Orientation and Mobility Division (Division 9)

Welcome to the AER Orientation and Mobility Division.

With over 900 members in the Orientation & Mobility Division, we are the largest and most comprehensive professional organization for Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialists in the world.

PURPOSE

Our purpose is to encourage and promote professional standards and improvement of O&M practices and services by:

  •  Offering professional development opportunities;
  •  Encouraging quality university preparation of O&M specialists, and
  •  Working to improve and expand O&M services for individuals with visual impairments.

MISSION STATEMENT

O&M Scope of Practice
A scope of practice paper was developed to more clearly define what we do as professionals.  This document was shared to solicit feedback and then the final document was approved by a 97% vote from division members. Please click here to review this document.

Here you will learn more about What Is an O&M Specialist, Strategic Plan, our current and past leadership, resources, newsletters/meeting minutes, awards, and our Directors Corner

 

AER O&M Strategic Plan
The revised O&M division strategic plan was approved by the membership in November 2022. Updates will be provided to the membership through division newsletters, virtual meetings, and a presentation at the AER international conference in 2024.

Position Papers
TAER members create position papers on topics specific to the association’s interest-specific divisions. These thoughtful documents provide guidance to professionals serving those who are blind and visually impaired.


 

 

LEADERSHIP

Contact information for Executive Committee 2024-2026:

Chair
Margaret Winn 
Margaret “Maggie” Winn, COMS, is the 2024-2026 Chair of the O&M Division. She has been a member of the O&M Division Board since 2016, serving in roles such as District Director, Chair-Elect, and Blasch Scholarship Chair. Margaret earned her Master’s degree in Orientation and Mobility from Western Michigan University and maintains ACVREP certification. Since 2011, she has worked with O&M clients and students across the lifespan in three states, with experience in nonprofit organizations, a guide dog organization, and as an independent contractor. Margaret has also served as a practicum and internship supervisor and mentor in the field. In 2020, she joined Oakland Schools in Metro Detroit, where she provides direct and consultative services to students from birth to age 26. Email Maggie at [email protected]

Chair-Elect
Alexa Poynor 
[email protected]

Past Chair
Raychel Callary 
Raychel Callary, COMS, is the past chair of the AER Orientation and Mobility division and served as chair of the AER Council of Division Chairs from 2022-2024. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with an O&M degree in 2007, and has been an AER member since 2008. She moved to Spokane, Washington where she contracts to work with adult learners. Raychel is an adjunct professor and university supervisor with the Portland State University Orientation and Mobility program. She works to promote accessible infrastructure locally and as a member of the AER O&M Division Environmental Access Committee. Email Raychel at 
[email protected]

Secretary/Treasurer
Linda McFall 
[email protected]

District 1
Autumn Booths-Speer
[email protected]
(Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Northwest Territories, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Yukon Territories)

District 2
Debbie Fussell 
[email protected]
(Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Manitoba, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, Texas)

District 3
Jennifer Duncan 
[email protected]
(Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario and Wisconsin.)

District 4
Eric Shaw 
[email protected]
(Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, New Hampshire, New York, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Rhode Island, Vermont)

District 5
Jennifer Thurman 
[email protected]
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tennessee)

District 6
Joe Greene 
[email protected]
(Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C.)

Student Representitive - One Year Term
Kristal Alvaraez 
[email protected]


  

RECENT NEWSLETTERS AND MEETING MINUTES

202520242023
O&M Spring Newsletter 2025

O&M Winter Newsletter 2025

O&M Fall Newsletter 2024

O&M Spring Newsletter 2024

O&M Winter Newsletter 2024

O&M Spring Newsletter 2023

O&M Winter Newsletter 2023


Recent Meeting Minutes:

Board Meeting Minutes July 2024
Business Meeting Minutes 2024
Business Meeting Minutes 2022
Meeting Minutes September 2023
Meeting Minutes June 2023
Meeting Minutes March 2023
Meeting Minutes March 2019
Meeting Minutes May 2018
Meeting Minutes July 2018
Meeting Minutes December 2018


 

AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS

Donald Blasch Scholarship 

The AER Orientation & Mobility Division would like to congratulate our current and past recipients of the Donald Blasch Scholarship. The O&M Division presents two scholarships in the amount of $1000.00, annually when funds are available to two outstanding students. Thank you to our panel of dedicated judges who reviewed and scored our many submissions.

2025 Recipients

Kathryn Blough Headshot

Katherine Blough 
Kate Blough has been an itinerant TVI in Westchester County, NY since 2006, working with students aged 4-21. She attends the Hunter College O&M certification program and serves on the NYSAER Board. Previously, Kate was the Vice President of The Association of American Publishers, the national book publishing trade association. She received her MA in Blindness & Visual Impairment from Teachers College in 2005 and BA in Political Science from the University of Akron in 1994. Kate has two daughters aged 19 and 23, and in her spare time she enjoys running, ceramics, sailing, traveling, and volunteering with Achilles. 

