Heard & Empowered

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Heard & Empowered

Welcome to the Heard & Empowered podcast by National Industries for the Blind.

We champion the brilliance and resilience of people who are blind or low vision in every episode highlighting real-world success stories and work opportunities.

11/06/2025

After 15 years as a Navy helicopter pilot, Matt Koch lost most of his vision – and with it, the career he loved. But that wasn’t the end of his story.

Instead, Matt found a new calling – leading Virginia Industries for the Blind, a self-sustaining state agency creating employment and independence for people who are blind.

Hear how he turned personal loss into a mission to empower others on this week’s episode.

Listen now: https://hubs.ly/Q03S21QZ0

Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI)

10/17/2025

New Episode Alert: Mission Driven

In this special episode, National Industries for the Blind President and CEO Soraya Correa sits down with Dennis Steiner, president and CEO of Vision Corps, to reflect on 42 years of leadership, advocacy, and service to people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired.

Dennis shares:
🔷 What inspired his lifelong commitment to creating employment opportunities
🔷 Insights from his national and international leadership roles
🔷 Why raising expectations - not lowering them - matters most

As he prepares to retire, Dennis offers powerful reflections on mentorship, change, and the future of employment for people who are blind.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://hubs.la/Q03P8nmW0

10/03/2025

“I have no limitations. My only limitations are the limitations that I place on myself.”

When sudden vision loss changed everything, Charles Ansley refused to let it stop him. He rediscovered his passion for IT, mastered adaptive tech like JAWS and NVDA, and completed the NSITE Cisco Certified Network Associate program. Now, he is preparing for a career in network engineering and cybersecurity.

Along the way, he’s taken on new challenges—from joining Cisco webinars on automation and AI, to serving on the Cisco Student Advisory Board and advocating for accessibility in tech education.

🎧 Hear how Charles turned barriers into opportunities on the latest episode of Heard & Empowered.

👉 Listen now: http://heardandempowered.orghttps://heardandempowered.org/breaking-barriers-no-limits-only-possibilities-with-charles-ansley/

09/19/2025

🎙️ New Mission Driven Episode: Celebrating 50 Years of Service, Leadership, and Storytelling

What does it look like to dedicate your entire career to one mission?

In this episode of Mission Driven, a special series of the Heard & Empowered podcast, NIB President and CEO Soraya Correa sits down with Mary Jane Surrago, assistant secretary emeritus of the NIB Board of Directors, who recently retired after 50 years of service.

From authoring "Empowering People: The Story of National Industries for the Blind" to leading milestone initiatives and earning NIB’s highest honor — the R.B. Irwin Award — Mary Jane reflects on five decades of shaping NIB’s communications, governance, and history while championing employment for people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired.

“What made me stay for 50 years? It was mission.” — Mary Jane Surrago

🎧 Listen now: https://hubs.la/Q03K6mjr0

09/05/2025

New Episode: From San Francisco to Capitol Hill

In the latest episode of Heard & Empowered, join us for a conversation with Alexis Flores—chemical production line lead at LightHouse for the Blind - San Francisco Bay Area and a passionate advocate for people who are blind.

Here’s what you’ll hear:
▪️Alexis’s journey growing up with visual impairment
▪️His path into leadership through the LightHouse community
▪️The challenges SSDI income limits create—and what they mean for employment access
▪️How Alexis is bringing change to Capitol Hill and supporting NIB’s efforts to secure a 1% AbilityOne Program utilization goal for the DOD

Listen to the episode now: https://hubs.la/Q03H7Sn90

08/21/2025

New Podcast Episode!

For people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired, finding meaningful work can feel out of reach. But with the right training, tools, and support, you'll have everything you need to thrive professionally.

In this episode of the Heard & Empowered podcast, Rebecca Martin, vocational rehabilitation counselor with North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation Services, shares how NSITE training programs have helped her clients build confidence, gain new skills, and achieve their employment goals.

🎧 Hear how collaboration, compassion, and the right resources are breaking down barriers to employment: https://hubs.la/Q03DX9L-0

08/07/2025

We’re back with a new episode of our Mission Driven series!

How do you lead with purpose—and build a platform for growth?

In this episode, National Industries for the Blind President and CEO Soraya Correa chats with Paul Healy, immediate past chair of the NIB Board of Directors and professor at Harvard Business School. They discuss ethical leadership, financial sustainability, and why innovation is essential to expanding employment for people who are blind.

From guiding NIB through two major leadership transitions to championing NSITE, Paul reflects on what it takes to create long-term impact.

🎧 Listen now: https://hubs.la/Q03BQkQs0

NSITE

07/25/2025

🎙️ New Episode Drop!

Joe Spicer wears a lot of hats — leader, mentor, advocate, and change-maker. In this episode, he shares his journey from banking and finance to empowering people who are blind through meaningful employment and advocacy.

As the contact center services manager at Mississippi Industries for the Blind and a National Industries for the Blind Advocate for Leadership and Employment, Joe is proof that when opportunity and purpose align, amazing things happen.

🔥 Don’t miss this one!

🎧 Listen now: https://hubs.la/Q03yZNW30

Growth

07/10/2025

🚨 New Episode Alert!

What happens when business success is reinvested into people?

In this episode of Heard & Empowered, Michael Monteferrante, president and CEO of Envision, shares how workforce innovation, mentorship, and purpose-driven leadership are transforming the lives of people who are blind across the country.

🎧 Tune in to hear:
✅ How Envision empowers individuals who are blind through employment and mission-driven services
✅ The power of structured mentorship cohorts in launching careers
✅ Why Envision reinvests every dollar of margin back into community impact
✅ How partnerships with organizations like NSITE and National Industries for the Blind are expanding Envision's access and impact nationwide

Michael’s journey from transit manufacturing to leading one of the largest blind agencies in the U.S. is proof that purpose and performance can go hand in hand.

🔗 Listen now: https://hubs.ly/Q03wJGXH0

06/26/2025

This week we're excited to bring you a powerful new episode of our Mission Driven series!

Soraya Correa, president and CEO of National Industries for the Blind, sits down with Jeff Mittman, president and CEO of Bosma Enterprises and president of the National Association for the Employment of People Who Are Blind, for an inspiring conversation about leadership, purpose, and impact.

Together, they explore how NIB and its network of associated nonprofit agencies are creating meaningful employment opportunities for people who are blind and delivering mission-critical products and services to federal and commercial customers nationwide.

Tune in now: https://hubs.la/Q03tYLRd0

06/12/2025

🎧 New Episode! Advocating by Example with Rebekah Grieb

What does it take to break barriers and lead by example?

Rebekah Grieb, CMS senior site supervisor at Alphapointe and National Industries for the Blind Advocate for Leadership and Employment, shares her journey navigating vision loss, overcoming industry bias, and championing policies that create meaningful job opportunities. From federal contracting to live theater, she’s using her voice—and her work—to drive real change.

🎙️ “Just being out in the world as a visually impaired person, you’re already doing advocacy work.”

Listen now: https://hubs.la/Q03rSc9p0

06/05/2025

“What are the opportunities that I’m not seeing? We often say ‘I have to do this. I have to do this.’ But it really is about ‘I get to do this. I get to make my path.’”

In this powerful moment from her Mission Driven podcast episode with NIB President and CEO Soraya Correa, Maj. Gen. Alice Treviño challenges us to reframe limitations as opportunities and see leadership as an investment in perspective.

Whether it’s navigating fiscal constraints or shifting mindsets, it’s not about what you have to do—it’s about what you get to do.

Listen to the full episode: https://hubs.la/Q03qS02n0

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