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We are grateful to the many organizations who have supported Eyes On Success by running promotional items about their services and resources targeted to the visually impaired cmmunity including:
2248 Hello Darkness, My Old Friend (Nov. 30, 2022)
Show Notes
“Hello Darkness, My Old Friend” is the story of a young man who, after losing his eyesight to disease, finds the power to break through the darkness and fulfill his vision for a life of distinguished public service. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with author Sanford Greenberg about his journey and how enduring friendships made a difference in his life.
2247 Training Low Vision Rehabilitation Optometrists (Nov. 23, 2022)
Show Notes
People with newly diagnosed vision problems may not get directed to low vision optometrists who can help them adapt to their vision changes. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Richard Jamara and Sarah Hinkley, two editors of a training guide for low vision optometrists, who hope to train more of them and increase awareness of their specialty.
2246 Over Every Hurdle (Nov. 16, 2022)
Show Notes
“Over Every Hurdle” is the third book in a series whose protagonist suddenly loses her sight and adapts to life as a blind person. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with best-selling author Barbara Hinske and with Julie Rock, Manager, Adult and Transition Services at Foundation for Blind Children about how they interacted to make the series possible.
2245 Waymap Navigation System (Nov. 9, 2022)
Show Notes
The Waymap app was designed to assist visually impaired people navigate transportation systems in cities around the world. Requiring no signals, the app is accurate down to 1 meter both indoors and outdoors. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with CEO Tom Pey about the motivation for developing the app, how it works, and their plans to expand its use.
2244 Writing a Novel as Therapy (Nov. 2, 2022)
Show Notes
Some people write for fun or because it is a job. Others have a story they want to share. When Aaron Spelker suddenly lost his sight, he found writing to be both therapeutic as well as a good activity for learning important blindness skills. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Aaron about how writing “The Bubonic Reorder” helped him navigate in a new world.
2243 How to Find Accessible Games (Oct. 26, 2022)
Show Notes
If you enjoy gaming on your iOS or other device and are also visually impaired, it is likely that you have experienced the frustration of finding a game that is accessible. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with Aaron Spelker, who runs the Mobile Accessible Games (for the Blind) FaceBook group, about his game reviews that can ease the frustration.
2242 Remote Jazz Piano Instruction (Oct. 19, 2022)
Show Notes
Have you always wanted to play the piano but just never got around to it or couldn’t arrange the logistics? If so, then Mark Miller, who does business as the piano web man, has the answer for you. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Mark about how his remote piano lessons work for both sighted and visually impaired students alike.
2241 Getting Your Business to the Next Level (Ocr. 12, 2022)
Show Notes
The New Venture Competition awards winning participants cash prizes to help get their new or growing business to the next level. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with long-time organizer Colleen Wunderlich as well as with the 2021 winners of the competition, Bruno D'Avanzo and Jennifer Rhodes, about their experiences with the competition.
2240 NSITE Employment Services (Oct. 5, 2022)
Show Notes
NSITE provides a full range of training resources, connections with potential employers, as well as internship opportunities for people who are visually impaired. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Marianne Haegeli, Program Director, NSITE Learning and Leadership, about the organization and how their services might benefit you.
2239 Images from the Webb Telescope (Sep. 28, 2022)
Show Notes
If you can’t see the image, you can still experience it. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Timothy Rhue II, principal informal education specialist, and Claire Blome, Principal Science Writer and author of some of the descriptions, both of the Space Telescope Science Institute, about how images from the James Webb Telescope are being made accessible to everyone.
2238 Encore of 1133 Living with a Blind Person (Sep. 21, 2022)
Show Notes
Most episodes of Eyes On Success center on the experiences of a blind person, whether dealing with technology, employment, travelling or whatever. This week, hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey discuss raising and living with a blind person from everybody else’s perspective, including interviews with Pete’s mother, sister, wife, in-laws and children.
