Staff

Kendra brings experience as a certified vision rehabilitation therapist, providing direct services, a national perspective on older blind program administration, and experience working with the OIB-TAC since its beginning in 2015. In her current position as Project Director for the OIB-TAC, Kendra provides technical assistance on various topics, including program evaluation, completing the 7-OB report, consumer assessment and service provision, community outreach, and financial and management practices. She oversees all grant activities of the OIB-TAC, like recruitment of programs for intensive technical assistance, course development, and content offerings on the website. Kendra also coordinates collaboration activities with organizations from the fields of aging and vision rehabilitation.

Lisa brings 15 years of university program development experience to this role. She monitors the implementation and tracking of all OIB-TAC program activities. She serves as a copy editor for program courses, manages meeting and training logistics, and collects program evaluation data for continual improvement.

Lisa is a Sociology Ph.D. student. She enjoys melding her program management skills and academic background in support of OIB-TAC goals.

Jennifer brings over 29 years of experience providing direct service to adults who are blind or who have low vision. She is co-editor of the Foundations of Vision Rehabilitation Therapy textbook and has presented at state and national conferences on a variety of topics related to working with adults living with vision impairment.

Jennifer is excited to be a resource and support for direct service providers and program administrators through listening, learning, training, and promotion of best practices.

Polly brings more than 20 years as a CVRT to her work at OIB-TAC. She has worked in direct service and in management, serving youth and adults with blindness and low vision. Her current duties make use of her subject matter expertise in the field of vision rehabilitation as she manages projects related to online courses and website content.

Polly enjoys knowing that she impacts individuals by supporting the direct service professionals and program administrators who provide quality services according to best practice.

Renee is responsible for all business operations, invoices, federal reporting, and operations. Renee has 15 years of experience combined working with federal and state funding agencies. She has been involved in all stages of securing and maintaining funding for projects, beginning with proposal preparation, administration of projects upon award, financial and program reporting, securing resources to perform the work, and closing upon completion.

Renee has been a part of the OIB-TAC team for seven years. She enjoys working with a group of people who share a strong work ethic toward providing quality services to others and meeting the goals of the project.

Sarah is responsible for managing all external communications for the NRTC, including disseminating research results, interacting with stakeholders, and the maintenance of our websites. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Belhaven University and earned her bachelor’s degree in communication with an emphasis in public relations from Mississippi State University.

Sarah enjoys working for the NRTC and playing a role in supporting, empowering, and providing resources to individuals who are blind or have low vision.