Change Makers: A Podcast from APH

American Printing House has a big goal: a future that belongs to everyone. For more than 160 years APH has created products that provide access for people who are blind or low vision. To create a world that welcomes everyone, we know it's going to take a lot of change makers. Join us as we highlight the people who are making the biggest difference in our field. We'll talk to everyone from CEOs to students. Know someone we should highlight? Email communications@aph.org.

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Change Makers: A Podcast from APH

2024 Recap and a Look Ahead

December 12, 2024 • American Printing House • Episode 112

On this episode we are looking back at 2024, and talking about what’s on the horizon for 2025.

On this Podcast (In Order of Appearance)

Narrator
Sara Brown, APH Public Relations Manager
Craig Meador, APH President
Anne Lancaster, APH Vice President, Chief Officer, Innovation and Strategy
Paul Schroeder, APH Vice President, Impact & Outreach
Jo Haas, APH Vice President, Advancement & The Dot Experience

Additional Links

Narrator: 0:00

<silence> Welcome to Change Makers , a podcast from APH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.

Sara Brown: 0:15

Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's Public Relations manager, Sara Brown . And on today's episode, we're looking back at 2024 and talking about what's on the horizon for 2025. I have APH's leadership team here to talk more about what's going on right here at APH I have APH's, Dr. Craig Meador, Anne Lancaster, Paul Schroeder, and Jo H aas Here to tell us the latest on what's going on at APH. Hello everybody, and welcome to Change M akers.

Anne Lancaster: 0:47

Hi, Sara.

Jo Haas: 0:48

Hello . Hi, Sara.

Sara Brown: 0:50

Before we begin, can I get you all just to introduce yourselves and let our listeners know what it is that you do at APH?

Anne Lancaster: 0:58

Hi, Sara. I'm Lancaster and I'm the Vice President of Innovation and Strategy at APH. And we handle a lot of our customer facing departments, including product development and marketing and customer experience.

Dr. Craig Meador: 1:10

I'm Dr. Craig Meador, President of the American Printing House for the Blind.

Jo Haas: 1:14

Hi there, Sara. I'm Jo Haas , uh, VP for Advancement and The DOT experience , um, focused mostly on standing up that new , uh, um, fully inclusive attraction in 2026.

Sara Brown: 1:27

And last but not least, we've got Paul.

Paul Schroeder: 1:30

I'm Paul Schroeder, the Vice President for Impact and Outreach here at the American Printing House.

Sara Brown: 1:36

Okay, so this podcast is just looking back at the last 12 months. It's been a , it's been a wild ride. We've been through some things. Would you like to share some of the memorable moments? If you just kind of wanna go around the table, go around the Zoom room, let us know some of the memorable moments from 2024 that stand out for you.

Jo Haas: 1:53

I don't know. I'm like a kid in a candy store. I come to a construction site every day to work. It's like my dream come true. There are big, heavy machines, construction, trucks , uh, trains , uh, you name it. So , um, the fact that we are under construction is exciting from my point of view. Sara.

Sara Brown: 2:18

Yes, the, that experience is really starting to take shape now versus this time last year, you know, so we do this type of podcast at the end of every year. Just think about where we were this time last year versus now. And it's really starting, you're really starting to see some of the framework and the, the, just the , how it's gonna look and maybe the even the size. Um, Craig, what about you?

Dr. Craig Meador: 2:39

There is some, there's definitely excitement with the construction. And now that the fact that the building the frame is going up, it is quite exciting. I go out two or three times a day and check on progress and , uh, try to figure out what new piece of the building went into play today. So within six months, all that exterior work, it is going to be pretty much wrapped up. It's all gonna be come into your work at that time. So I think even then, that's going to feel even more real.