 

Erin-Lynn Dimase HeadshotErin-Lynn Dimase
Erin-Lynn Dimase is a graduate student in Orientation and Mobility at Western Michigan University with over five years of experience in employment services and disability advocacy. She currently works as an Employment Specialist/Benefits Coach at CNS Healthcare and provides individualized care in a home setting. Erin-Lynn is honored to receive the Blasch Scholarship and is passionate about promoting independence for individuals with disabilities. Upon graduation, she looks forward to serving both children and adults as a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist. 

 

2024 Recipients
Katie Fischer 
Emily Vetter - Texas Tech

 

2023 Recipients
Jennifer Scheel- Portland State University
Suzanne Feigenson- Portland State University

 For questions, contact Eric Shaw, Chair of the Blasch Scholarship Committee. [email protected]


AWARDS

O&M Awards Committee Chair: Nick Leon
Committee Members: Ana Leffel, Justin Kaiser, Maggie Winn, Mary Kline, Tommie Roesch, and Tricia Sproles

Sandy Kronick Distinguished Service Award
The Sandy Kronick Distinguished Service Award was established in 1994 to recognize professionals who demonstrate distinguished service in O&M through a long-term commitment to direct service. Named after Sandy Kronick due to his lifelong commitment and dedication to teaching O&M while continuing to be actively involved with numerous professional activities and committees.

Lawrence E Blaha Memorial Award
The Lawrence E. Blaha Award was initiated in 1968 to honor people who have shown exemplary behavior in the field of O&M, made outstanding contributions to the profession, and shown dedication to serving people with visual impairments. It is the highest honor that the O&M Division can bestow.

Janet Morgan Barlow Environmental Access Service Award
The Janet Morgan Barlow Environmental Access Service Award was established in 2021 to recognize professionals who demonstrate distinguished service in orientation and mobility through a long-term commitment to environmental access. The award was named for Janet Barlow because of her lifelong commitment and dedication to the field, her steadfast, practical, and strategic methods to address research needs, her advocacy for greater accessibility to the built environment, and her education of orientation and mobility specialists and transportation professionals such as traffic engineers and urban planners on issues relevant to both professional areas.


Orientation and Mobility Awards for the Years 2020 and 2022

2022 Recipients:

Susan Langendonk- Sandy Kronick Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Laura Bozeman- Lawrence E Blaha Memorial Award
*Janet Morgan Barlow – Janet Morgan Barlow Environmental Access Service Award
* The first recipient, awarded posthumously

2020 Recipients:
Rod Haneline- Sandy Kronick Distinguished Service Award
Nora Griffin-Shirley- Lawrence E Blaha Memorial Award


CONTACT

Email
[email protected]
Get Connected

Facebook

 


 

RESOURCES

AER O&M OUTPOST

AER O&M Outpost is an archive for the Division and contains other resources related to Orientation and Mobility.  Please click here to view the AER O&M Outpost.

 

NOMINATION AND ELECTIONS CORNER

 

GET LEARNING 

 

What is an Orientation and Mobility Specialist?
O&M specialists teach people who are blind or visually impaired the skills and concepts they need in order to travel independently and safely – in the home and classroom, and in the community and city. O&M specialists provide services across the lifespan — they teach children who are visually impaired in school programs and adults in rehabilitation settings. READ MORE.

The profession of O&M formally developed during and immediately after World War II, when soldiers who had been blinded in battle were taught how to travel independently. Since that time, the profession developed to serve children, people with low vision, elderly people, deaf-blind people, and visually impaired people with multiple disabilities. Read about O&M: The Living History.

O&M specialists are trained at university and college programs. Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists (COMS) meet professional standards developed by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Accessible Pedestrian Signals

Roundabouts and Pedestrians who are Blind or who have Low Vision (updated version coming soon)

 

NMSBVI O&M Inventory
The NMSBVI Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Inventory was developed as a means of quantifying student progress across the many areas that make up O&M. The goal was to create a user friendly assessment tool that quickly allowed an O&M to identify areas of need for individual students. Further, there was a need to structure it in such a way as to allow paperwork averse O&Ms to easily track student progress over time. The Inventory aspires to meet these needs.

 

O&M Program Supervisors and Planners — Problems and Solutions

In 2000, in response to concerns about misunderstandings and misperceptions of program administrators which resulted in inappropriate O&M programs, the Orientation and Mobility Division established an Ad Hoc Supervisory / Program Planning Committee. This committee gathered ideas and resources which are posted here — if you can add any helpful suggestions or information, please contact Dona Sauerburger.

Problems include:

  • Determination/justification of O&M services for children
  • Limited O&M personnel to provide services
  • O&M lessons restricted to building or campus, and/or no transportation to the lessons

For more information on each of the above topic areas, please visit http://www.sauerburger.org/dona/divcaseload

 

ARCHIVE

2011 O&M Survey Results