I was asked to post the announcement below. If you have questions please contact Robert M McCulley, Director Northeast Resource Center for Vision Ed School for Global Inclusion and Social Development University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston Ma 02125 Email: robert.mcculley@umb.edu<mailto:robert.mcculley@umb.edu> Tel: 617-287-7623 Office Tel 617-784-8333 Cell We are planning a webinar to discuss the new CATIS certification, as well as the new programs that we are developing at UMass Boston. Can you please send this to those who might be interested in learning more? There is a link below where people can register. CATIS Webinar University of Massachusetts Boston Vision Studies Program Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Standards VI March 14th and March 28th. 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm * CATIS Certification Standards ACVREP * Eligibility Categories * How to determine if you qualify to apply for the CATIS Certification * How to prepare for CATIS Certification New Fall 2018 pending governance approval * CATIS Graduate Certificate for Vision Specialists TVI, VRT and O&M UMass Boston * CATIS Extended Graduate Certificate for Non-Vision Specialists UMass Boston * CATIS Master's Degree UMass Boston Webinar Registration: Save Your Seat.<https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4232437/CATIS-Webinar> Presenter Rachael Sessler-Trinkowsky, Ph.D., CRC, CATIS Rachael's educational background includes a B.A. degree in Special Education, a Master of Health Science in Rehabilitation Counseling, and a Ph.D. as an Educational Specialist from Nova Southeastern University's College of Engineering and Computing. Her dissertation topic focused on accessibility awareness and practices in online learning environments. She has been a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) since 1999.Rachel participated as a member of the subject matter expert committee for the development of the new and much needed specialization, called <https://www.acvrep.org/certifications/catis> Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist for People with Visual Impairments<https://www.acvrep.org/certifications/catis>(CATIS) through the <https://www.acvrep.org/> Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals<https://www.acvrep.org/> (ACVREP). "It is interesting as I look back to when I was first applying for my Ph.D. program. I remember writing about the importance of developing a certification for assistive technology specialists who work with people with visual impairments at that time. It was an amazing experience to be a part of the creation of this certification and I am looking forward to working with UMass as we strive to prepare professionals in this field" "I have previously worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with the Florida Division of Blind Services and as an assistive technology sales and training representative for Florida Reading and Vision Technology. I currently work for the Lighthouse for the Blind of the Palm Beaches as the Technology Training and Vocational Coordinator, where I oversee services for a 5-county territory. I have more than 11 years of experience working with the Lighthouse. We teach a variety of assistive technology including screen readers, screen magnification software, low vision devices, braille technology, smartphone and tablet accessibility, optical character recognition (OCR)options, and many different types of specialized devices. Robert M McCulley, Director Northeast Resource Center for Vision Ed School for Global Inclusion and Social Development University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston Ma 02125 Email: robert.mcculley@umb.edu<mailto:robert.mcculley@umb.edu> Tel: 617-287-7623 Office Tel 617-784-8333 Cell