VISION SYMPOSIUM 2009

On October 1st, 2009 NJFFB hosted a Vision Symposium which kicked off Blindess Awareness Month in New Jersey. The event featured presentations by three industry experts.

What our guests told us...

"Congratulations on a wonderful event - the Vision Symposium was a huge success"

"The speakers were great, the networking good"

"I thought the entire afternoon moved along wonderfully"

"The lunch was terrific and the presenters did a wonderful job!"

"Dr. Zarbin definitely stirred excitement among some of the attendees with his presentation."

Photos:

Over eighty people attended the Vision Symposium on October 1st	Speaking at the Vision symposium were (left to Right) Vito DeSantis, Dr. Marco Zarbin, Symposium Moderator Linda Schmidt, and David Feinhals
Iris Torres, NJFFB Executive Director and Alan Graham, Chairman of the NJFFB Board of Trustees thank Linda Schmidt (center) for emceeing the kick off event of Blindness Awareness Month in NJ	NJFFB thanks Novartis for volunteering at the Vision Symposium for their Community Partnership Day.

Featured presentations/speaker bios:

"What You Need to Know about Vocational Rehabilitation and Retaining Talented Employees"
Presented by Mr. Vito DeSantis, Executive Director of the NJ Commission for the Blind and Vision Impaired.

Vito DeSantis was named Executive Director of the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired in 2002. The CBVI is an agency with three regional offices throughout the state, together with a rehabilitation training center and an education instructional center that provide a host of services to assist visually impaired individuals achieve their independence. Mr. DeSantis has been on the staff of CBVI for twenty-five years. He was instrumental in the reorganization and expansion of CBVI services and programs to meet the needs of consumers and the onset of the technology age.

“Training Options for Adults who are Visually Impaired and for Those Who Work With Them.”
Presented by Mr. David Feinhals, CVRT, Program Director, NJ Foundation for the Blind.

Mr. Feinhals is a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (CVRT) and was named Program Director for the NJ Foundation for the Blind in 2007. His focus is on developing and delivering vision rehabilitation instruction in orientation and mobility, home management, and assistive technologies. Mr. Feinhals is responsible for building the technology program at NJFFB’s SMART Center (Student Media And Resource Technology Center) where demonstration models of dozens of various assistive technologies, mainstream electronic devices and adaptive software are available for student use.

“The Treatment of Blindness in our Society: The Present and Future Direction.”
Presented by Dr. Marco Zarbin, Professor and Chair, Institute of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, UMDNJ Medical School.

Dr. Zarbin is Professor and Chair at the Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and Professor of Neurosciences at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. He also is Chief, Department of Ophthalmology at University Hospital, Newark, NJ. He specializes in medical and surgical diseases of the retina, vitreous and macula, with research interests in retinal cell transplantation and growth factors. Dr. Zarbin has won numerous awards and has been voted among the “Best Doctors in New York Metropolitan Area”

Our Moderator: Linda Schmidt, Emmy-winning Fox 5 News Reporter.

Ms. Schmidt has covered the country's biggest stories, including the World Trade Center attacks, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the Susan Smith case, the deaths of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and John F. Kennedy Jr., and the 9/11 Commission hearings. She is active in the community serving as emcee for various fundraising events and non-profit organizations and charities, especially causes involving children with autism, homelessness and people who suffer from spinal cord injuries.

For Sponsorship information, contact Kathy Caviston at 973-627-0055, Ext. 323, or email sponsorships@njffb.org

Thank you to our Sponsors (click or enter on a logo to view their website):

Additional Sponsors:

• NJ Shares
• Graham and Associates
• The Murphy Law Firm LLC
• Novartis Community Partnership Day

NJFFB is the only comprehensive, non residential, Vision Rehabilitation Program in New Jersey serving adults with vision loss. A Vision Store offers expert guidance for both in store and catalog ordering of adaptive aids and assistive technologies.

Etiquette and Sensitivity Training for Direct Service Providers, and Advanced Training for Human Resource Executives and Professional Groups and Therapists are available by appointment. For more details, please see our Training Opportunities page.