Best BEST Blind Early Services TN Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 39: Chasity McMillan, "We help people across the lifespan participate in meaningful activities." 36:15

2M ago36:15

36:15

Flip For Function offers therapeutic gymnastics and occupational therapy. Their mission is to unlock potential by strengthening minds, bodies and confidence of children impacted by physical, cognitive and mental challenges, through exercise & fitness so they may experience a sense of belonging and achievement and push past limits in all areas of th…

1
Episode 38: Delta Gamma, "Our founder in the 1930's asked that we make our official foundation philanthropic mission helping those who are blind or visually impaired." 35:28

3M ago35:28

35:28

Elizabeth Saum is a Nashville native. She went to the University of Tennessee and is now a financial analyst for a healthcare company. She is also in charge of Foundation for the Delta Gamma Nashville Alumni group. Service for Sight is very important to her as she has a vision impairment herself. She says she has received so much support from her s…

1
Episode 37: Judy Byrd, "Camp Abilities focuses on more than sports...they develop independence, orientation and mobility and so much more." 32:02

6M ago32:02

32:02

In 2007, Judy Byrd got involved in the blind community by volunteering at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, she agreed to help start a beep baseball team. For the next seven years, she was the manager of the Atlanta Eclipse Beep Baseball Team. While practicing with the new team, she noticed that all the beep basebal…

1
Episode 36: Danna Conn and Suzanne Dinwiddie, "Look at your child as an individual." 53:34

7M ago53:34

53:34

In this episode we talk with two of Tennessee's most respected professionals in the field of deafblindness. We discuss state deafblind projects, the impacts of dual sensory loss and the new CVI Clinic at Vanderbilt Eye Institute. You won't want to miss it! Suzanne Dinwiddie, M.Ed., COMS, CTVI, CEIM is a certified teacher of students who are blind/v…

1
Episode 35: Yvonne Neubert, "Blindness is a spectrum." 48:14

9M ago48:14

48:14

Yvonne Neubert is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and has been a member of the National Federation of the Blind since 2012. In 2014, she completed the Partners in Policymaking state training. A trip to Washington, DC to take part in an NFB seminar sparked her involvement in legislative affairs. It was activism that prompted her to not…

1
Episode 34: Liza and Campbell Rutherford, "There was one principal who said, I don't know if we should even bother with testing or pursuing a high school diploma for your daughter." 1:21:42

11M ago1:21:42

1:21:42

Campbell Rutherford is a rising junior studying Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. Blind since birth, she is passionate about ensuring that blind individuals can access the resources necessary for them to succeed in school, the workplace, and life in general, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (ST…

1
Episode 33: Leslie Jones, "We'll teach you what you need to know about vision loss, and the students will teach you what you need to know to serve them best." 49:27

12M ago49:27

49:27

Leslie Jones is the Executive Director of the FMDG (Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg) Music School in New York City, a music school serving students of all ages with vision loss. Leslie holds a DMA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and an MM from the University of North Texas. She has served on the faculties of Ithaca …

1
Episode 32: Christie Elliott, "The people I know who are employed and have visual impairment, they are really good at using assistive technology." 43:28

1y ago43:28

43:28

Christie Elliott, COMS, CATIS Christie Elliott graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2015 with a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation of the Blind and began working as an Orientation and Mobility Specialist at the STAR Center, serving blind and visually impaired individuals from birth to end of life. She earned a Graduate Certific…

1
Episode 31: Christina Clift, "Independent living philosophy does not mean that you have to do everything by yourself without support. It's the exact opposite." 29:42

1+ y ago29:42

29:42

Our podcast guest this month, Christina Clift, graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and attended the University of Memphis for graduate school. Christina has worked at the Memphis Center for Independent Living as the Consumer Advocate since 2003. She has served as chair of the State Rehabilitation Co…

1
Episode 30: Caroline Aly, "We're not meant to do things alone." 42:44

1+ y ago42:44

42:44

Caroline Aly is a Nashville-based educator with a background in non-profit leadership, private tutoring, and teaching in the exceptional education space. Caroline says that after continually observing inequity, profound limitations, and a lack of support for parents and/or caregivers of exceptional learners within the education community at large, …

1
Episode 29: Mae and Katie Lane-Karnas, "Using my vision is always going to be exhausting and tiring, and I'm going to have much less retention than if I learn things auditorily or tactually." 50:37