Paul Schroeder: 3:10

Sara, this is Paul. I , uh, there's gonna be, I'm sure a lot of conversation about The Monarch and I'll, I'll just make two quick points for now. In terms of highlights of the year , um, as listeners may know , um, I spend a bit of my time focused on Congress and trying to help ensure that they understand what we do and we receive such a wonderful, gratifying , uh, encouragement from the Senate , uh, appropriations Committee in August when they recommended a $10 million increase for APH. That was just ... I've not been able to see something like that in my work, and it was very exciting. The other , um, the other is the visit by Congressman McGarvey , actually to APH this year. He's the new Congressman from Louisville. And it's just been so exciting , uh, to interact with, with him and his staff. Um, when I ever send them something particularly on the Monarch, what I always get back from them is, you know, we are your biggest fans of The Monarch around here, whether it's the Washington office of the Louisville office. We've really made an impact there. We have a , a good friend and , uh, somebody who is also just a , a really good member of Congress who, who is a freshman. Uh , well, he is , been elected for his second term , uh, and I expect he'll be around for a good while.

Anne Lancaster: 4:28

Sara, this is Anne . I'll just, you know , um, have to hold some of my excited little note moments. 'cause I know we are gonna talk about the Monarch, but, you know, it just cannot be understated that , uh, there've just been many wonderful moments , uh, all the way around from how our partners have organized , uh, how the students are reacting, how the teachers are incorporating it into their lessons, and, and again, how , uh, how Washington has received the Monarch. And, you know, it's, it's , it's been quite awesome. But, you know, one thing that you know, is, is connected to the Monarch, but has much, much broader implications and is a little bit , uh, you know, complex to talk about. So we don't talk about it as much. It's not as flashy, and that's, that's the eBraille standard, you know, and moving from EBRF to a more dynamic format for digital braille and the fact that we have so many different groups around the world aligning , uh, that sounds like on one hand a no brainer, but it's very, very difficult. Everybody has their own approach to braille, and they come at this very differently. But there's, you know, 35, 40 different groups around the world that are aligned on this , uh, to be in Australia and to see, you know, our staff, well free, stand up in front of all of the, the best braille dignitaries across the planet, and, and to be received as, as, you know, a champion of, of this effort. And that's, that's been incredibly gratifying too. Like I said, not as, you know , um, maybe not as Jazzy to talk about, you know, because it's a lot of programming and, and, and brail transcribing and, and all of that kind of stuff that only a certain segment of the population can really geek out about. Uh , but just, just a heroic , uh, effort altogether. And we are nearing the end of that journey. And , uh, and it's just really exciting to see what's ahead for everybody. It's gonna be as transforming as The Monarch

Jo Haas: 6:17

And Sara, this is Joe. We've had some award-winning moments this year. I mean, Anne just reminded me of, of the fact, you know, that, that we've been named , um, uh, by Fast Company, as you know, one of the most innovative companies we've been. Um, uh, we've collaborated with GE Appliances and together , um, won a kitchen and bath award, and not an accessibility award, but an actual kitchen and bath award , um, with an accessibility product. Um, uh, and, and so , uh, you know, the, the profile of APH, I think has started to significantly , um, uh, at least begin significantly growing , um, in, in other places , uh, beyond, you know, the, the blind and low vision , um, arena in which we are incredibly well known already.

Sara Brown: 7:19

And Anne , I know you went to Australia this year. We've been doing some major traveling. I know somebody was , uh, I think with Outreach went to Switzerland, <laugh> , but Anne , can you talk about your time in Australia and what that was about?

