In the latest episode of National Industries for the Blind’s Heard and Empowered podcast, Brandye Lacy, Austin Lighthouse’s marketing coordinator and NIB Advocate for Leadership and Employment, sits down with Dr. Hoby Wedler to share her inspiring journey of vision loss, her passion for communication, and her advocacy work. Join the conversation as Brandye discusses her mission in Washington D.C. to urge Congress to mandate a 1% AbilityOne Utilization Goal for the Department of Defense, aiming to enhance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
Episode #35 Podcast with Brandye Lacy – heardandempowered.org
In this week’s episode, Dr. Hoby Wedler is joined by Brandye Lacy, the marketing coordinator at Travis Association for the Blind, also known as Austin Lighthouse. With a passion for writing and advocacy, she excels at crafting and telling compelling stories while championing causes that break down barriers to equality and equity. Brandye began losing her vision when she was in seventh grade and initially tried to hide it. Despite this, her passion for communications never wavered. By combining her love for this field with her advocacy for the empowerment of people who are blind or visually impaired, Brandye has excelled at promoting this cause to bring about beneficial changes in public policy.Tune in this week to discover why and how Brandye is advocating in Washington, D.C. for Congress to mandate that the Department of Defense (DOD) allocate 1% of its procurement budget to the AbilityOne® Program. This increase from the current 0.55% to 1% would nearly double the funding, making a huge difference by boosting employment opportunities and economic independence for people who are blind, visually impaired, or have significant disabilities. Brandye will discuss the direct impact of this policy change and its effects on the broader community of individuals who are blind and visually impaired and work outside the AbilityOne network of agencies.
