About Us – Who We Are
Meet the Staff
Beth Du Boff, Executive Director
In many ways, my appointment was the fulfillment of a personal promise. Like many of our older clients, my Nana had Macular Degeneration in the last two decades of her life. I saw how difficult it was for a senior citizen to age in place, and obtain the services needed to remain independent. As a mother, I have also experienced how frustrating and difficult it can be to obtain specialized services for a child. Thankfully, the children and adults with blindness and visual impairments who are served by the Association for the Visually Impaired can count on a team of dedicated professionals to help them achieve independence.
Clara – AVI Rehabilitation Teacher
My students range in age from 5 years to 90 something. Their lesson plans include everything from learning to tie shoelaces to learning how to use a magnifier properly. Young people are taught how to do a task for the first time, while an older person often needs to relearn tasks that have become difficult due to loss of vision. Most instruction takes place in the students’ homes and is tailored to their specific needs.
Jennifer- Teacher of Students who are Visually Impaired (TVI)
TVI’s are specialized educators who are certified by the board of Education. They are trained to meet the diverse and disability specific needs of students who are visually impaired, blind, or deaf-blind including students with multiple impairments. TVI’s work collaboratively with parents, educators and other service providers in order to build a better plan of instruction for a visually impaired student. The responsibilities of a TVI depend on the abilities of each student. This will insure that proper instruction and adaptation of activities, materials and the environment will fully support the needs of the student, in the home and in school. AVI provides the teacher of the visually impaired services to students from the ages of 0 to 3 through the Early Intervention services, and to students 3-5 through the preschool special education services.
Raymonde – Social Worker
“As a Social Worker, one of the most important things you can do is to let people know they are not alone.” With the help of agency services, consumers can be helped to regain their sense of worth and the skills needed to live as independently as possible. By participating in all that AVI has to offer, most clients will achieve their personal goals. As an agency, out goal is to enable blind people to live and be treated as competent and respected individuals.
Yolanda – Employment Placement Specialist
Yolanda has been employed by the Association for the Visually Impaired (AVI) as the Employment Placement Specialist since 2004. She helped pioneer the Employment program to its present successful and respected standard, by building effective relationships with employers to identify employment opportunities. She has been a board member for the Greater Haverstraw Chamber of congress in Rockland County NY. she has participated in many community groups and as a result received the William H. Mullin Award from Rockland Independent Living Center for her contribution in helping those with disabilities throughout the community. She is involved in the planning committee of the successful Diversity Job Fair in Orange County. In addition, for the past nine years, she has held the position of Treasurer for the Orange/Sullivan County Employment Alliance Network (OCEAN) group and the Transportation Committee in Orange County.