Helen Keller Services for the BlindPress Release

Haben Girma Elected Board Trustee – Helen Keller Services For The Blind

Haben Girma has been elected as a Trustee of the Board for Helen Keller Services for the Blind (HKSB).

January 22, 2015, New York – Haben Girma has been elected as a Trustee of the Board for Helen Keller Services for the Blind (HKSB), announced Thomas J. Edwards, President & CEO of Helen Keller Services for the Blind and the Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths & Adults (HKNC).

“Haben has been a strong advocate for our organization, in particular HKNC, for many years,” said Edwards.  “Her leadership will guide us in enhancing our efforts to work with individuals who are blind, have vision loss, are DeafBlind and/or have combined hearing-vision loss.”

Haben works as an attorney for the national non-profit legal center Disability Rights Advocates. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 2013.  Haben, who is Deafblind, participated in the HKNC program DeafBlind Young Adults in Action (a leadership program that brings together young adults and gives them skills to advocate for issues on Capitol Hill). Haben began her career as a U.S. Delegate with Mobility International USA’s U.S-Costa Rica Disability Rights and Leadership Exchange.  While in Costa Rica, Haben exchanged ideas with disability rights leaders and taught youth and adults with disabilities.  Haben was a legal intern in Boston with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

Haben provided a self-advocacy workshop at HKNC’s Sands Point location, addressing the participants about any concerns they had on accessibility and barriers they may have encountered in the community.  “I am honored to have been elected and look forward to bringing my passion and experience as an advocate to an organization I have long admired,” said Haben.  

A White House Champion of Change, Haben was ranked among the 20 Most Impressive Students at Harvard Law by Business Insider.  In addition to attaining her J.D. at Harvard, Haben is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College where she received her B.A., magna cum laude with Honors in Sociology/Anthropology.

Since 1893, Helen Keller Services for the Blind has helped individuals of all ages who are blind or have vision loss, and who may have additional disabilities, develop independence and participate actively in their communities.  The Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults (HKNC) is the only comprehensive national program that provides vocational and independent living services exclusively to individuals who have combined vision and hearing loss.  For further information please visit our website – www.helenkeller.org.

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