New Jersey Recorder Annual Report 1999-2000 (text)

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Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Phone 609-750-1830
Fax 609-750-9653

New Jersey Recorder

A publication dedicated to our New Jersey family of members, volunteers, staff, and supporters

1999-2000 Annual Report

Impacting A Life That Impacts Lives

Jasmin Sethi of Elmwood Park, New Jersey is:

a Harvard graduate with a BA in Applied Mathematics & Economics and a 3.77 GPA

a former Research Assistant for the President's Council of Economic Advisors, drafting International Roundups for the President's Weekly Economic Briefings

a researcher for the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, concentrating on Indonesian banking

a former intern for the Industrial Credit Investment Corporation of India, investigating the effects of financial deregulation in that country

22 years old

blind

an RFB&D member since the fifth grade and a Top Winner of the 2000 Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Award

By any standard, Jasmin's academic career is an astonishing success. Currently studying at the London School of Economics, she began using RFB&D's services in 1988 after losing her sight to retinitis pigmentosa. She graduated valedictorian from Elmwood Park High School in 1996 and was named a New Jersey Governor's Scholar for outstanding leadership potential in public service.

Along the way, Jasmin has impressed the academics and policy makers she has encountered. Nouriel Roubini, the former International Senior Economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisors and current Director of the Office of Policy Development and Review for the U.S. Treasury Department finds her, "very bright, hard working, intelligent motivated and serious." Dwight H. Perkins, Burbank Professor of Political Economy at Harvard calls Jasmin, "a remarkable young woman," and was moved by "the true depth of her courage and character," after her research work in Jakarta and Singapore.

In her future, Jasmin aspires to "advise developing countries on how to strengthen their financial systems and attract investments." This falls in line with her dream of "impacting the lives of other people," and believing in, "the importance of a strong financial sector in creating real opportunities for individuals." Jasmin hopes her research can assist in guiding the policies of developing countries so their citizens can thrive.

Jasmin praises RFB&D's recorded texts for their efficiency, convenience and reliability. The borrower of 205 books, she says, "RFB&D has played an important role in my academic career thus far, and will continue to do so."

The New Jersey Unit of RFB&D is proud both of Jasmin's accomplishments and to be able to be a part of her continued success.

A message from the executive director and the board co-chairs

What a time to participate in the mission of RFB&D! We are constantly amazed at the pace and scope of the growth at the New Jersey Unit.

In the span of a single year the new Digital Audio recording program has grown from a beta-test concept to two active recording booths at the Princeton Studio. And production of recorded texts at the West Windsor Studio exceeded 3,800 hours of taped educational material last year - a new record for the studio's dedicated volunteers and staff.

In one short year our Educational Outreach program has grown from a few schools in New Brunswick to four urban school districts across the state. Chris Ranaghan and her team of outreach professionals and volunteers are to be commended for their work in reaching students throughout New Jersey who need our help.

The last year has also seen a change of leadership at the board level. The board has adopted a new "governance" model that focuses its work on strategic initiatives, rather than on the details of the unit's operations. A new streamlined structure is also part of the board's growth and development.

With so much growth happening, we're bound to have some growing pains. The two strategic initiatives we are pursuing, Digital Audio and Educational Outreach, require an historic investment of the unit's financial and volunteer resources. The expansion of our budgetary program plan for this year, nearly $348,000 more than last year, is one reflection of this rapid pace of growth. Your support as a volunteer, donor, member, or friend is more important than ever.

On behalf of our members, who depend on us for tools to help them achieve their academic success, thanks for sharing this exciting time.

Ted Taylor, Executive Director
Peter Gibson, Co-Chair
Shawn Ellsworth, Co-Chair

Photo Caption: The Executive Committee of the New Jersey Unit, elected at the board's Annual Meeting on May 23, 2000

L to R: Ted Taylor, Executive Director; Jim Amick, Past Chair; Carolyn Powell Sanderson, Development Committee Chair; James D. Walker, Finance Committee Chair; Amy Regan, Governance Committee Chair; Peter Gibson, Co-Chair; Shawn Ellsworth, Co-Chair; Daniel H. Jamieson, Jr., Vice-Chair; Richard Scribner, RFB&D President & C.E.O.