1+ y ago50:37

50:37

Mae Lane-Karnas is a 14-year-old diagnosed with CVI who loves braille, math, and art. Due to CVI, Mae has a host of visual challenges that cause her to function at the level of legal blindness, even though her visual acuities are typical. In the past year, Mae has co-presented to the Principals of Schools for the Blind and the Association for Educa…

1
Episode 28: Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken, "There are so many kids and adults who are more capable than society believes in them" 1:10:31

1+ y ago1:10:31

1:10:31

Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken is the President and CEO of a nonprofit organization called Safe Toddles. She is a recently retired Professor of Special Education at Hunter College in New York where she taught Orientation and Mobility Specialists for over 25 years. And finally, she is the creator of a pediatric belt cane made to provide children who are bl…

1
Episode 27: Stacey Chambers, "the right to be equal and the right to be different...that is what the ECC is all about." 36:45

1+ y ago36:45

36:45

Stacey Chambers is a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) living in Texas. She is also the founder of The E.C.C. and me, an LLC and website that offers a monthly newsletter, trainings, optional membership program, and free resources all pertaining to the Expanded Core Curriculum, the additional curriculum of nine areas that are taught …

1
Episode 26: Kristin Smedley, "As a mom, that's the success that I dream about...for our children to be so comfortable in their own skin and to not be sitting around and watching life pass them by." 49:01

2y ago49:01

49:01

Kristin Smedley is the best selling author of Thriving Blind: Stories of Real People Succeeding Without Sight and Brilliantly Resilient: Reset, Rise and Reveal Your Brilliance. A recognized expert in the blindness and rare disease communities, Kristin won the highly regarded Champion of Hope Award and was named an Ambassador for the National Organi…

1
Episode 25: Rachel Bennett, "My child is a gift to this world and I'm going to fight like heck to make sure the world sees him as worthy, and enough and that he lives a life of purpose and joy." 56:17

2y ago56:17

56:17

Rachel Bennett is an Assistant Director at the CVI Center at Perkins, where she leads CVINow.org and parent advocacy and support. As parent to Henry, who has CVI and other disabilities, she knows the duality that comes with being a disability parent—feeling overwhelming love and, at the same time, grief and pain. In 2020, Rachel completed UMass Bos…

1
Episode 24: Dr. Cathy Smyth, "Love your baby. Your baby needs to be touched, held, talked to. Just because your baby can't see you does not mean they don't know you're there." 53:05

2y ago53:05

53:05

Dr. Catherine Smyth has more than 30 years of experience in the field of early intervention and preschool education for children with vision impairments. She is now the Director of Research at Anchor Center For Blind Children, a private, non-profit agency serving young children with visual impairments in Colorado. Anchor provides exceptional, high-…

1
Episode 23: Dr. Kirk Adams and Daniel Lubiner, "If you're a kid and you can't read print at the same speed as your sighted peers, you need to learn braille." 1:06:00

2y ago1:06:00

1:06:00

Dr. Kirk Adams is the Managing Director of Innovative Impact, LLC, a consulting company aimed at accelerating inclusion of people with disabilities into the workforce. Dr. Adams is also the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and a longtime champion of people who are blind or visually impaired…

1
Episode 22: Victoria Watts, "The Touch Tags allow you the freedom to add them to your favorite product at home and make it instantly identifiable." 26:19

2+ y ago26:19

26:19

Victoria Watts is a disability rights activist, entrepreneur and mother. When her youngest son, Cyrus, was born visually impaired, Victoria had just launched her own product line, VictoriaLand Beauty. After realizing that those with blindness or vision impairments have no way of easily identifying consumer product packaging, she launched the CyR.U.…

1
Episode 21: Southeastern Guide Dogs, "As a child grows and learns with their kids companion dog, they are that much more prepared when they are old enough to receive a guide dog." 51:38

2+ y ago51:38

51:38

In this month's episode of the BEST Together Podcast, we sat down with Kelsey Fernandez, Regional Manager, Puppy Raising Services and Katie Perez, Manager, Children and Teen Programs from Southeastern Guide Dogs. In our conversation we discuss the process of training a guide dog, fostering a guide dog puppy, dog programs for children as young as 5 …

1
Episode 20: Sam Seavy, "Nobody knows how to be blind or visually impaired. Nobody knows how to raise a child who is visually impaired. You have to be taught. Steel sharpens steel." 40:11