Anne Lancaster: 7:31

Sure. I'd love to. So, first of all, we started off in New Zealand at the International Council for English Braille, like I described, where we've got all the great, the braille minds of the world. It's sort of like a braille you in there, right? And , uh, you know, they debate , uh, a lot about different things. Like, you know, what's the, I think it was the appropriate spelling of Beethoven in Braille that took a whole afternoon, which was fascinating to me. I , I'm not a transcriber, so it was very interesting. Um, but these are important questions. You know, everybody wants to make sure that kids are being educated correctly, and they're the ones who preside over that. So being there and seeing that in action was pretty fantastic. And then we did a sort of a whir whirlwind tour of , uh, Brisbane and Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. And , um, met at different offices of Vision Australia, which is , uh, the big , um, as we would say, NGO non-governmental organization. And we call them nonprofits here , uh, for blindness in Australia. And it was about the Monarch. And basically they were bringing in teachers and staff and other interested people, some blind people as well, who were their consumers, to give a first try of the Monarch. So those were full day trainings on the Monarch. And we also visited Monash University while we were there in Melbourne. They're doing , uh, research there on , uh, tactile displays and tactile graphics and how blind people navigate them. And we were pretty excited to introduce them to , to the Monarch for consideration and their research moving forward too. So, all in all, just a, a very, very interesting trip. Um , it's very, it's always fun to see when you go to a different country how their challenges are the same. Uh , but how everybody approaches going about those challenges and how they all go about breaking those barriers very, very different. 'cause it's different governments, it's different communities. It's a different arrangement, different funding sources, so they all go about it differently. And it's, it's always great to see that. And , um, as always, New Zealand and Australia was just such a wonderful and accommodating host, and so welcoming to APH. We really appreciated that.

Sara Brown: 9:29

And then for next year, 2025, what are you all looking most forward to then? I mean, we've got more construction, we've got more Monarch stuff, we've got a lot of stuff happening in dc . What are you all looking forward to for next year?

Paul Schroeder: 9:44

Well, I wanna , uh, this is Paul again. I'll, I wanna come back to DC in a , in a second, but something that we don't talk about very much at APH, but we should talk about more. Uh, we're going to be looking at the Prison Braille Programs across the country, asking them , uh, how they're doing, what they're doing, learning more about each program. There's, you know, over 40 of them operating in and more than 30 states. Um, and they do a lot of the textbook and other production, not just braille, but also large print , um, and some of the tactical graphics work. And yet, you know, there's a lot we don't know about these programs and, and what their capacity is and what needs they might have for further training. A lot of the in individuals who are , uh, doing the work when their , when their , uh, uh, term is done, if they finish and are released , uh, become apprentices become transcribers of braille working sometimes for APH and often for their own businesses. So I'm excited to learn what we learn about , uh, the work of these programs and how we can support them .

Sara Brown: 10:51

And Jo, what are you looking forward to with the new year?

Jo Haas: 10:56

Oh, goodness. Uh , you know, <laugh>, you know, when the building , uh, gets all framed in and looks like it's all finished on the outside , um, that , uh, means that the work on the inside is, is really at a feverish itch . Um, so, you know, we have , um, spent the better part of the last year or two, honing in on content and refining assumptions and , um, you know, developing standards for , um, uh, how we will be , uh, um, building a space that is able to become the world's most accessible attraction museum factory tour. Um, uh, the work of 2025 is really putting all the creative brass acks , um, uh, and, and, and , um, creative armature around , uh, all of the, the, the skeleton of that planning. Um, so, you know, continuing to work with, with solid light and prime access consulting and our prototyping team and our , um, uh, our field advisors across the country, you know, who , um, who respond and react to, to this project. Um, and then really, you know, start operationalizing it. How do we, how do we begin to put this thing, you know, into an operational , um, framework that, you know, allows us to be ready to open the doors in 2026? So , um, so there's a lot , uh, ahead

Sara Brown: 12:52

And, you know, there, there's been a lot already for anybody listening that doesn't understand how to create an accessible environment like The DOT Experience. Can you talk just briefly about some of the, the background, the , you know, with the focus groups and the touching and the tactile and the textures, lighting things we might , one might not have never thought of?

Jo Haas: 13:14

Oh, yeah. I mean, you just, you just have to, you start with the, the , the , the big idea of touch everything. Um, you, you know, marry that with the big idea of , um, not othering anybody, you know, and, and being able to, to welcome everyone. Um, you think about , um, uh, the equity and inclusivity from a , um, the broadest possible , um, uh, you know, point of view that you can, and, and you come to, you know, a multi-pronged , um, plan that thinks about , uh, way finding , um, not just, you know, the sort of visual centric way finding that many of us think about when we go to museums , uh, or, or, you know, venues, attractions , um, but really how do you create meaning making out of , um, tactility and , um, how do you create , um, predictability within , uh, a museum environment so that an individual who , um, uh, may be blind or low vision, you know, in and a cane user can , um, navigate that space , uh, um, top to bottom, side to side with some , um, real sense of confidence and, and, and independence. Um, uh, a SL uh, you know, the, the captioning visual descriptions , uh, braille, tactile graphics. Um, so it really is, it has one of the most comprehensive , uh, plans that I've ever seen , um, from the point at which you enter , uh, you know, after parking your car , um, or being dropped off by your Uber or, you know, riding your school bus , um, uh, to, you know, all the way through, through and throughout the experience.

