BEST Together Podcast BEST Together (Blind Early Services TN)

Christie Elliott, COMS, CATIS

Christie Elliott graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2015 with a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation of the Blind and began working as an Orientation and Mobility Specialist at the STAR Center, serving blind and visually impaired individuals from birth to end of life. 

She earned a Graduate Certificate in Assistive Technology from Western Michigan University in 2022. Christie holds two ACVREP certifications: Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) and Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CATIS). 

Christie has worked at the STAR Center since 2009, previously serving as a Job Skills Instructor for 6 years, teaching job skills to adults with disabilities. 

Christie enjoys helping individuals who are blind or visually impaired to figure out what tools can help them realize their full potential in achieving independence for their daily lives.

Our podcast guest this month, Christina Clift, graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and attended the University of Memphis for graduate school. Christina has worked at the Memphis Center for Independent Living as the Consumer Advocate since 2003. She has served as chair of the State Rehabilitation Council of Tennessee, and the Memphis Advisory Council for Citizens with Disabilities. Christina is also a founding board member of the TriState Adaptive Sports Association, and is a proud member of the National Federation of the Blind. Christina is a fierce advocate for those living with blindness and knows firsthand that access to assistive technology and other supports opens doors, eliminates barriers, and gives independence to those with disabilities. Listen this month as we discuss what independent living really means.

Caroline Aly is a Nashville-based educator with a background in non-profit leadership, private tutoring, and teaching in the exceptional education space. Caroline says that after continually observing inequity, profound limitations, and a lack of support for parents and/or caregivers of exceptional learners within the education community at large, she decided to launch her business, Carehack, to serve as a safe bridge across major gaps in a system often under-prepared to provide for the needs of exceptional learners. Caroline's experience and expertise leads the team at Carehack, a growing community and safe haven for parents of exceptional children to ask questions, receive resources and advocacy support, consult with experts, and implement personalized behavior systems at home. 

Mae Lane-Karnas is a 14-year-old diagnosed with CVI who loves braille, math, and art. Due to CVI, Mae has a host of visual challenges that cause her to function at the level of legal blindness, even though her visual acuities are typical. In the past year, Mae has co-presented to the Principals of Schools for the Blind and the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind (AER) on use of Nemeth code for middle school students with CVI. Mae co-organizes an ongoing CVI discussion group at Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute and serves on the board of the National Federation of the Blind of Vermont. Katie Lane-Karnas is Mae’s mother and the primary homeschooling parent to her two daughters in rural Vermont. When Mae was diagnosed with CVI two years ago, Katie began facilitating Mae’s learning in braille, Nemeth code, AT, O&M, and the ECC. Katie authored a paper, “A Case Study on CVI, Reading, and Braille,” that has been accepted for publication in 2024 by the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness on her family’s learnings from Mae’s experiences. Both Katie and Mae join us on this month’s episode of the BEST Together podcast to share their lived experiences with CVI.

Dr. Grace Ambrose-Zaken is the President and CEO of a nonprofit organization called Safe Toddles. She is a recently retired Professor of Special Education at Hunter College in New York where she taught Orientation and Mobility Specialists for over 25 years. And finally, she is the creator of a pediatric belt cane made to provide children who are blind or visually impaired a solution for walking independently and safely.  In this month’s episode of BEST Together we chat with Dr. Ambrose-Zaken about the field of orientation and mobility, research and philosophies around cane use in young children, and challenges facing the field.

Stacey Chambers is a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) living in Texas. She is also the founder of The E.C.C. and me, an LLC and website that offers a monthly newsletter, trainings, optional membership program, and free resources all pertaining to the Expanded Core Curriculum, the additional curriculum of nine areas that are taught to, or explored with, students who have vision impairments or are blind. "​The E.C.C. & Me partners with teachers and families to make assessment and teaching E.C.C. skills collaborative, practical, and fun for all learners with a visual impairment."