negotiates plea agreements, and prosecutes cases through hearings and trials.
Tracey uses JAWS in a computer in her office to make case progress notes, prepare motions, briefs and other legal documents, monitors criminal histories of defendants and witnesses, uses email to keep in contact with officers and other parties, and can use the internet to attain information. While a live reader assists Tracey in court to review written documents, the vast majority of her case preparation is done at her computer.
Tracey has taught D. U. I. law and procedure at the Louisville Metro Police Academy and at the Department of Criminal Justice Training in Richmond, Kentucky. She also does presentations to school groups in hopes of helping young people steer clear of the destructive consequences of using alcohol and other drugs.