Paul Schroeder: 15:25

You know, this is Paul. One of the things that has been interesting in being a part of this process of , of reimagining , uh, a museum, an experience of this nature is , is something that I don't know that people in that industry talk about enough, and may , maybe they do Jo you in the industry, but these places can often be exhausting. They are overwhelming, the, the sounds and sites and , uh, the nature of what's there. And I, I don't know that we appreciate that enough . And I think what building and thinking through the needs of , uh, a a number of different kinds of disabilities that are present helps us, I think, make a space that's probably better for everyone. And we often say that about disability, that if you build for accessibility, you're generally going to address something that's better for everybody who has, who who gets the opportunity to use it. And I, and I'm really excited about the fact that one of the things to think through is how we, how we keep the , something like this from being overwhelming and exhausting, or giving people that opportunity to get a little break , uh, and , and step away, or have a moment where that moment of zen, if you will. Um, to me, that's just one of the kind of cool things that probably doesn't get talked about enough in , in any kind of public , uh, cultural space.

Sara Brown: 16:46

And Paul, while, while you're talking, my next question I wanna ask you is, can you talk a few minutes about the expectations for Congress and the President in 2025?

Paul Schroeder: 16:56

Keep your eyes and ears tuned to the news. Um, you know, it's gonna be an interesting year. It always is when we have a change of Congress and, and the president. Um, and of course, in this case, we're, you know, returning to a president , uh, the first time. We've done this since , uh, uh, when APH was founded in 1879. Uh, we had shortly after that Grover Cleveland do two different terms , uh, separated by a term. So we haven't, we haven't, this is unprecedented time in many ways. Um, we know that there will be , uh, lots of ideas circulating. This is already, already in the, in the time since the election. I think people have seen a lot of different ideas floated about changes to government and the way government works, and the way Department of Education works and funding levels. And there's going to be a lot more of that. And the one thing I would say to people from having been around this for a long time is don't get sucked down the rabbit hole of chasing every idea that hits the news. Um, things tend to move slow. And, and for the most part, that's good. It frustrates the heck out of all of us at times that government is so slow. But it's also helpful because it allows , uh, time for reflection and ideas that maybe aren't as good , uh, to fall by the wayside because they simply can't generate enough support in one house or another of Congress, or get the support of the President. And so , uh, there's going to be a lot of ideas floated, some of which people will like, some which they won't like , uh, there's a pretty good chance that, that most of them don't happen. Um, I , I like to quote the stat that there, there are close to 10,000 bills introduced every term in Congress. And you know, a term is two years in Congress, and there's only maybe 500 that become law, and probably half of those are, you know, naming post offices or buildings and cities, right? So the level, the , the number of bills introduced that get fanfare, maybe when they're introduced, and the number that actually become law are dramatically different. Uh , and it's important to remember that. The other thing I would say is we are very fortunate at the American Printing House for the Blind. Uh, number one, we have a , a , an act of , of , uh, Congress that established us in 1879. And number two, we have very strong support on both sides of the political aisle . We have good Republican and good democratic support. Um, and I that is, that is helpful in every year. It's kind of like investing, right? You want to be able to have , uh, a a little bit of , uh, investing in every bucket. Well, we've got good support on both sides. Uh , and I think that will, that will mean that no matter how much , uh, struggle there is over funding, we'll will , you know, have our supporters there working to make sure that the needs of blind students are being addressed , uh, through, through APH. I'm not promising that there won't be cuts, because there could be , uh, we have had cuts. Um, it does happen sometimes the , sometimes Congress decides to simply cut across the board, and when they do that, they, they take a little bit from everybody, and they realize that everybody's gotta take a , a , a little bit of that hit. So that could happen , uh, but we also might get more funding , uh, funding increases that we didn't expect, again, because we have , uh, good support on both sides. And I think people understand what it is that we do. And yes, I know we talk a lot about the Monarch, and I'll just sort of close with this point, which is taking something as dramatic as that bit of technology to show members of Congress has been a tremendous thrill , uh, for me. I mean, I'm , I , and , and , and , and, and Greg Stillton have been in some of those meetings as well. Um, we actually got to sit with a member of Congress and , uh, show her the Monarch. And it was, it was delightful. It was exciting. It was, it was joyful , uh, her enthusiasm for the technology. And that's been true of every office we've gone to. And so that's true of so many things we do at APH. But the Monarch has been , um, such a, a wonderful passport for people to very quickly understand why the work of APH is so important and why the federal support has such value.

Sara Brown: 21:06

Most definitely. And, and speaking of The Monarch, what do you see for next year?

Anne Lancaster: 21:11

Well, you know, in thinking about your question about, you know, what's next year gonna be like, you know , we have some ideas, we have plans for sure, but, but every year is just full of surprises, right? And, and , uh, things that we didn't expect, and wonderful, surprising moments. And I always say, APH is a job where, you know, one day you can be in the factory trying to figure out why things aren't producing the way that they should in the next minute. You're sitting showing the Monarch to Stevie Wonder. You know, it's, it's such an exciting job and, and so much is happening. But, you know, for us, you know, we did put out , uh, 30 plus products this year. It's been an incredibly busy year. We expect to have that same kind of pace next year. But out of those 30, the Monarch was just one, just one of those products. And it was a major one. And , uh, we, we were able to release it in September for the school year, starting in 2024, which was our plan when we started. And that in and of itself was a huge achievement , uh, particularly because this was brand new technology that had never been done before. Uh, a delay would've been justifiable, I'm sure. Uh, but to meet our timeframe for that and to have it ready on time was just, it was a , an incredible moment for our team. And I think just everybody felt very , uh, validated that we were able to meet that, that timeline. That being said, it is not nearly over for Monarch, and already the kiddos that have it in their hands are asking for more, more and more and more. "Where's my email?" You know, how can I work with files better? Uh, "where's, where's graphics of a 1963 Mustang?" Or, you know, those kinds of things. They want incredible , um, opportunities on The Monarch, and, and we have that in the works, but I think next year is gonna be a bit of a struggle for us to keep up with those demands and those needs. It's, it's going to be very, very difficult because there's so many, and I , you know, I kind of think for myself, it's like, back to the first time I got an iPhone, and like the first week I was in love with it, and then I spent the rest of the time really mad that it didn't do the rest of the stuff that I wanted. And so, you know, handling that I think with Monarch is gonna be a challenge. But that being said, we do have email access coming. We have new apps in the works. One of them that we're particularly excited about, which should be ready for Spring, is called Wing It , which would allow you to draw with your finger on an iPad or iPhone and see that image immediately appear on the Monarch, which will help teachers very much with those kind of impromptu learning opportunities that they don't have a, when they don't have a tactile graphic ready to go . So , um, you know, whenever we show this to teachers, they just, they're incredulous and they say, oh, I just got my weekend back, you know, <laugh> . So I think it's gonna be a really great tool for them. And , uh, you know, listening, we're gonna do a lot of listening next year in terms of The Monarch, you know, this year we, we did something we've never done at APH before, and we spent half of a year before a product was released, actually teaching teachers how to use the technology and how to teach with the technology. And we trained about 175 teachers in that process all over the country to do that. So when their students started getting monarchs this fall, the teachers are ready to go. They're already sharing ideas, and they're creating things. And, and you know, as I mentioned earlier, we're seeing applications we never thought of. We've seen Monarchs being used in robotics classes. We're seeing them use to help , uh, create the blueprints for , uh, three, for 3D printing models and things like that. We've seen them use to track the progress of a hurricane and on and on and on. I mean, people are coming up with so many creative uses for the mark , and that's, that's really, really good. I think that, you know, one of the things for us that is part of our roadmap , which, you know, is goes far beyond the device itself, is that we wanna see one of these in the hands of every student. And that's why we've been going to Congress for a while now, and showing them the Monarch is because we believe the Monarch should be everyone's textbook delivery system. And they're all around learning tool , uh, for every blind student. And they are expensive. You know, we're hoping to see that cost come down some next year as we find efficiencies and, and are able to order more. But , um, but they're not as expensive as the ways we're learning now, so it is much more efficient. That's probably another reason why, why , uh, Paul says we have such great support in Congress, is because they'd see the efficiencies and the Monarch that we can develop too . But still, that's new money, new money's hard to find. And getting those in the hands of students is our biggest challenge. So, so I'm happy to say, and I just got these numbers here today, that as of today, we have more than 550 Monarchs already out and in schools and in the hands of students, which we're really thrilled. I'd love to see that at least double by this time next year when we have a conversation with you, Sarah , so you can hold me to that. Um, because we think that would be close to 20% of the, of where we need to cover to get them in the hands of all the kids. And so that would be really exciting, pretty Impressive for the first quarter. It it sure is. It sure is. Wow . We've had some great enthusiasm for sure. And, you know, the , we're, we're able to do that in different ways and innovative ways , um, you know, differently funded ways. Joe's team is helping us, you know, turn over every rock to find, you know, any one person, individual corporation, government agency, you name it, that would fund one or more monarchs to put these in the hands of kids. And, you know, we , we launched a student pilot project where some of those can be already given to kids. It's our goal to expand that as we get more funding, and that will be the system that they can go through. They're also available on quota, and we also saw schools, a lot of schools purchasing them with, you know, leftover funds that they needed to spend on large government grants , um, you know, from Covid and things like that. So, so yeah, that, that's a big thing for us. All the bells and whistles. Yeah. We need to keep adding that to Monarch. Doesn't matter though, if we don't get them in the hands of students. So that's gonna be a continuous push for us, and I think a very competitive environment for those dollars.

Paul Schroeder: 26:55

And Anne, we , um, we should, I think flip to mention really quickly if we can, that we're also gonna be able to step into the employment and transition arena place that we don't get to pay right as much as we'd like to at APH 'cause of the , the Disability Innovation Fund grant.

Anne Lancaster: 27:12

That's right . Helped us get...Right and hats off to Jo's Advancement team because they, they helped us apply for this very large federal grant. And it , it will help us measure, you know, how does having a piece of cutting edge technology like the Monarch make a student more marketable for employment and, and help them adapt to that employment environment more quickly. And we're really anxious to see that. So we'll have the opportunity for over four years to be working , um, providing Monarchs and working with those students and teaching them, you know, job preparation skills and, and , and things like that. And, and seeing how that, seeing how that might change the game. So Will,

Sara Brown: 27:50

Will college textbooks eventually be able for download on the Monarch too, right?

Anne Lancaster: 27:55

Of course. Of course. Wow . Yeah . Absolutely. This is

Sara Brown: 27:59

Gonna be phenomenal for college students,...

Anne Lancaster: 28:02

Right? And that's, that's a very deep dive, that's probably a whole other episode of Change Makers <laugh> Sara, as to how we're going to make that happen. But, you know, that's why the eBraille in developing the eBraille , uh, yes , standard in conjunction with the Monarch has really mattered because, you know, when you have a , a full display of braille that can also do pictures, you know, one line at a time just doesn't cut it anymore. You wanna be able to, you know, navigate your device much in the way that sighted people navigate a , a , a book and Kindle. You wanna be able to find definitions, you wanna lick Link , link on footnotes, and you want to be able to click on a graphic and be able to zoom in and see that better. And all of those things will now be provided to folks. I mean, the Monarch, you could open up a , a current textbook file right now, absolutely fine. Not, not a problem, but all of your graphics are gonna be in a different place. You're not gonna be able to really search, if you search a word like say amoeba, you're gonna get every single instance that there is the word amoeba in the entire thing. It's not gonna really be able to sort it for you. So , um, if, if , uh, the classroom is looking at page 57, there's no way to search for the actual page number 57 and , you know, and , and those files right now. But there will be, and that is, that is, like I said, in and of itself, a game changer. But, you know, it's, it's causing us at APH to look at the way that we have delivered textbooks for decades, decades, and decades. And to really start rethinking about that, and it doesn't even just go to textbooks, it goes to standardized tests too. And we have been , um, conversing with a lot of testing companies who are all in, they want those standardized tests to be accessible. They know that particularly because of all the pictures, they've not been as access accessible to students as they can be, that a lot of kiddos will opt out, their families will have them opt out because it's an excruciating process , uh, to interpret those questions. So we're really excited what that's gonna be doing for standardized testing as well. Alright . We need to include our kids too, so Yeah.

