by Grace Hart
As ACB’s 2026 D.C. Leadership Conference came to a close, I was struck by what we can accomplish when we work together. Of course, the entire weekend is a testament to collaboration; ACB staff, board members, attendees, hotel staff, rideshare drivers, and many others all worked together or in tandem to make the conference successful. The presenters for each session collaborated to tell their stories and answer the questions posed to them by the audience. Our wonderful tech team collaborated to make the conference accessible to our attendees. During the Legislative Seminar, our speakers covered a variety of topics, including our imperatives, state and local advocacy, ADA Title II website regulations, autonomous vehicles, using the Speak4 platform, interacting with the administrative and legislative branches, federal agency work, and Hill Day etiquette. Finally, on our Hill Day, ACB members and staff met with their representatives to advocate for key issues important to the blindness and low vision community, including ACB’s three legislative imperatives for 2026.
As the person who gets to see many of the feedback forms from the Hill Day meetings, I find it so encouraging that many people found that the staffers they met were interested in the issues and concerns of the community. One common piece of feedback was that the staffer (and therefore the Congressmember) said that they didn’t know that things like website accessibility or medical device accessibility were an issue for people who are blind or have low vision. This goes to show the importance of speaking up and making your representatives aware of the issues that impact you — sometimes, the problem isn’t a lack of political will, but a lack of knowledge!
The most noticeable impact of Hill Day comes from our North Carolina contingent, including Becky Davidson, Adele Tabb, and Chris Flynt. One of the representatives they met with, Rep. Deborah Ross (NC-02), signed on as a co-sponsor to the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act on March 16, 2026. Congrats to North Carolina for their successful advocacy!
Thank you to everyone who participated in D.C. Leadership, either in person or virtually. The advocacy that we engaged in on Hill Day will impact the entire community of those who are blind or have low vision.