2237 Raising a Sighted Child (Sep. 14, 2022)
Show Notes
What is it like to raise a sighted child when one of the parents is blind? That is the question Ron and Denise Miller asked of hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey back in 2015. We talked with the Miller’s about our experiences raising sighted children and aired a show based on the discussion. Now, seven years later, we follow up with Ron to see how it’s been going.
2236 NBP Center for Braille Innovation (Sep. 7, 2022)
Show Notes
The National Braille Press (NBP) is well known for its mission of promoting braille literacy and producing a variety of braille books for all ages and interests. Perhaps less well known is their program to advance technologies to produce braille. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Brian MacDonald, President and CEO of NBP, about these efforts.
2235 Pole Dancing for Fitness (Aug. 31, 2022)
Show Notes
Have you ever considered becoming a pole dancer? Surprisingly, the experience might not be what you would have expected. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Lauren Back, a blind pole dancer, who has enjoyed participating in several pole dancing groups and extols the virtues of pole dancing as a means of exercise and socializing with others.
2234 Clusiv e-Learning Platform (Aug. 24, 2022)
Show Notes
Clusiv is the world's first e-learning platform built for and by blind people. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk
with Luke Simianer, CEO and co-founder of Clusiv, about the motivation for starting Clusiv, how it works, and how they are partnering with regional vocational services around the country to train blind people for future employment.
2233 Tribute to Eric Damery (Aug. 17, 2022)
Show Notes
Eric Damery recently announced his retirement as VP of Software Product Management at Vispero / Freedom Scientific. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with him about his long career in the field of assistive technology and how the marketing and distribution of products for the visually impaired has changed over the years.
2232 Blind Stand-Up Comedian (Aug. 10, 2022)
Show Notes
During the day, Todd Blenkhorn is an I.T. specialist who works at the Canadian National Institute of the Blind. After work, however, Todd performs in local comedy clubs in Toronto. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Todd about getting into comedy and how he integrates some of his experiences as a blind person into his acts.
2231 Marine Biology (Aug. 3, 2022)
Show Notes
Maureen Hayden is completing her PhD in marine biology. With limited vision, she uses a variety of tools to assist her when working in the field, in the lab, as well as to teach. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with her about how she got interested in the subject, how she does her research and how her results will impact the health of the planet.
2230 Encore of 1907 Prosthetic Eyes and Anaplastology (Jul. 27, 2022)
Show Notes
Barbara Spohn-Lillo is the owner and founder of Prosthetic Illusions which develops custom prostheses for various body parts including eyes. Both she and her daughter Chelsea Lillo, with whom she works, are anaplastologists and ocularists. Join hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey as they discuss how these prostheses are made and cared for.
2229 Pet Peeves from Listeners (Jul. 20, 2022)
Show Notes
Episode #2223 of Eyes On Success featured a variety of pet peeves of a blind person navigating in a world primarily designed for and consisting of sighted people. The show elicited lots of responses from listeners who resonated with what they heard. This week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey share some of the feedback they received.
2228 Graphical Braille Display and eBRF (Jul. 13, 2022)
Show Notes
Wouldn’t it be nice to have an affordable, 2-D, refreshable Braille display? Soon that may not be just a dream. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Greg Stilson and William Freeman from the American Printing House about the new technology behind the combined text and graphics tactile display they are working on as well as formatting standards for such displays.
2227 Using MathML with JAWS (Jul. 6, 2022)
Show Notes
Mathematics has been called the language of science. But how can a visually impaired person read and write complex mathematical expressions that are often written in a 2-D format? Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Ron Miller, Blindness Technology Products Specialist at Vispero, about how the JAWS screen reader makes this possible with MathML.
2226 National Coding Symposium and STEM Camp (Jun. 29, 2022)
Show Notes
The fields of computers and STEM offer excellent career opportunities for visually impaired people. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Leanne Grillot, outreach director at the American Printing House, about some of APH’s ongoing programs to inspire interest in these fields, make people aware of the opportunities, and help them connect with mentors.
