MY BLIND SPOT - Key Persons
Albert J. Rizzi received his B.A. from Manhattanville College and has dual M.S. degrees from St. John's University in education-one in early childhood and the other in administration and supervision. He was a New York City Teaching Fellow and began his career in education as a kindergarten teacher. He became the Executive Director of MARC After-School and Pre-K Program located in the South Bronx, providing direct services to 250 students and their families. In 2006, Albert unexpectedly and completely lost his sight. He became an activist and advocate for the blind and visually impaired, providing education, building awareness, and working to achieve the development and dissemination of assistive technologies.
Albert Rizzi was Executive Director of a thriving preschool and afterschool program in the South Bronx. He had made a successful career change from marketing to early childhood education. Now his sights were set on starting a charter school where he would continue working on behalf of the underserved, under-resourced children and families to whom he had dedicated his life.
An unexpected development stopped this plan in its tracks. Albert was hospitalized, suffering from a dangerous strain of fungal meningitis that attacked his optic nerve. In January 2006, he woke up completely blind.
Faced with this new way of seeing, Albert drew on the qualities he had brought to his work in education-persistence, optimism, energy, drive, and an irrepressible urge to reach out and bring others into a world of hope and opportunity. Coming back from death's door, he made remarkable progress at breakneck speed.
Nevertheless, being blind and learning to operate in the sighted world often was challenging, frustrating, and disturbing. Particularly distressing was the discomfort that other people seemed to feel in his presence. He became increasingly committed to dispelling fears and misconceptions about blindness and building awareness that loss of sight brings the opportunity to experience the world in new and different ways and to call upon the best in oneself and others.
Albert also became acutely aware of the limitations imposed upon him and his peers from the disability community due to the failure of governments and organizations to use current and cutting-edge technologies, ignoring legislation designed to ensure that computer-based communication and information systems are accessible to people who are blind or print disabled. Despite the existence of ever-advancing technologies, Albert daily and repeatedly encountered, and continues to encounter, websites, mobile apps, software programs and digital media that continue to be "disabled" to people who cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive, or learning disability.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Research Advisor
Brian is the chair and an associate professor in the Accounting and Management Information Systems Department at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, and he is frequently involved with applied research that focuses on the implications that Web accessibility and usability can have on business, education, employment, public policy, and societal inclusion. For more than 13 years, he has been involved in a variety of projects related to Web accessibility and usability for people with disabilities. Dr. Wentz has published over 25 refereed articles in journals, books, and conference proceedings, and lends his support to the mission and vison of My Blind Spot.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Business Manager in the Veterinary Industry and Fundraising Consultant
Job Titles:
- Director of Client Success and Strategy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- CEO and Co - Founder, Blue World, Inc, a Privately Held Data Collection and Marketing Company
Job Titles:
- Educational Projects Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- CFO and Co - Founder, Blue World, Inc, a Privately Held Data Collection and Marketing Company