Press Release
December 2016
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jennifer Dunnam, Chair
Braille Authority of North America
612-767-5658
chair@brailleauthority.org
The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) held its 2016 fall meeting November 3–5 in Atlanta, Georgia. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), a BANA member organization, hosted the meeting, which took place at the Center for the Visually Impaired.
During its three-day meeting, the BANA Board reviewed semiannual reports from its eighteen committees and acted on committee recommendations. The Board also engaged in thought-provoking analyses designed to feed into an updated strategic plan. In addition, the Board reviewed and considered the results of the survey completed by delegates to the 2016 UEB Transition Forum. The delegates' feedback is helping inform the development of BANA’s updated strategic imperatives and decision-making processes.
The Board established the 2017 budget and elected officers for 2017. The officers are Chair: Jennifer Dunnam (National Federation of the Blind); Vice-chair: Sandra Ruconich (American Council of the Blind); Secretary: Dawn Gross (Alternate Text Production Center); Treasurer: Jackie Sheridan (National Braille Press).
The Board recognized that 2016 marks BANA's 40th anniversary of promoting literacy for tactile readers in the U.S. and Canada. Remarkably, five individuals who have served as BANA Chair were in attendance: Darleen Bogart, Kim Charlson, Frances Mary D’Andrea, Judy Dixon, and Jennifer Dunnam. Together, these Past Chairs represent nearly two decades of BANA leadership.
BANA's spring meeting will occur at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel on March 12–14, 2017, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the California Transcribers and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI), also a BANA member organization.
The mission of the Braille Authority of North America is to assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of braille and/or tactile graphics.
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