2225 The Candy in My Pocket (Jun. 22, 2022)
Show Notes
Over the years John Robert Wiltgen developed many complications from childhood diabetes including blindness, amputation of a limb, and kidney failure. Despite these setbacks, he soldiered on to become a world-renowned interior designer. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with John about his experiences and his newly released memoir “The Candy In My Pocket”.
2224 Offerings from Independence Science (Jun. 15, 2022)
Show Notes
Accessible measurement tools are essential if visually impaired students and professionals are to be full participants in STEM related activities either independently or with their sighted peers. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with Michael Hingson and Ashley Neybert, from Independence Science, about the tools and services they offer to meet these needs.
2223 Pet Peeves of a Blind Person (Jun. 8, 2022)
Show Notes
People who are blind have many ways of adapting in a world that consists of primarily sighted people. Sometimes though, being blind can be frustrating, especially when simple changes that could be made to make our lives easier are not made. This week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk about some of Peter’s pet peeves as a blind person.
2222 Voice Dream Reader for macOS (Jun. 1, 2022)
Show Notes
The award-winning Voice Dream Reader app is used by many Voiceover users and others around the world to read and listen to documents in many formats. Originally developed for iOS, this powerful productivity tool now comes to macOS. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with the developer, Winston Chen, about the app, its features, and its development.
2221 Offerings from the National Braille Press (May 25, 2022)
Show Notes
No matter what your age, interests, or career, chances are that the National Braille Press offers something for you. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Kesel Wilson, editorial director at the NBP, about books the NBP produces in braille and other formats for children, general interest, professionals, and those looking for technical manuals.
2220 Encore of 2102 Access Technology Reminiscences (May 18, 2022)
Show Notes
David Bradburn, Vice-President Global Sales at Humanware, has been involved in the access technology field for over 35 years. A lot has changed over that time. Listen in on a conversation between David as a salesman and host Peter Torpey as a user as they reminisce about the evolution of access technology equipment since the early days.
2219 The Hosts as Guests (May 11, 2022)
Show Notes
Every week Peter and Nancy Torpey interview interesting guests from around the world for their Eyes On Success weekly podcast. This week, however, the tables are turned as Sonia Usatch-Kuhn, host of the North Carolina Radio Reading Services Community Connections podcast, interviews Peter and Nancy about their own lives and careers and show.
2218 Conditions for the Blind in Iran (May 4, 2022)
Show Notes
Aliasghar Assadi is a blind teacher of blind and visually impaired students in Iran. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Ali about conditions for the blind in Iran including the challenges of acquiring assistive technologies, how legal protections for the disabled are evolving, employment opportunities for the blind, and much more.
2217 Encore of 1715 Audio Book Narrator (Apr. 27, 2022)
Show Notes
You’ve probably heard her voice on a Talking Book from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Martha Harmon Pardee has narrated over 3,000 books for the NLS. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with her about the process of recording audio books, notable moments in her career, and what else she does as a professional voice artist.
2216 An Advocate For All (Apr. 20, 2022)
Show Notes
As President and CEO of the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, Virginia Jacko is committed to ensuring that the blind and visually impaired have equitable access to education, blindness prevention programs, and vision rehabilitation training. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Virginia about her advocacy work and highlights of her career.
2215 Managing Care for Mental Health Disorders (Apr. 13, 2022)
Show Notes
Finding the right therapist to help deal with a mental health issue is crucial to having a successful outcome. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Robert DeYoung, a practicing psychoanalyst who himself is blind, about special concerns faced by making this choice when one is blind and how blindness may affect the interaction between patient and therapist.
2214 Bookshare Reader for Smart Speakers (Apr. 6, 2022)
Show Notes
Bookshare makes books available to people with reading disabilities in a number of digital formats. Now you can listen to any of the over 1,000,000 titles in their collection on your smart speaker. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Hema Natarajan who heads Bookshare’s product and reading projects about new initiatives at Bookshare.
2213 Seeing the World More Clearly (Mar. 30, 2022)
Show Notes
The Envision Glasses is a digital eyewear solution that helps visually impaired people read text, recognize objects, make video calls and much more. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Envision co-founder and CEO Karthik Kannan about the glasses and how they are designed to empower low vision people to be more independent and help with everyday tasks.
