Press Room 2022

2022

December 2022

• Year End Celebrations and Reflections: Taking a look back at 2022.
• ACB and The Lumistella Company, home of The Elf on the Shelf, Make Christmas Jolly and More Accessible for Kids Who Are Blind: ACB aired a special audio described broadcast of the animated holiday special, “Elf Pets: A Fox Cub’s Christmas Tale”, an audio described production of Rory Hoffman’s “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, a visit from Santa himself and live phone calls from kids.
• Save the Date: ACB's 2023 Leadership Conference: ACB’s 2023 Leadership Conference will have both a virtual and an in-person component. The ACB Presidents’ Meeting and Legislative Seminar will take place virtually from March 4-7, and will include a Fireside Chat on Sunday, March 5. The in-person portion of the Leadership Conference will take place at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town from March 9-12 in Alexandria Virginia.
• Announcing ACB's February 2023 Audio Description Project Institute: The 21st Audio Description Institute will be held virtually from Monday, February 20 to Friday, February 24, 2023 at 1pm - 5pm Eastern each day.
• 2023 Benefits of Audio Description in Education Contest: Once again, the American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project (ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) are co-sponsoring an exciting opportunity for blind and visually impaired young people, ages 7 to 21. To participate, students review an audio-described film or video from the more than 6,000 educational titles available through DCMP. 

November 2022

• American Council of the Blind Salutes Audio Description Award Winners: Announcing the winners of ACB's 2022 Audio Description Awards Gala
• ACB's 2022 Audio Description Awards Gala: The event premiered on Nov. 29 on YouTube, Pluto TV, ACB Media 1 and www.adawardsgala.org.
• Senator Markey and Representative Eshoo Introduce Bill to Improve Access to Accessible Media and Video Communications Technologies for Individuals with Disabilities: Sen. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
• ACB’s 2022 Audio Description Awards Gala Details: the 2022 event celebrate the achievements of award recipients with host Thomas Reid, Audio Description Voice Talent Nefertiti Matos Olivares, and our special celebrity guests Stevie Wonder, Ewan McGregor, Nesta Cooper, Camryn Manheim, Shayla Brown, and the cast of iCarly!
• How People With Disabilities Can Find Jobs: ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs Clark Rachfal provides commentary on frequently asked questions about common barriers job seekers with disabilities face.

October 2022

• 2022 ACB Convention Podcasts & Videos: ACB Media is proud to announce that the podcasts & edited videos of the 2022 ACB Conference and Convention in Omaha, Nebraska are now available.
• NASCAR's VIVID with Audio Description: ACB Staff member Kolby Garrison was featured in a series about how she experiences NASCAR racing, her favorite sport. Take part in her incredible adventure through NASCAR's VIVID, now available with audio description.
• Entretenimiento Accesible En Español: Conchita Hernández Legorreta nos cuenta sobre la importancia de la audio descripción en español.

September 2022

• Advancing Accessibility Of At-Home Medical Tests: ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs Clark Rachfal discusses the impact of the lack of accessible COVID-19 testing on the blind and low vision community, and efforts to ensure health care and medical systems are accessible for everyone on Comcast Newsmakers
• ACB Reaches 10K Community Events: On March 17, 2020, the ACB Community was born out of a pandemic and a need to stay connected. Exercise, languages, peer support, technology, crafting, cooking, sports, music, serious discussions, fun with games, and so much more have helped bring many new people to ACB and build a community which continues to grow. We celebrated 10K community events on Saturday, September 24, 2022.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Selected as Audio Description People’s Choice Award Finalist: ACB's Audio Description People's Choice award was featured in this article by StarTrek.com.
• Senator Duckworth and Representative Sarbanes Introduce Bill to Make Websites and Mobile Applications Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities: S. 4998/H.R. 9021 would require the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to establish a clear and enforceable national framework for website and software accessibility, reaffirm existing law covers websites and software, and ensure accessibility standards keep pace with new and emerging technologies.
• James Webb Space Telescope Accessibility with STScI: ACB’s advocacy team were joined by representatives from the Space Telescope Science Institute during an event to discuss how their team have collaborated with one another to make NASA's Webb Space Telescope images accessible to people who are blind and low vision. Visit this link to learn more about the panelists.
• Announcing the 2022 Audio Description People's Choice Award: The new Audio Description People’s Choice Award for the 2022 Audio Description Awards Gala celebrates the inclusion of audio description in all forms of media entertainment.
• Prime Stage Earns American Council of the Blind Award for Audio Description Services: This articles highlights 2022 ADP Achievement Award winner Nathan Ruggles. 