2+ y ago40:11

40:11

Sam Seavy is the host of a popular You Tube Channel called the Blind Life that highlights and reviews accessible products, new technologies and apps made for the blind community. Sam is himself legally blind due to a vision impairment diagnosis called Stargardt disease which causes one to progressively lose their central vision. Since he started hi…

1
Episode 19: Jaimee Kadish, "The teachers who were labeling me instead of being curious were failing me. The last thing I want to tell a student is you won't do x, y or z." 52:15

2+ y ago52:15

52:15

Jaimee Kadish is a Southern California native from Santa Monica where she spent her youth playing a variety of team sports. She began her journey in movement training by attending Los Angeles County High School for the Arts where she studied classical modern dance, ballet, jazz and improvisational techniques. She pursued higher education in dance p…

1
Episode 18: Griffin Pinkow, "When you need help, ask for it - don't shy away from what you're going through." 56:31

2+ y ago56:31

56:31

Griffin Pinkow is the founder of the Foreseeable Future Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to help individuals who are blind or visually impaired through sports and recreation. Griffin has run four marathons, created his own non profit organization to help the visually impaired community, and is now attempting to make the Paralympic Team in T…

1
Episode 17: James Boehm, “Validate what you are feeling…you are not alone.” 58:12

2+ y ago58:12

58:12

James Boehm is a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and the Accessibility Coordinator at The Refuge Center in Franklin, TN. James is a passionate leader and an advocate who values empowering others to their fullest potential. His specialties within counseling include, but are not limited to, adjustment to disability, depression, anxiety, chronic pain…

1
Episode 16: Julia Bowman (Coast-to-Coast Series), "Parents aren't always ready to jump in at the beginning...you have to meet them where they are." 51:38

3y ago51:38

51:38

Julia Bowman is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and works on the Birth to 3 team at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. Prior to her career as a TVI and in early intervention, Julia was a chemist. When her child was born with severe visual impairments and multiple disabilities, her experience with the Perkins School for the Blin…

1
Episode 15: (Coast to Coast Series) Ashley Emmons, "As soon as you find out a child has a visual impairment, orientation and mobility can be implemented." 55:25

3y ago55:25

55:25

Ashley Emmons has worked at Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) in Louisville, KY since August 2008. VIPS is a non-profit organization that provides education to young children (birth to age 5) with visual impairments in both Kentucky and Indiana. She holds many teaching certifications including Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (…

1
Episode 14: (Coast to Coast Series) Kathy Mullen, "The average 2-year-old is awake 85 hours a week...if you give the parent strategies, there are so many opportunities to reinforce development." 58:18

3y ago58:18

58:18

Kathy Mullen is Director of Education at Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) in Louisville, KY. Kathy oversees the agency's education programs, including the full-time VIPS and Kids Town Preschools, toddler and infant classes, Summer Enrichment and statewide outreach services. VIPS serves as the model and inspiration for many of BEST's prog…

1
Episode 13 (Coast to Coast Series): Terese Pawletko, "The caution needs to be in neither over nor under diagnosing children with vision impairments with autism spectrum disorders..." 1:09:22

3y ago1:09:22

1:09:22

Dr. Terese Pawletko has worked with children since 1976, first as a teacher of the visually impaired, then as school and pediatric psychologist. Since 2001, Dr. Pawletko has been in private practice, evaluating children with autism spectrum disorders, visual impairments and other learning and developmental challenges. While at the Maryland School f…

1
Episode 12 (Coast to Coast Series): Paula Landry, "Let your child write their own story without your preconceived ideas of what the next chapter will look like..." 59:16

3y ago59:16

59:16

Paula Landry, EI-TVI, Orientation and Mobility Specialist and certified VIISA and INSITE trainer, co-founded A Shared Vision in Colorado. Today, the nonprofit is the leading provider of Early Intervention vision services in the state. Wearing many leadership hats, Paula provides operational support and mentoring for A Shared Vision's teachers. She …

1
Episode 11 (Coast to Coast Series): Sarah Barnes, "Those precious years from 0-5 are such an opportunity to lay the foundation." 35:26

3y ago35:26

35:26

Sarah Barnes is the Senior Director of Youth and Employment Services at Lighthouse Louisiana in New Orleans. Sarah oversees the services and programming provided by the Youth Services Team which include those provided to children and students with visual impairments of all ages as well as transition services for students with disabilities who are i…

1
Episode 10 (Coast to Coast Series): Kate Borg, "Birth to 3 services are about coaching families...that is not just important, it is critical." 27:58

