American Council of the Blind

Congratulations to our 2026 scholarship recipients! Since 1982, ACB’s Scholarship Program has helped students who are legally blind pursue their educational and career goals. In partnership with generous individuals and organizations, including @afb1921 , ACB offers scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $7,500 for incoming freshmen, undergraduate and graduate students, and those attending technical colleges. These scholarships help cover post-secondary education financial needs, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other additional costs associated with assistive technology. Read the list of recipients on ACB's webpage at acb.org/scholarships.

ACB members and stakeholders, we want to hear from you! ACB Forward is our five-year strategic planning initiative focused on listening, learning, and helping shape the future of ACB. We are currently in Year 1, the listening and learning phase, and we’re gathering input from members, program participants, and friends of ACB to better understand what’s working well, what matters most, and where there may be opportunities for growth and improvement. If you’re interested in participating in a virtual focus group between June and August 2026, please complete the ACB Forward Initiative Focus Group Interest Form. We encourage participation from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, membership pathways, and levels of involvement with ACB. To help ensure a broad mix of perspectives, not everyone who volunteers will be selected. To access the interest form, go to ACB.org and click the "ACB Forward Initiative" link on the homepage News section.

This week, ACB’s Claire Stanley joined a panel discussion on AI wearables at a @bpc_bipartisan event on Capitol Hill. The event brought together technology developers, end users, advocates, and congressional staff to discuss responsible adoption and the role policymakers can play in shaping the future of these technologies. ACB continues to work directly with industry and government to provide input and feedback on wearable devices and AI tools. Through advocacy and collaboration, ACB is helping ensure these technologies are designed with accessibility in mind. Picture 1: Claire and her guide dog Tulane (left) stand with ACB’s Grace Hart (right) in a meeting room in the Rayburn House Office Building. Behind them is a pull-up banner with the Bipartisan Policy Center logo. Picture 2: Claire speaks during the panel discussion. Seated left to right: John Fogarty, Associate Director of AI & Technology, Bipartisan Policy Center; Adam Berger, Senior Director of Product Marketing, for Wearables Devices, @meta ; Claire Stanley and her guide dog Tulane, ACB; and Dr. Sterling Thomas, Chief Scientist, @usgao .

Here's what's coming up in ACB Community for the week of May 17, 2026! To get the full daily ACB Community schedule in your inbox six days a week, email [email protected].

Save the date for the 2026 ACB Conference and Convention! This year’s virtual portion will run July 13-21 and the in-person portion will run July 24-31 at the St. Louis Hyatt Regency Arch Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. Registration for will open for members on Thursday, May 28, at 7:00 a.m. CT (8:00 a.m. ET). Registration for non-members will open on June 4. Registration will close on Monday, July 6, at 11:59 p.m. CT. Hotel reservations at the St. Louis Hyatt Regency Arch Hotel are open now. Visit the conference webpage at acbconvention.org for a link to the hotel reservation site, or call 1-888-591-1234. Use group code G-ACBL and book by July 5 to secure the special hotel room rate. We are extremely excited and fortunate to announce that the banquet speaker at this year’s event will be Precious Perez (@preciousperezmusica ). She will speak with ACB about her life as a blind musician, her advocacy work, and entertain us with some of her music. Learn more about Precious and listen to her music at PreciousPerezMusica.com. For more details, including a list of sessions, visit our convention website at acbconvention.org. Follow ACB on social media for more information and announcements about this year’s event!

Join ACB in urging Congress to support the Blind Americans Return to Work Act! Today, Americans who are blind receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) face an unfair “earnings cliff” — if they earn just a bit too much, their benefits are cut off completely. This system discourages people from working and limits economic independence. The Blind Americans Return to Work Act would replace the cliff with a fair, gradual reduction in benefits. This model would empower people who are blind to pursue meaningful employment without fear of losing all support. Since launching our advocacy campaign for the Blind Americans Return to Work Act last fall, the bill has picked up 29 additional sponsors, including 8 last month! Let’s keep the momentum going by sending a message to your members of Congress. Click on the Advocacy Campaigns link in the link tree in our bio!

Here's what's happening this week at ACB! To access the GitHub feature mentioned in today's video, check out our Facebook, LinkedIn, or X feeds. Follow us on social media to stay updated on the latest news and announcements from ACB!

Happy Mother’s Day! Today we celebrate the strength, love, and endless care that mothers bring into our lives. Meet Jennifer Bazer, president of ACB newest state affiliate, the Palmetto Council of the Blind in South Carolina. ACB wishes Jennifer and all the other wonderful mothers out there a very happy Mother’s Day. Thank you for all you do! Pictured are Jennifer (middle) with her son Cade (left) and daughter Kaylin (right). They stand together to celebrate Jennifer being inducted into her local alliance club. #MothersDay

Here's what's coming up in ACB Community for the week of May 10, 2026! To get the full daily ACB Community schedule in your inbox six days a week, email [email protected].

Join us for a FREE accessibility webinar! Are you wanting to improve accessibility within your organization but aren’t sure where to begin? Or maybe you’re ready to move beyond basic compliance towards true inclusiveness? We’ve got you covered! ACB’s Accessibility Consulting and Compliance Services (ACCS) team is hosting a FREE webinar on May 21, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. ET. In this webinar, you'll learn: ✅ Why accessibility is a design principle, not just a feature ✅ How inclusive design expands your reach and strengthens your brand ✅ The risks of ignoring accessibility, from compliance to lost revenue ✅ The POUR Construct: A deeper dive into making web content Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust ✅ Common accessibility barriers and how to address them This webinar is specifically designed for professionals responsible for digital and physical accessibility within their companies. Whether you’re just starting to learn about accessibility, or if you're ready to move beyond the basics, this webinar provides the roadmap you need. To register, visit ACB's website at ACB.org and click the "Accessibility Services Webinar Registration" link in the Top Links section of the page. You can also get the registration link at ACB.org/accessibility.

On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire speaks with Jason Eckert from VisionServe Alliance about a meeting they both attended with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The meeting brought together numerous blindness advocates to call for the rescission of a long lasting agency policy that prevents Medicare recipients from receiving coverage to purchase assistive technology with lenses. Access the podcast at acb.org/advocacyupdate or click the Advocacy Podcast link in the linktree in our bio.

This week, representatives from ACB and our membership were thrilled to participate in Meta’s Accessibility and AI event in Washington, D.C.! ACB is proud to continue working closely with @meta to help shape more accessible and inclusive technologies. Partnerships like this help ensure innovation is designed with accessibility in mind and works for everyone. Thank you, Meta, for hosting ACB and for continuing the conversation around accessibility and AI. Pictured (left to right) are Liz Bottner, ACB member and Assistive Technology Specialist for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, and her guide dog; Kolby Garrison, ACB Accessibility Compliance and Consulting Services Coordinator, and her guide dog Marty; and Claire Stanley, ACB Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, and her guide dog Tulane. The group stands in a foyer area in Meta’s D.C. headquarters with a large TV monitor behind them.