Blind Institute of Technology
We are a leading workforce development and inclusive employment solutions provider helping people with disabilities, and the employers who hire them, achieve success in the workplace.Dining in the Dark 2020 is Coming!
On Saturday, February 8, BIT will be hosting its 5th annual Dining in the Dark fundraising gala! You can expect an evening of good food, good fun, and good cheer as we enter the new decade.
With a new year and new decade also comes a new theme: On the Cutting Edge. Attendees will be treated to a trip down memory lane with a variety of historical devices and technologies that helped foster independence and opportunity for people with disabilities, as well as a look at groundbreaking new assistive technologies that are set to make the 2020s the best decade yet for diversity and inclusivity!
Announcing the Diana Ferguson
Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award
BIT’s Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award, presented yearly at our Dining in the Dark gala, seeks to recognize, celebrate, and honor an individual or organization’s exceptional commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace. Diana Ferguson is 100% that person. Diana Ferguson is 100% that person. When she joined our Board of Directors in 2016, her first order of business was to inform me that she would be a “roll up your sleeves” type of Director. She followed this up by walking the walk.
To honor Diana and her importance to BIT, we will be changing the name of the Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award to the Diana Ferguson Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award! Diana may no longer be on our Board of Directors, but her contributions will impact BIT forever.
Connecting Job Seekers with Disabilities and Employers
We offer services and assistance to job seekers with disabilities, and their potential employers, that reduce barriers to inclusive employment through education, preparation, opportunity and accessible technology initiatives.
We support job seekers with disabilities nationwide who are looking to secure and retain meaningful employment as active and valued members of a team.
We partner with employers nationwide who are looking to attract, hire and retain some of the best talent available from the people with disabilities community.
Impacting People and Organizations
What did BIT do for me?
Ethan was born legally blind. With a supportive family, self-confidence, and a bit of grit, he started in a small public school system, worked his way to a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering Technology, and now works with some of the largest companies in the United States.
My dream is that all websites and programs that are publicly available are completely accessible to the blind and visually impaired. My dream is also that there is understanding amongst everyone what value the blind and visually impaired can provide to their lives.
– Ethan Holliger, Another Placed Candidate
Ethan has increased the strength, skill, and depth of understanding of the accessibility space within the company. He jumped in right away to help our developers and designers with thoughtful and scalable solutions, training, code contributions, and other recommendations. He augments his knowledge of web accessibility guidelines with personal experience using assistive technology. Ethan’s growth potential is high, and as he continues to hone his skills and abilities through new and diverse projects, the level and type of contributions he makes will grow exponentially. I can see scenarios in the near future in which organizations will start building teams around Ethan as a star player.
– Accessibility Lead, Aetna
A Word from a BIT Candidate, Theresa Montano
Funder and Sponsor Highlight
Our synergistic blend of solutions results in inclusive employment opportunities. But we cannot achieve the mission alone. Thanks to our partners in the mission, our funders, our sponsors, our volunteers, and people like you, our vision comes more into focus every day!
Hynd Sight is 20/20
James Hynd Trust
about us footer
The Blind Institute of Technology™ (BIT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing workforce development and inclusive employment solutions that prepare people with disabilities, and the employers who hire them, for success in the workplace.
Led by Executive Director Mike Hess, BIT aims to help solve the unemployment and diversity and inclusion epidemic among people with disabilities by reducing barriers to employment through education, preparation, employment placement and accessible technology initiatives. Our vision is a world in which people with disabilities have the same employment opportunities as their peers.