3+ y ago27:58

27:58

Kate Borg is the Director of Outreach at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI). She previously worked for the Utah School for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB). Kate has been an administrator, instructional coach, classroom teacher, and itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI). This is our first in a series of episodes fe…

1
Episode 9: Siblings, Ken Quinn and Alicia Holt: "I didn't treat her any differently because she could see, and she didn't treat me any differently because I couldn't" 37:50

3+ y ago37:50

37:50

Ken Quinn is a husband, father of three, advocate, student and accessibility and tactile graphics consultant. He also happens to be blind. Ken's younger sister, Alicia Holt, is a wife, mother of two and Team Lead and Nonprofit Coordinator. She has typical vision. For this month's podcast we invited Ken and Alicia to talk with us and explore sibling…

1
Episode 8: Kim Owens, "Find ways to open doors, instead of close them" 1:01:48

3+ y ago1:01:48

1:01:48

Kim Owens is a mother, blogger, entrepreneur and recent empty-nester who has a website called Navigating Blindness where she has chronicled her journey in raising a son who has a genetic condition causing progressive vision loss. Kim's son, Kai, is now 19 years old, in college and was diagnosed with a vision impairment at the age of 9. Kim joins us…

1
Episode 7: Brooke Pernice “Festina Lente” 54:57

3+ y ago54:57

54:57

Brooke Pernice is a teacher, singer-songwriter, works in ministry and happens to have been born blind due to Leber Congenital Amaurosis. She joined us in a webinar setting earlier this year to provide her lived experience and advice for both parents and providers. We loved our conversation so much that we decided to share it on our podcast. Listen …

1
Episode 6: Annie Hughes "The best teacher your child will ever have is you. The best school your child will ever attend is your home." 51:33

3+ y ago51:33

51:33

Annie Hughes has been a Teacher of the Visually Impaired for over 40 years. She joined us in a webinar setting earlier this year to provide her lived experience and advice for both parents and providers. We loved our conversation so much that we decided to share it on our podcast. Listen as she shares her experiences and best tips for caring for a …

1
Episode 5: Abby Sweet "We are all miracles" 28:49

4y ago28:49

28:49

Born a micro premie at just 23 weeks, Abby Sweet is now a thriving and joyous 14-year-old student at the Tennessee School for the Blind - her true appreciation for life and the future ahead are infectious. In this interview, Abby offers up advice and wisdom well beyond her years, and reminds us that we truly are BEST together and that we are all mi…

1
Episode 4: Kate Kelly "Using music to achieve nonmusical goals" 33:51

4y ago33:51

33:51

Kate is a board-certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), singer-songwriter, and registered yoga instructor in Nashville, TN. Kate attended Belmont University, was a founding member of its Music Therapy program, and was among the first graduating class of Music Therapy students in 2016. Alongside her passion for Music Therapy, Kate received 4 years of tra…

1
Episode 3: JP Williams "Name it, claim it, change it" 56:16

4y ago56:16

56:16

JP Williams is songwriter, singer, and public speaker. Blind since the age of 10, JP brings a unique perspective to his work as a life coach and musician. He has performed on the stage of the Grande Ole Opry, written a no. 1 hit single and has his own publishing company. Recently he has turned his focus to his work as a life coach. Listen as JP dis…

1
Episode 2: Heather Field "When you begin to expect that the child can do it, then they begin to expect they can do it as well." 1:02:46

4y ago1:02:46

1:02:46

Heather Field is a Special Education Teacher, Parent Coach/Advocate and owns a tutoring center in Franklin, TN. She grew up on a farm in Australia as one of 8 children and has been blind since the age of 2. In this episode, Heather shares her lived experience and tips for both parents and teachers working with young children who are blind or visual…

1
Episode 1: Welcome to the BEST Together Podcast! 17:19

4y ago17:19

17:19

In this inaugural episode of the BEST Together Podcast, Alison and Stacy tell their own stories, share how they met and what united them to become two moms on a mission! They talk about why they created their nonprofit, Blind Early Services TN (BEST), and what they hope this podcast to be for other families and providers working to give young child…

1
A Quick Hello From the BEST Together Podcast! 1:19

4y ago1:19

1:19

Meet Alison Clougherty and Stacy Cornwall, the co-hosts of the BEST Together Podcast! As parents of young boys who are blind, Alison and Stacy experienced first hand the importance of specialized services and support in the early years of raising a child with a vision disability. The goal of this podcast is to bring inspiring stories, informational…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

BEST Blind Early Services TN Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen