Advisory Board Members
Alana Ambrosecchia
Student
Alana Ambrosecchia is a student at Molloy University, currently majoring in Computer Information Systems. She worked at Rizzo Labs, developing a website to facilitate accessible features for visually impaired clients. She also tested and evaluated applications. Alana worked at ReSOURCE: A Nonprofit Community Enterprise Inc. as a Designer of LEAP Games, which provide skill-building exercises for visually impaired youth. Alana partnered with a team to develop program rules and she proposed ideas to create and develop games. Alana is also one of the adult soprano section leaders for the Sing for Serenity Choir, an international online choir for those who are blind or visually impaired.
Lisa Carling
Director of Accessibility Programs at TDF
Lisa Carling, Director of Accessibility Programs at TDF, helps design and implement services that make theatre performances more accessible to people with disabilities on Broadway, Off Broadway and nationwide. She runs a department that provides autism friendly, open captioned, audio described and sign language interpreted performances, as well as seating for theatergoers with mobility disabilities. She directs a grants program in partnership with New York State Council on the Arts that provides funding to eligible performing arts organizations for captioning events that are open to the public. Lisa oversees the TDF Veterans Theatergoing Program, which ensures that vets who need accessibility accommodations receive them. As a speaker, she shares her experience in the arts accessibility field on theater industry panels. Lisa is a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Award for Excellence in Accessibility Leadership 2022 and holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama.
Elaine Gerber
Medical Anthropologist and Disability Studies Scholar
Elaine Gerber, Ph.D., is a medical anthropologist and disability studies scholar at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and former Senior Research Associate at the American Foundation for the Blind. Her work examines the intersection between culture and the body, understanding disability as a social construction and a key lens through which to examine culture. There are both theoretical contributions and practical applications to Dr. Gerber’s work. Some of her more recent projects focus on disability culture and blind theater, the intersection of food and disability, and of course, audio description. Dr. Gerber also serves as Vice President of the MSU Disability Caucus and is the advisor for the studentled DREAM (Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring) group on campus.
Brooke Kruemmling
Assoc. Professor & Assoc. Provost at Salus University
Brooke Kruemmling, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Associate Provost at Salus University, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Brooke has a master’s degree in teaching students with visual impairments and a certification in orientation and mobility from North Carolina Central University, and a PhD in teaching and learning – multilingual multicultural studies from New York University. In her role in the Office of the Provost, Brooke leads accreditation, assessment and faculty affairs. Brooke teaches courses about research methods and English Language Learners who are blind or have low vision. She also provides orientation and mobility instruction as part of an interdisciplinary low vision team at Salus/Pennsylvania College of Optometry’s low vision clinic. When not walking the streets providing mobility instruction, Brooke loves getting out in the woods with her dogs, reading, and playing raucous card games with friends.
Susan LaVenture
President of North American and Caribbean Region of ICEVI
Susan LaVenture is President of North American and Caribbean Region of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI). Ms. LaVenture’s son Alex was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of infant eye cancer. This began her journey as an advocate for parents and their children who are blind, visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities. Ms. LaVenture is a fierce defender of specialized Vision Educational Services under The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) special education law in USA. She has further developed programs to support families internationally. Ms. LaVenture has written and edited broadly in her specialty; some accomplishments include author of A Parents’ Guide to Special Education for Children with Visual Impairments, AFB Press, Managing Editor of Childhood Glaucoma; A Reference Guide for Families, Glaucoma Research Foundation, Editor of AWARENESS magazine and Co-Founder/Developer of www.familyconnect.org a website for parents of children with visual impairments.
Iliana Mejia
Student
Iliana Mejia is a legally blind 19-year-old college student at Marymount Manhattan College, pursuing a political science bachelor’s degree in human rights with a minor in social work. Born with a visual impairment known as Leber congenital amaurosis, Ms. Mejia has been a long-time user of audio description and works on finding ways to Improve description best practices to enhance the resource. Ms. Mejia is a writer and musician. She currently serves on the Leadership Team of the Marymount Intercultural Center.
Ana Maria Peña
Member, NAPVI
Ana Maria Peña is an active member of the National Association of People with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) and is part of a New York NAPVI initiative to provide support, referrals, and services for parents of Spanish-speaking children who are blind/visually impaired. Ms. Peña, a native Spanish-speaker, was born in Santo Domingo. While living in the Dominican Republic she studied accounting at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. She emigrated to New York in 1996 where she worked in banking. For the past 13 years, Ms. Peña’s attention was focused on her children’s special needs. Her son was diagnosed with ADHD and her daughter is legally blind. Ms. Peña’s life experience has contributed to her passion: serving children with special needs and being an advocate in the disability space.
Thomas Reid
Audio Producer, Narrator, Consultant, and Advocate
Thomas Reid, an audio producer, audio description narrator, consultant, and disability advocate, has combined audio production with advocacy since 2006. In 2014 he launched his influential podcast, Reid My Mind Radio, which features compelling people impacted by all degrees of blindness, and disability in general. Through his “Flipping the Script on Audio Description” series, Mr. Reid explores the art of description by going beyond surface level topics and examining audio description’s implications on the community. As an Audio Description Narrator, Mr. Reid has appeared on projects for Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, PBS, and more. He provides consultations for independent film makers, film festivals, co-facilitates workshops, and serves as moderator or panelist for discussions on audio description and content accessibility.
LeeAnne Seaver
Chair of the Global Coalition of Parents of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children
Leeanne Seaver, is Chair of the Global Coalition of Parents of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children, an executive board member for FCEI International, and co-founder/former Executive Director of Hands & Voices, where she continues to maintain speaking engagements, work on special projects for H&V, and sit on its Board of Directors. Leeanne’s oldest son Dane’s deafness propelled her into roles of advocacy and leadership nationally and internationally. Ms. Seaver is also a founder of the Global Coalition of Parents of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children (GPODHH), and FCEI, the international conference on familycentered early intervention. She is the co-winner of the 2009 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for contributions to the field of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) in the US. Ms. Seaver worked in broadcasting for 25+ years in Virginia and Colorado before shifting to writing professionally fulltime in 2012. Her book commissions have ranged from biography to business. See: www.seavercreative.com