Winter 2007

NIB Fellow David Geary

Seattle Lighthouse’s newest employee, David Geary, hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is blind due to optic nerve hypoplasia, meaning the nerves never fully developed.

David joined the Lighthouse team as part of the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) Fellowship Program. According to the NIB website:  Fellows are individuals who are legally blind and who demonstrate leadership skills and a high potential to succeed in a professional managerial position. At the completion of the two-year fellowship, successful fellows will be ready for professional managerial positions at competitive salaries within NIB and NIB’s network of associated agencies.

David has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. After developing an interest in law, he went on to get his Master’s Degree in International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. He then obtained his JD (Juris Doctorate).

David became involved in the Business Leadership Program Fellowship at NIB as a board member for the Somerset County Blind Center, an agency that provides services for the visually impaired. He applied for the program at NIB after looking at production lines at the Raleigh Center for the Blind.

David says Seattle has a lot of advantages over his hometown of Somerset, Pennsylvania, despite the occasional rain. “In Pennsylvania, I had practically no contact with visually impaired people,” he recalls. “The community here for blind folks is much more active.”

“Also there is no public transportation in Somerset,” he adds. “The cost of the Metro here is very cost effective.”

What David does here at the Lighthouse is quite a mix. “My term here stretches over eight months. I am learning about business competency, strategic planning, finance management. I’m working on some HR projects and on the quality process,” he says.

Welcome to the Lighthouse David!

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