PODCAST · government
ACB Advocacy Update
by American Council of the Blind
This feed provides updates from the American Council of the Blind on its advocacy efforts.
Episodes
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It's Voting Season!
In this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley and Grace Hart talk all things voting with their guest Brittany "Britt" Owens of the Arc of the United States. The three discuss the importance of voting, how to be an informed voter, and voting accessibility.
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Protection & Advocacy Overview.
On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, ACB's Claire Stanley and Grace Hart sit down with the CEO of the National Disability Rights Network, Marlene Sallo. The three discuss the nationwide Protection & Advocacy program and when their resources can be used by member of our community.…
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CPAAC Central
On this week's episode of the Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley and Grace Hart sit down with Christiaan Segura from CTIA to discuss the work being done by the Consumer Protection and Accessibility Advisory Committee and the FCC. Link to Transcript:...
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All About the Randolph-Sheppard Victory.
On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley and Grace Hart discuss a recent court victory concerning the Randolph-Sheppard Act Program. They cover the background of the case, why the Randolph-Sheppard Act is so important to the blind community, and what might happen next in...
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Recapping Convention.
Episode Notes On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley sits down with Brian Kempfer and Grace Hart to recap the 2026 Convention in St. Louis. They discuss the advocacy-focused sessions, the information shared by the panelists, and their impressions of Convention as...
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AVs in DC.
On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Grace Hart sits down with ACB's own Claire Stanley and Scott Thornhill to discuss their testimony at the DC City Council hearing on autonomous vehicles. Claire and Scott discuss their experiences, what others were saying in their testimony, and…
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Introducing Legal Counsel.
On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire, Kolby, and Grace sit down with ACB's new legal counsel, Brian Kempfer, to introduce him to our listeners. The group discusses Brian's legal background, including his previous cases in the disability rights area, as well as some fun...
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Chatting About Texas v. Kennedy.
Episode Notes On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Grace talk with ACB of Texas member Bryan "Anthony" Chase Jr. regarding the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit. The group also discusses the importance of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the impact that advocacy can have…
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Education, Transportation, and Benefits, Oh My!
Education, Transportation, and Benefits, Oh My! June 18, 2026 On this week's episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire, Grace, and ACB Advocacy Intern Amanda Wickstrom discuss four recently introduced (or reintroduced) bills that ACB is tracking. They discuss the Same-Day Paratransit Innovation...
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Let's Talk About Voting.
On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Grace Hart chats with Stephanie Flynt McEben of the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) and Cameron Lynch of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network about voting rights and the National Coalition on Accessible Voting. For those who may need a...
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Fighting for Our ADA Rights
On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Grace talk with Eric Buehlmann from the National Disability Rights Network about the numerous challenges to the ADA and website accessibility. They discuss challenges coming from both the legislative and executive branches of the…
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Using the Tools We Have to Advocate.
On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire speaks with Jason Eckert from VisionServe Alliance about a meeting they both attended with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The meeting brought together numerous blindness advocates to call for the rescission of a long...
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An Active Day on Capitol Hill
On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Grace speak with a member of our California affiliate about her experiences on Hill Day. ACB members count many steps as they walk from office to office as they visit their congressional representatives and senators each year on Hill...
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Making Fonts Accessible
This week, Claire speaks with two of our leaders from our low vision affiliate to discuss a letter sent to the State Department surrounding a new font policy. It is easy to forget that font selections can easily impact persons with low vision.
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Oh no! What’s Going On?
This week, Claire speaks with someone from AFB about potential changes in the Title II website regulations due to come out in April. The two talk about a very likely step taken by the government to amend and/or delay the long fight for website regulations.
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ACB Advocacy Update 20260312 - We Meet ACB'S New Operations Administrator.mp3
This week, Clare and Kolby speak with ACB’s new operations administrator, Grace Hart. The three have a fun conversation to learn more about Grace and the
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Talking to the Right People: Identifying the Committee assignments for ACB'S legislative imperatives.live365.com/dashboardDashboard.live365.com
This week, Claire and our advocacy fellow, Nadia, talk about the 2026 legislative imperatives. More specifically, they talk about the committees each bill has been assigned to and why it's important to reach out to those committees to see the bill progress.