Sara Brown: 29:58

Yeah . Such big things for the Monarch next year and beyond. Yeah .

Anne Lancaster: 30:01

<laugh> , don't let us think about it too much, Sarah. We just gotta keep going. Keep going,

Sara Brown: 30:05

<laugh> . That's right. But we're putting it out there. We're putting it in the universe, so we put it out there now he's gotta make it happen <laugh> . That's right, that's right. And, and Craig, what about you as our president? What do you see for APH in the , for 2025?

Dr. Craig Meador: 30:18

Um, I , I will say this change... Both I mean, and a lot of it has to do with so much, like every year there's unknowns, but we, we definitely have some real unknowns. We are very hopeful for what has been proposed by, in the Senate language for funding. So if even a portion of that comes to fruition, that's gonna be fantastic. And that will allow us to do some amazing things and create brand new change that's happy change. That is really amazing. So we, I'm planning f or that. I mean, I've already sketched out thoughts. I've already done some preliminary budgeting, uh, how we're gonna move dollars around to get the biggest impact, uh, that will impact b ringing up more dollars for O Ts, rebuilding the, the, uh, per capita per student. U h, and, but I also, i t's going to require, and then there's other change. There's internal change that, um, as we grow as a company and become more agile, we, you know, and, and, uh, there'll be some organizational change internally. We will, we will move a few departments around to, uh, better utilize all the expertise that is on staff, but perhaps i t's just in a different department. And, and that's created some, uh, some challenges as far as efficiency. So by moving a few programs to a different department, we fully expect that will be a boost, uh, to our output. And we're, and hopefully some financial s avings there too. And then there's the, the, I hate to bring up the rainy day scenario, but that's also a , a reality too, is when, when you are, uh, planning for a company, you plan for those sunny days, but you also have to plan for, uh, if the bottom were to drop out, so to speak. So we have plans for that. So, you know, the imagery I c ould leave everybody with is, is we are, we have just come out of, o f navigating some very exciting waters and, and I've got both hands on that, uh, captain's wheel, whatever that official term is. And we are just waiting for the horizon to develop. We, we don't know what we're going to face. And, um, but in the meantime, we've got a chart, uh, a course charted in front front of us. We, we know how we're moving for the next month, two months, three months. And, um, a s y ou say, you know, fasten your s eat belts kids, and hopefully it'll be a pleasant ride and an exciting ride. And, and, uh, it's never at t oo Ann's point. It's never boring. Even, even the hard stuff o f the construction and whatnot, the dark days and the happy days, uh, it's never, ever boring.

Sara Brown: 33:06

And my final question, I always like to ask, is there anything else you all would like to share with our listeners out there?

