“Dots and Dashes” is a short newsletter featuring a variety of topics and ACB stories. This issue features a job announcement, holiday shopping information, a fascinating panel on artificial intelligence and accessibility, an update on the ACB Holiday Auction, and more.

ACB Seeks Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is seeking a Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs to work in its national office in Alexandria, Va. For the job description and other details, visit…

Link to video: https://youtu.be/1sN2hUpkHFo

People with disabilities have long relied on technology to provide improved access, and creative innovations that regularly advance personal independence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an exciting tool that can apply machine learning to complex accessibility challenges, automating functions that currently require human intervention. What can AI do for accessibility, and what's next?

Join the American Council of the Blind and Verizon for a conversation featuring creative industry…

The BOP met via teleconference on Monday, December 10, at 9:00 PM EST. Members present: chair Paul Edwards, Denise Colley, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson; ex officio member Berl Colley; ACB staff/contractors Annette Carter, Sharon Lovering, Larry Turnbull. Absent: Bob Hachey, Ron Milliman. Several guests also participated on the call.
 
Judy moved and Marcia seconded adoption of the agenda as read, with the addition of a presentation by Ray Campbell. The motion carried. Marcia was unable to send out the minutes because her email is not working; therefore, approval…

The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference on Monday, November 5, at 9:00 PM EST. Members present: chair Paul Edwards, Denise Colley, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson; ex officio members Berl Colley, Bob Hachey; ACB staff/contractors Annette Carter, Sharon Lovering. Members absent: Nolan Crabb; Ron Milliman; Larry Turnbull. Several guests also participated on the call.
 
Chair Paul Edwards convened the meeting at 9:05 PM EST. The meeting agenda was adopted as amended. The minutes of the October meeting were approved as distributed.
 
CCLVI member Donna…

The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference on Monday, October 1, at 9:00 PM EDT. Members present: chair Paul Edwards, Denise Colley, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson; ex officio members Berl Colley, Bob Hachey, Ron Milliman; ACB staff/contractors Annette Carter, Sharon Lovering, Larry Turnbull. Several guests also participated on the call.
 
Chair Paul Edwards convened the meeting at 9:10 PM EDT. The meeting agenda was adopted with two additions. The minutes of the August and September meetings were approved as distributed; several small punctuation errors…

The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference on Monday, September 10, at 9:00 PM EDT. Members present: chair Paul Edwards, Denise Colley, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson; ex officio members Berl Colley, Bob Hachey, Ron Milliman; ACB staff/contractors Annette Carter, Sharon Lovering; absent, Larry Turnbull. Several guests also participated on the call.
 
Chair Paul Edwards convened the meeting at 9:10 PM EDT. The meeting agenda was adopted. The secretary reported that due to unforeseen circumstances, the draft of the August meeting minutes was not ready. The…

The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference on Monday, Augusts 6 at 9:00 PM EDT. Members present: chair Paul Edwards, Denise Colley, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson; ex officio members Berl Colley, Bob Hachey, Ron Milliman; ACB staff/contractors Annette Carter, Sharon Lovering, Larry Turnbull. Several guests also participated on the call.
 
Chair Paul Edwards called the meeting to order at 9:10 PM EDT. He welcomed new BOP member Denise Colley, and thanked Ken Stewart for his service.
 
Judy moved and Annette seconded adoption of the meeting…

The Board of Publications met in person at the ACB national convention in Louisville, KY, on Sunday July 8. Members present: Chairperson Paul Edwards, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson, Ken Stewart; ex officio member Berl Colley; staff member Sharon Lovering. Many convention attendees also participated. Members absent: ex officio members Bob Hachey and Ron Milliman; staff/contractors Annette Carter and Larry Turnbull.
 
Chair Paul Edwards called the meeting to order at 10:48 AM EDT. The minutes of the May 7 meeting were approved as distributed.
 
Nolan…

Members present: Chair Paul Edwards, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson, Ken Stewart; ex officio members: Berl Coley, Bob Hachey, Ron Milliman; ACB staff/contractors: Annette Carter, Sharon Lovering, Larry Turnbull. Several guests also participated on the call.
 
Chair Paul Edwards convened the teleconference at 9:05 PM EDT. Ken moved and Marcia seconded adoption of the agenda with several additions requested by Ken.  The motion passed. Nolan moved and Bob seconded acceptance of the minutes of the April 2 meeting as read with two corrections. The motion carried.…

In collaboration with the American Council of the Blind (ACB), Apple has developed a new emoji proposal to include disability themed emoji in the global standard. This proposal was submitted to Unicode and they have moved it to the “public stage”. Unicode is the non-profit organization responsible for establishing uniform standards so characters can be used universally around the world, regardless of device or platform.

ACB and Apple feel it is important to make emoji more inclusive by adding a selection of characters to express basic categories of disabilities. This will give…