2022 Conference

Dr. Rosenblum is the owner of the consulting company Vision for Independence, LLC. Her current research focuses on a range of topics and professional development. Dr. Rosenblum has more than 35 years of experience as a researcher, university professor, and teacher of students with visual impairments.

One of Dr. Rosenblum’s current projects is as a consultant for Project INSPIRE (Increasing the STEM Potential of Individuals who Read Braille). In addition to conducting research for Project INSPIRE, Dr. Rosenblum has a lead role in the preparation of the professional development materials that are produced for teachers of students with visual impairments, braillists, and others.

In 2020-2021 Dr. Rosenblum served as the Director of Research at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). At AFB she took the lead role in designing research studies, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting study finding. The Flatten Inaccessibility Study examined the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on 1,921 US adults who were blind or had low vision. The two Access and Engagement Studies explored the impact of the pandemic on the education of children with visual impairments including those with additional disabilities and deafblindness. The Workplace Technology Study, a mixed methods study, examined the experience of employees with vision loss to identify barriers they experienced at work and the consequences of these barriers. The report includes recommended solutions that can lead to more individuals with vision loss having employment and experiencing more positive outcomes when employed.

Prior to joining AFB, Dr. Rosenblum was a Research Professor in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona, where she worked for 20 years. She was the Project Director for two Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Goal 2 projects. AnimalWatch-VI Suite: A comprehensive program for increasing access to science and math for students with visual impairments (R324A12006) ran from 2012-2016. The project team created an iPad app and accompanying learning materials to support students in building pre-algebra skills. The second project, An Intervention to Provide Youth with Visual Impairments with Strategies to Access Graphical Information in Math Word Problems (R324A160154), ran from 2016-2019. The project team developed a second iPad app, graphics, and a teacher curriculum.

At the University of Arizona from 1999 to 2016, Dr. Rosenblum prepared teachers to work with students with visual impairments (TVIs). During that time, she coordinated teacher preparation programs in Arizona and Nevada. She assisted in the preparation of grants both to fund TVI training programs and research. Dr. Rosenblum has also worked as an adjunct instructor for other universities to assist their faculty in the preparation of TVIs.

Dr. Rosenblum has published more than 50 peer reviewed articles in addition to book chapters and curricula. She regularly presents workshops at conferences throughout the United States. She has presented in Canada in addition to an early intervention conference in Doha, Qatar in April 2011, and in three Australian cities in May 2014. In 2020 Dr. Rosenblum and co-author Dr. Anne Corn’s book Finding Wheels: Strategies to Build Independent Travel Skills for Those with Visual Impairments was published through the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Dr. Rosenblum received her bachelor’s degree from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania (1986), her master’s from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee (1989), and her doctorate from the University of Arizona (1997). Her dissertation examined the best friendships of 40 adolescents with visual impairment.

As a person with low vision, Dr. Rosenblum is able to share first-hand information with others about the impact of a visual impairment on the lives of children and adults.

Board Member Nominations

Thank you for voting for this year's Board nominees. We will introduce the winners at the Plenary Session.