Anne Lancaster: 33:14

I, you know, I think this is probably close to my same answer as it was last year, but every year I am just more and more impressed with the way that our, our field and, and the schools that we work with and the teachers we work with are getting more and more engaged in the work that we do. And I think, Jerry , you've had the same experience with The DOT Experience and how other agencies and, you know, through your prototyping group , uh, and, you know, working in partnership is not easy. I think a lot of people would prefer not to do it. It's, you know, you have to be ready to resolve conflicts and differences, and it can get messy and it takes longer. But my gosh, when you get to the end, like the , the benefit of, of everyone pulling together and getting to a goal together, and the buy-in that comes from that, and the way the product, whatever that may be , the product or the service, how it evolves to such an incredible extent that you never could have envisioned it from the get-go. And that's all because of the partners. You know, I , I can't say enough, and I just, you know, I wanna say, especially to the teachers this year , uh, so many teachers with that was a lot of products for us to send out you. They all field tested , you all field tested those for us. You, you gave us feedback. I think you filled out a gazillion surveys this year for different products you came to trainings. You, you inventing things to do with the Monarch that no one else has ever invented before. And you are sharing your moments with us, which is incredibly helpful. And I'm just, I'm full of gratitude for teachers this year and, and for the amazing lift that they, that they

Paul Schroeder: 34:44

Do . I just wanna add to that too, that, that the teachers have really stepped up and I think realized a little bit of their advocacy power. They, they are so excited to talk to their members of Congress and, and state officials and others about the Monarch and what it's capable of doing and, and , and other stuff, right? All , all , all of what APH provides. I think it's really kind of opened a door for these folks to say, oh my gosh, I've got a story to tell. And , uh, people do want to hear it. And that's been exciting. And I would also, you know, tip of the hat to , uh, how much our partnership with the National Federation of the Blind has meant , uh, where I think more than ever , uh, we have not only the leadership of NFB, but, but the membership, the , the blind individuals , um, throughout the , the country excited about the work we're doing. I, I got to spend some time with affiliate presidents from various states at the convention, and there was just so much excitement and enthusiasm for the American Printing House of the Blind, and that that wasn't always true. And, and I think it's true because, you know, Craig and Anne and others have put the time in , uh, to build a partnership, and we've listened and we've been , uh, you know, sort of humble, grateful partners , uh, and , and have shown what we're capable of doing with, with their , uh, guidance and assistance. And so , uh, that's been wonderful to see as well. And I know that will be a good advocacy , uh, assistance to us as well.

Jo Haas: 36:13

And I would just add that, you know, it's exciting to build , um, to build and expand our, our , um, uh, network of, of people who are engaged in this conversation with us mm-hmm <affirmative> . Um, and, and that, you know, we have taken , um, in, in some ways , uh, s some very , um, engaged , uh, nodes, you know, people who have been donors, partners, collaborators , um, uh, you know, affiliated with us and locally here in Louisville, but also nationally , um, uh, you know, ask those people to become , um, uh, champions and, and um , uh, influencers , uh, on our behalf. And, and they have been doing that in spades. I mean, I think locally about the Connect the Dots experience where , um, PNC, who's been a long time business partner of APH, you know, we provide services to them, they provide services to us. I mean, it's sort of a mutual mutually beneficial arrangement. And their , um, support of The DOT Experience project has allowed us to be out in the community and starting really important conversations with kids and families about equity and inclusion. You know, what is blindness? You know, how, how do people who are blind and low vision navigate the world and really getting some , um, uh, important conversations started locally. And then, you know, we have trustees who are hosting parties in, in places, you know , um, uh, across the country. Matt, who just, you know, brought a group group together in , in Austin, and we have people in Austin, Texas talking about, you know, how excited they are about APH and the work that's going on and the innovation and, and excited to visit us , um, when The DOT Experience opens. So, you know, we are building bridges and networks , um, like never before, I think.

Sara Brown: 38:28

Okay. Well everybody, thank you all so much for taking time out of your day to talk to me on Change Makers .

Dr. Craig Meador: 38:35

You're welcome.

Paul Schroeder: 38:36

Thanks so much.

Anne Lancaster: 38:36

Thank you.

Jo Haas: 38:36

Thank you .

Sara Brown: 38:37

This is the last podcast for 2024, so please check back in January, 2025 for the next episode. Also, do you have a podcast topic suggestion? Send me an email changemakers@aph.org. Happy holidays, and as always, be sure to look for ways you can be a changemaker this week.