August 2022

• With Accessible Movie Screenings, Netflix Pushes On Normalizing Entertainment Equality For All: In July, ACB Executive Director Eric Bridges was a participant in a Netflix community panel about accessibility in entertainment during an accessible screening of The Gray Man in New York City. In this article, Forbes describes the purpose of this inclusive event and how accessibility efforts by Netflix are bringing the disability community together.
• Save the Date: ACB’s 2022 Audio Description Awards Gala: The American Council of the Blind proudly announces the second annual Audio Description Awards Gala on November 29, 2022. The Gala will once again celebrate outstanding achievements in audio description in media and expand awareness of its benefits.
• Meet ACB's New Board Members: ACB Advocacy team interview with ACB Board of Director members who were newly elected this July: Gabriel Lopez Kafati, Rachel Schroeder, and Terry Pacheco.
• ACB Immediate Past President Kim Charlson Receives Award from The Kennedy Center: Kim Charlson was selected out of a diverse pool of nominees to receive a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Award for Excellence in Accessibility Leadership.

July 2022

• App Update from Concept2 Includes New Accessibility Features: Leading sport and fitness equipment manufacturer Concept2 has released a major new update for their popular ErgData app. The app has many new features, including audio guidance in both Apple and Android versions to increase accessibility. During development, Concept2 worked with the American Council of the Blind to help ensure the app was accessible to people who are blind or have low vision.
• Announcing the ACB Mentoring Program: The American Council of the Blind Mentoring Program will begin as a Pilot Program with 12 mentors and 12 mentees from September 2022 through June 2023.
• 2022 ACB Scholarship Recipients: Congratulations to our 2022 scholarship recipients!
• Introducing the 2022 DKM First-Timers: We are happy to present to you, the Class of 2022 DKM First-Timers who have met all requirements to be considered for and selected as recipients of this prestigious honor. Congratulations to Joe Derrick Green and Gregg Wandsneider!
• Introducing the Class of 2022 ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows: Judy Brown, Danette Dixon, Kristen Kelling, Byron Lee, Cecily Laney Nipper

June 2022

• ACB and the Department of Health and Human Services Announce That More Accessible COVID-19 At-Home Tests Are Now Available: On June 22, 2022, the federal government announced a new initiative to expand the availability of testing options that are more accessible for people who are blind or low vision and who use a smartphone.
• ACB Announces 2022 Audio Description Award Recipients: ACB proudly announces the recipients of the 2022 Achievement Awards in Audio Description, an initiative of our Audio Description Project (ADP). The Achievement Awards are given to individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions to the establishment and continued development of significant audio description programs.
• ACB's ADP Announces 2022 “BADIE” Award Recipients: Congratulations to our 2022 BADIE Award recipients! The BADIE awards (Benefits of Audio Description In Education) are an initiative of the Audio Description Project of the American Council of the Blind (ADP) and Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP).

May 2022

• New Navigation App Aims to Empower Metro Riders with Blindness, Low Vision: ACB Executive Director Eric Bridges is quoted in this article about the introduction of a new navigational app that will help people who are blind and have low vision access the Metrorail system. ACB is proud to support the launch of Waymap in the Washington Metro region. 

March 2022

• ACB Commends CBS on Expanding Description: The American Council of the Blind (ACB) congratulates the CBS Television Network for significantly increasing the amount of programming it makes available on CBS with Audio Description (AD).  In keeping with its ongoing commitment to accessibility, CBS recently added AD to seven primetime series: Bull, Ghosts, United States of Al, S.W.A.T., Good Sam, Magnum P.I, and Undercover Boss. With these additions, CBS now offers AD with nearly all of its regularly scheduled scripted primetime programs.

February 2022

• Joint Letter to Enforce Accessibility Standards: The American Council of the Blind is among 181 undersigned disability organizations who believe that there is an urgent need for digital accessibility regulations. On February 28, 2022, we sent the Department of Justice a letter urging them to promulgate enforceable online accessibility standards by the end of the current Administration. The letter, as well as a quote from ACB Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs Clark Rachfal, was featured in an article by Engadget.
• Dots and Dashes Now Includes More Accessible Content: Through ACB's collaboration with Constant Contact we were able to add accessibility improvements in our Dots and Dashes newsletter in the form of headings. We are pleased to share with you that we can now include content headings to break up content subjects in the newsletter making reading the content a more user-friendly experience.
• ACB's 2022 Legislative Imperatives: Our 2022 legislative imperatives represent several key issues in the 117th Congress that ACB believes will help us on our road to full independence and participation in our society.

January 2022

• At-Home Coronavirus Tests Are Inaccessible to Blind People: ACB Immediate Past President Kim Charlson shares why accessibility for COVID Testing needs attention now in this article by the New York Times.
• ACB’s Action Request for Accessible At-Home Rapid Testing: On January 21, 2022, ACB President Dan Spoone sent a letter to the Biden-Harris Administration to request immediate action be taken for accessible rapid testing options for our community.
• Action Request: American Council of the Blind Seeks Update on Accessible At-Home COVID Testing: On Monday, January 31, 2022, ACB President Dan Spoone sent a letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeking an update on accessible at-home COVID testing. To read President Dan Spoone’s letter visit: www.acb.org/accessible-test-letter-1-31-22.

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