In SeroTalk Tech Chat 52, thursday, February 25, from 9:00 to 10:00 PM Eastern, our focus is effective advocacy. We’ll cover advocating for internet and web site access, travel and transportation, ATM and banking, service animals, education, creating effective letter writing and email campaigns, using radio, tv and print media, online petitions, social networking, contacting elected officials, giving presentations and more.
We’ll also utilize
to equip interested persons with the tools they need to effectitvely advocate for change.
We are honored to have a distinguished group of three accomplished guests:
Kelly Pierce, David Lepofsky, and Joyce Scanlan, each successful in a variety of different initiatives.
Kelly Pierce works as an advocate for victims of crime with disabilities at the prosecutor’s office in Chicago. He has been active in helping people get adaptive technology at their college, obtain free talking cell phones and free cell phone screen readers, training and equipment from rehabilitation agencies, high quality audio interfaces for transit bus stop calling systems, voting machines and meaningful and useful ATM access at large banks; has written several guides on choosing adaptive technology and qualified trainers, and on forming assistive technology teams for acquiring technology.
David Lepofsky, located in Toronto Ontario Canada, successfully navigated the complaint process to force the Toronto transit agency to install automatic stop calling equipment on its buses. He also worked to include people with disabilities into Canada’s Charter of rights and Freedoms.
Joyce Scanlan earned Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from the University of North Dakota with minors in Social Studies, Latin, Education, and History. She taught high school English, Latin and History in North Dakota and Montana before moving to Minnesota. She joined the National
Federation of the blind of Minnesota in 1970, and was first elected
its president in 1973. In 1974, she was elected to the national NFB
board of directors, where she served until 2006, including the offices
of secretary and first vice-president. Since arriving in Minnesota,
she and other young blind leaders believed the home for the blind the
Federation operated was and inappropriate focus for an organization
that stressed and attracted people for the aim of increasing
independence and opportunity. Eventually, Joyce spearheaded the sale
of the home for the blind and opened the residential training center
Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND, Inc.) in 1987. She
served as its executive director from 1987 to 2003. She was elected
president of the NFB of Minnesota every two years from 1974 until her
retirement from that position in 2007.