The Blind Chick

Being a guide takes great attention to detail. You always have to be looking out for any obstacle coming from any direction. Jerome Avery does that on an Olympic level, literally. Jerome is a guide for the Paralympic USA team and has worked with Lex Gillette, David Brown, and other world-class athletes. Enjoy this amazing episode. jeromeavery.com www.aincolorado.org penn@aincolorado.org

When you get the opportunity to have a world record holder and an Olympian on the show, you take it. Lex Gillette is just that. He has done so many wonderful things and has overcome a lot in order to get to the Olympic Podium. As a kid, launching himself off the front porch onto the grassy slope gave way to launching himself off a runway and into a sandpit. Penn and Lex enjoy a heartfelt conversation about being blind and addressing some of the things that have shaped his life. To learn more about Lex and his journey, visit www.lexgillette.com. www.aincolorado.org/resources www.aincolorado.org/podcast-guest/

Matt Gesualdi joins Penn for a cool conversation about tactile art for the blind, museums, and pitch-black escape rooms. Matt was an architect and fell in love with creating things to scale and giving blind people the opportunity to see just how big or small we really are compared to other objects. I hope you enjoy this episode of Aftersight. Website: https://tact-ed.org/ Email Matt: matt@tact-ed.org www.aincolorado.org Host: Penn@aincolorado.org Producer: Jonathan@aincolorado.org

Penn is joined by Gena Harper who lost her vision at an early age and fought to become one of the most successful skiers as a blind woman and then after conquering that she hit the financial sector and became one of the most prominent financial advisors around. Her story and get in touch with her at the links below. https://www.instagram.com/genablindwomanofaction/ https://www.tiktok.com/@genablindwomanofaction/video/7164523935361584430 www.aincolorado.org/resources www.aincolorado.org/podcast-guest/

Charis is a scholarship winner for her work in chemistry. Her passion for the sciences and getting kids into science is contagious. She loves to learn and grow and fight for better education for everyone, especially blind students. She just happens to be blind herself. Hear her amazing story of how she got into the filed and where she plans on going next! https://www.msudenver.edu/epic-scholars/ www.aincolorado.org www.aincolorado.org/podcast-guest/

Michael Sisneros is the newest addition to the AINC family. He comes with a huge heart and a deep affinity for help anyone who needs it. Penn and Michale share a special bond tieing them together. Take a listen. Michale@aincolorado.org aincolorado.org/resources

Penn is joined by Evan Starnes Who works in the tech and volunteer departments. They have a very heartfelt topic over the idea of your blindness being a badge of shame or a badge of honor. If you would like to reach out to Evan or Penn, you can find their contact info below. We would love to hear from you. Aincolorado.org Evan@aincolorado.org Penn@aincolorado.org

Heather Fogle talks with Penn about the cool work she is doing with the VA and between you and me I think they had too much fun in this conversation. https://vets.colorado.gov/ www.aincolorado.org