2025 has been another fantastic year at the Council. “I’m proud of our work to promote the dignity and inherent worth of Wisconsinites who are blind and low vision throughout the state,” says Council Executive Director Denise Jess. “It’s exciting to witness the Council’s spheres of influence grow wider and deeper, from legislators and judges to other human service providers and the broader public through a variety of events.”
We started the year with the creation of our Advocacy Discussion Group. Meeting every other month, this group serves as a space for people who are blind or low vision across the entire state to grow as advocates at both the local and state levels. Since its launch in January, the group has developed a dedicated group of participants who support each other in their advocacy journeys.
During the first half of the year, state lawmakers crafted the 2025-27 biennial state budget. As in past budget years, the Council worked tirelessly with lawmakers to advocate for programs that benefit people who are blind or low vision. Our advocacy didn’t just address the budget, however, as we also weighed in on a variety of proposed legislation throughout the year that affects people with vision loss.
The Council continued many of its longstanding events in 2025. We once again hosted Advocacy Days in May, returning to the state Capitol to give participants the opportunity to meet with their state representatives to discuss issues important to the blind and low vision community. Also in May, we collaborated with the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance and the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona for Birding by Ear, where a diverse group of participants identified over 50 species of birds by sound instead of by sight. And over the course of the year, we held four Dining in the Dark events, offering participants in Reedsburg, Cross Plains, Mt. Horeb and Madison the opportunity to focus on senses other than sight as they appreciated the dining experience.
As summer approached, we announced our 2025 Council Scholarship recipients. In 2025, we awarded $2,000 scholarships to four young women from across the state, each at a different stage in their postsecondary journey. Congratulations to all of our 2025 recipients!
Summer also brought the arrival of Kate Bleyl-Ericson as the newest member of the Council’s Vision Services Team, filling the newly created position of vision services navigator. Recognizing that people who are blind or low vision often have unmet needs outside the scope of what the Council can provide, the Council added this role to help our clients connect with other community services to address such issues as food insecurity, isolation and transportation access. Having Kate on board has enabled us to support the whole person rather than focus narrowly on their vision services needs.
October marked two important and interlocking events: Pedestrian Safety Month and White Cane Safety Day. The Council continued to advocate for safer streets for all pedestrians across the state, with 42 local governments and the State of Wisconsin issuing proclamations formally recognizing October as Pedestrian Safety Month and the 15th as White Cane Safety Day. The Council also ran bus ads in La Crosse, Waukesha and Green Bay. While our bus ads have highlighted White Cane Safety Day in the past, this year our ads had a broader Pedestrian Safety Month focus featuring the theme of “Intersections Are for Everyone.”
In November we opened our doors to the public for our annual Gallery Night event. This year, we featured the work of eleven Wisconsin artists who are blind or low vision. Their work included paintings, drawings, photography, ceramics, fiber arts and even artisanal chainmail jewelry. Gallery Night 2025 was one of our most successful ever, with over 100 visitors stopping by to appreciate at the art while learning more about the Council.
Toward the end of the year, we released a new video, “Exceptional, Welcoming Services for Blind and Low Vision Transportation Users.” The purpose of the video is to help specialized transportation drivers better understand how to provide a safe, comfortable and accessible ride to passengers with vision loss, empowering them to stay engaged in the community. The video was made in partnership with Clouds North Films with funding from an anonymous foundation. Janesville Transit was also instrumental in bringing the video to life. You can find the video on our YouTube channel.
Throughout the year, the Council reached out into the community at a variety of educational outreach events. As usual, we tabled or presented at many health fairs and senior centers. But 2025 saw the Council reach out to a more diverse array of audiences than ever before. For example, staff spoke at the Wisconsin Judicial Conference on the importance of accessible and welcoming courtrooms; at the UW College of Engineering on empowering the blind and low vision community on campus; and in staff trainings for the state’s Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired on access technology and the role of the vision services navigator.
Thank you to the many individuals, service organizations, funders and businesses who supported the Council financially throughout the year. Those gifts allowed us to advocate on critical issues, put on numerous successful educational events, and provide vision services to every client regardless of their ability to pay. We’re excited to continue this work into 2026.