2212 Never Too Late To Learn (Mar. 23, 2022)
Show Notes
The mission of Hadley is to create personalized learning opportunities that empower adults with vision loss to thrive - at home, at work, and in their communities. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Ed Haines, Chief Program Officer at Hadley, about some of the resources available at Hadley including workshops, podcasts, and discussion groups.
2211 Your Personal Path to Fitness (Mar. 16, 2022)
Show Notes
Is your visual impairment keeping you from exercising and being as active as you would like? If so, this is the book for you. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Judy Dixon and Bonnie O'Day about their new book, “Your Personal Path To Fitness”, and some of the fitness opportunities that are available to people who are blind or low vision.
2210 Benefits of Hiring the Blind and Visually Impaired (Mar. 9, 2022)
Show Notes
Welby Broaddus is an active advocate for employment of the blind and visually impaired. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Welby, who is visually impaired himself, about his new book that serves as a handbook for educating business owners, executives, and HR professionals on the benefits of hiring individuals who are blind and visually impaired.
2209 Succeeding Despite the Odds (Mar. 2, 2022)
Show Notes
How does a visually impaired person find rewarding employment? Sometimes it isn’t easy. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Ulysses Harmony Garcia about how she overcame obstacles as a blind individual by acquiring experience as a volunteer, participating in a job training program, working as an intern, and finally landing a job.
2208 Extreme Sports – Rock Climbing (Feb. 23, 2022)
Show Notes
John Churcher’s experience is proof that it is never too late to begin something new. Inspired by a friend later in life, he soon became an avid rock climber. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with John about what rock climbing means to him, how he does it as a blind person, and about some of his adventures including scaling the Eiger, a several day endeavor.
2207 Encore of 1502 Product Development at Humanware (Feb. 16, 2022)
Show Notes
Bringing new products to market involves time, planning, and feedback from customers. This week, hosts Peter and Nancy Torpey talk with Dominic Labbé, Product Development Director for blindness related products at Humanware. He describes how the process works at Humanware and how products such as the Victor Reader are shepherded from concept to the marketplace.
2206 Optic Low Vision Swimming Aid (Feb. 9, 2022)
Show Notes
Competitive blind swimmers currently rely on sighted assistants to signal them before making their turn for the next lap. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Mirthe Hofstede who, for a student project, developed a system that obviates the need for an assistant while at the same time provides better feedback to the blind swimmer.
2205 Taking Charge of Your Health (Feb. 2, 2022)
Show Notes
As a result of being born prematurely, Jeff Bishop had to deal with a number of medical issues including becoming a diabetic. Hosts Nancy and Peter talk with Jeff about his journey to control his diabetes by making a series of lifestyle changes that included sticking to a healthy diet, regular exercise, and developing the drive to succeed.
2204 Accessibility of Medical Devices (Jan. 26, 2022)
Show Notes
In order for people to take charge of their health and manage certain medical conditions it is often important that medical monitoring devices be accessible to those who need them. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Tom Tobin and Jeff Bishop, who are both blind, about the importance of having accessible devices and where we stand today.
2203 Inspire Low Vision Aid (Jan. 19, 2022)
Show Notes
Inspire is a lightweight headset that enables people with low vision to make the most use of the vision that they have. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Brian Murphey, sales manager from IrisVision, about this digital eyewear system and how it can be used in daily life. They also demonstrate various functions of the device.
2202 Not Just For Fun (Jan. 12, 2022)
Show Notes
Camp Abilities is a week long sports camp for children with visual impairments. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Lauren Lieberman, the camp’s founder and director, about the program and the benefits it provides to blind youth who otherwise might have missed out on such opportunities to participate in activities with their peers.
2201 The Dream Of A Lifetime (Jan. 5, 2022)
Show Notes
The MacArthur Fellowship is a $625,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Josh Miele, blind since childhood and one of the 2021 fellows, about how his work in the field of accessibility led to him receiving this special award.
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