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Wow! So Much Technology!
This week, Claire talks with Kolby to learn about her experience at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It is exciting to see all the new products out there.
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Making Transportation More Accessible for All
Making Transportation More Accessible for All This week, Claire speaks with two colleagues who attended the NCUTCD and Transportation Research Board conferences. They talk all things transportation and pedestrian safety after two weeks of interesting sessions on the latest and greatest in this...
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The Randolph Sheppard Act in Jeopardy.
On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, ACB Executive Director Scott Thornhill speaks about the Randolph-Sheppard Act, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. Scott speaks with members of ACB’s affiliate, Randolph-Sheppard Act Vendors of America (RSVA), and board member Jeff...
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A Fun Trip to Silicon Valley
This week, Claire speaks with Lea Rowe from BVA about their experience at a Meta Wearables Summit in Northern California.
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Lets look back over 2025
This week, Claire, Kolby, and Scott look back over all of the advocacy work that was done in 2025.
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Reviewing New Bills Before Congress.
This week, Claire speaks with our intern about two more bills ACB is following closely. Congress has been busy introducing new bills. We will explore new bills that impact the lives of people who are blind and low vision.
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ACB’s involvement in the Consumer Protection and Accessibility Advisory Committee.
This week Claire speaks with another member of the Consumer Protection and Accessibility Advisory Committee (CPAAC) with the Federal Communications Commission. The two talk about the newly formed group and its responsibilities over the next year.
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20251106 - ACB Advocacy Update - The 2025 Legislative Imperatives Where Are They Now.
This week, Claire speaks with 3 individuals from other advocacy organizations we work closely with to learn about where the 2025 legislative imperatives currently stand.
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Making Advocacy Accessible: ACB’s Partnership with Speak4.
This week, Claire and Kolby are joined by Em Whitworth and Dewey Bushaw from Speak4 to discuss how ACB partnered with Speak4 to make the platform more accessible. ACB uses Speak4 to support its national advocacy campaigns, making it easy for members to contact their representatives and advocate…
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ACB Celebrates The 15th Anniversary Of The CVAA
On the 15th anniversary of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), Claire speaks with three experts, reminiscing on the journey to get the bill passed and talking about what it includes. We also look forward to what the Communications, Video, and Technology…
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recapping on the 2025 resolutions.
This week, Claire speaks with the chair of the resolutions committee about the process to complete the 2025, ACB resolutions. The process to complete another year’s of ACB resolutions takes a lot of hard work. Claire and Gabe Griffith talk through the process to get there, and they then review…
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Access to Library Services
This week, Claire speaks with two experts on library services and potential federal funding cuts to such services. The two experts outline how the programs are run and advise listeners on how they can help advocate for ongoing library services.
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Reaching out to Congress through the Speak4 Platform.
This week, Claire speaks with two ACB members about their positive experience using the Speak4 platform. They share their thoughts and experiences with the platform.
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Congress is busy introducing new bills.
This week, Claire speaks with our Advocacy Fellow about several new bills Congress has introduced that will benefit the blind and disabled community.
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Congress Must Reauthorize the Older Americans Act.
This week Claire speaks with Doug Powell and Pris Rogers about the Older Americans Act and related legislation. These two experts in services for older Americans talk about the bill and needed services for people losing their vision as they age.
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A Recap of the April VSA Conference
This week, Claire talks with Rob Buettner about their experiences at the 2025 VisionServe Alliance conference that was held in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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a new platform to advocate to Congress.
This week, Claire speaks with a colleague from the VisionServe alliance about a new platform. ACB members can use to reach out to Congress. This new resource, Speak4, Will make it easier than ever to advocate to Congress about important issues the blind community is involved with.
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The American National Standards Institute What is it, and Why Does it Matter
This week, Claire speaks with Cleo from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to learn more about their involvement in setting accessibility standards and how ACB members can get involved.
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Disability rights legislation that ACB is following
This week, Claire speaks with allies from three other disability advocacy groups to learn more about three bills ACB is supporting. The bills cover a spectrum of issues that impact the blind and low vision community and exemplify the advocacy work ACB does on Capitol Hill.
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Intern's First Experience on the Hill.
This week, Claire chats with ACB’s Advocacy Fellow Mia about her recent visits to House offices on Capitol Hill. From hallway meetings to surprise questions, they share what it’s really like to advocate to members of Congress and congressional staffers as ACB and its partners push to reintroduce...
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Learning more about what is going on in disability rights litigation.
This week, Claire speaks with two attorneys from Disability Rights Advocates about current disability rights litigation to better understand caselaw that impacts the blind and disability community.
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So, so many Things Going on in Washington D.C.
This week, Claire and Scott talk about a “grab bag” of advocacy issues. ACB is busy keeping up with a myriad of new bills that are soon to be introduced to Congress, and activity with the executive branch of the federal government. The two discuss the numerous hot topics and what ACB is doing to...
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DREDF: Section 504 and Texas v. Becerra
This week, Claire speaks with an attorney from the Disability Rights Education Fund (DREDF) to better understand the case of Texas v. Becerra. This case could have significant ramifications for Section 504 of the Rehab Act. The episode provides a few ways our members can help advocate to prevent...
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ACB’s Involvement with the Consortium of Constituents with Disabilities.
This week, Claire speaks with a previous chair of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) about what the organization is and how ACB is involved in the advocacy it does. CCD is made up of over 120 different disability advocacy groups; ACB has been an active member for many years,...
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ACB Goes to Las Vegas, The Consumer Electronic Show.
This week, Claire And Kolby talk about their experience in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronic Show. The conference provided an opportunity to learn about the latest technology, advocate for full accessibility in all designs, and network with other advocates in the world of technology access.
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DC Leadership Conference.
This week, Claire and Cindy preview the DC Leadership Conference, which will take place March 14-18 at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Listen to find out more about the upcoming event and how you can participate.
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Understand the U.S. Census
This week, Claire had the opportunity to speak with Stephanie Flynt McEben from the National Disability Rights Network regarding the U.S. Census. In the last year, census officials took steps to change the way disability is defined, which would impact the number of people who identify as so. This...
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20250116 - Across the Country He Goes.
This week, Claire speaks with ACB’s executive director, Scott Thornhill, to learn more about his visit to several state affiliate conventions in 2024. As the new executive director, he has already had the opportunity to attend state affiliate conventions and learn more about the phenomenal work...
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Getting to Know our New Board Members.
This week, we get to know one of our newly elected Board members from the 2024 annual Convention. Claire and Swatha spoke with Peter Heide to learn more about who he is and his hopes as a member of the ACB Board.
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End of Year Wrap Up.
On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Swatha reflect on all that has happened in 2024 with special guests Deb Cook Lewis, ACB President, and Scott Thornhill, ACB Executive Director. From major staff changes to cross-country travel, come hear about it all!
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Making National Parks Accessible
On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Swatha speak with ACB’s Audio Description Project Coordinator, Tabitha Kenlon, in addition to Brett Oppegaard from the University of Hawaii about the Descritathon, a 3 day hackathon-like event to make National Park Service brochures and...
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20241128 - ACB Advocacy Update - Calling Out to All Videogame Enthusiasts.
This week, Claire speaks with Will Schell from the Disability Rights Office of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about a newly submitted report to the Disability Advisory Committee on the accessibility needs for people who are blind or have low vision as it pertains to communication...
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Advocacy Grab Bag for the Fall of 2024
On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Swatha provide a smattering of topics and advocacy issues that ACB has been working on over the last month. Topics discussed include video conferencing program accessibility, the Census, and a save-the-date for our 2025 DC Leadership…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This feed provides updates from the American Council of the Blind on its advocacy efforts.
HOSTED BY
American Council of the Blind
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does ACB Advocacy Update have?
ACB Advocacy Update currently has 285 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is ACB Advocacy Update about?
This feed provides updates from the American Council of the Blind on its advocacy efforts.
How often does ACB Advocacy Update release new episodes?
ACB Advocacy Update publishes regularly with 285 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to ACB Advocacy Update?
You can listen to ACB Advocacy Update on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts ACB Advocacy Update?
ACB Advocacy Update is created and hosted by American Council of the Blind.
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