NJ Students to Benefit from $300,000 State Education Grant

Thanks to support from Governor Christine Whitman and the state legislature, students in New Jersey's special needs districts who have learning disabilities will soon have the tools they need to meet their academic potential.

A select group of Abbott district schools that include New Brunswick, Camden, Trenton and Paterson will share a $300,000 grant from the state Department of Education. These funds will support RFB&D New Jersey Unit's expansion of its pilot "Learning Through Listening" program begun last year in New Brunswick. A seed-money grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the successful pilot project.

RFB&D announced details of the funding on September 29th at a ceremony held at the Lincoln Elementary School in New Brunswick. Assemblyman Joseph V. Doria, Jr., New Brunswick Schools Superintendent Dr. Ronald Larkin and Tedford Taylor, executive director of RFB&D's New Jersey Unit participated in the program.

The grant is the largest ever received for the purpose of providing the necessary resources to youngsters with learning disabilities who attend schools in special needs districts. The Learning Through Listening state grant provides comprehensive funding for the production of recorded textbooks, provision of playback equipment, and in-school support services. RFB&D New Jersey Unit's Learning Through Listening program has emerged as a state and national model.

Assemblyman Doria explains, "As an educator and teacher for many years in New Jersey, I learned firsthand what will assist students with learning disabilities in the classroom. I sponsored this bill because I knew it would make a tremendous difference for many kids with learning disabilities.

"Learning Through Listening is an outstanding program and we are appreciative of this additional funding that will benefit the students of New Brunswick," says Superintendent Larkin. Taylor adds, "We are grateful for the state support and are excited to expand the LTL program that we piloted in New Brunswick last year."

Record-A-Thon 2000

This year's R-A-T, held from April 9–15, 2000, raised over $22,000 and produced over 450 hours of taped text.

photo captions:

NJ Unit Executive Director Ted Taylor and Princeton Studio Director Amy Steinmetz thank Governor Christine Todd Whitman for her efforts as a volunteer reader and Record-A-Thon 2000 Honorary Chairperson with an official R-A-T tee-shirt.

Long-time Princeton Studio volunteers Frenchie Blodget and Peg Hastings take a breather from extra recording sessions completed during the Record-A-Thon

Volunteers at the West Windsor Studio pause from the hectic Record-A-Thon pace for a quick group shot. Pictured are Michael Schneider, Irv Rabinowitz (R-A-T Committee member), Harry Pinch, and Bill Kastan (R-A-T Committee member).

RFB&D's Future Arrives

In RFB&D's volunteer orientation video, New Jersey Unit volunteer Irv Rabinowitz says this about digital audio, "I think the volunteers will be jumping to get at it," but adds pointedly, "when it starts to happen." Well Irv, "when" is now at the Princeton studio, which has two of its eight booths retrofitted with Volunteer Recording Workstations (VRW) for digital recording. A third booth will be converted in the coming months.

Why change to Digital Audio? Primarily, it makes RFB&D's recorded texts easier for its members to use. Books are becoming available on compact disc, making finding pages and chapters faster and much simpler. Princeton Studio Director Amy Steinmetz, a key player in the development of digital audio for RFB&D, says one should imagine a blind student trying to find a specific page on a book containing ten tapes. Currently, the student has to listen to the opening of each tape until finding the correct tape and track and then count beeps until the page is found. In comparison, she says, "Imagine if you could type in the page number, hit a button called 'page' and it takes you there." She calls it, "a boon to our members." Nationally, conversion to Digital Audio book production and distribution technology is requiring unprecedented expenditures. Over $10 million is budgeted over the next two years to accomplish this change.

The New Jersey Unit's share in this effort includes the cost of retrofitting the 14 recording booths in the West Windsor and Princeton studios. At $15,000 per booth, this is a serious financial commitment for the unit. NJ Unit Executive Director Ted Taylor says, "I invite all of the New Jersey Unit's supporters to join me in the challenge of raising the funds needed to finance the Digital Audio conversion - every gift towards this goal is an investment in our members' academic success."

From the Development Office

Annual Program Plan (text version of graphs)

As the New Jersey Unit expands the scope of its service and mission, we are presented with the challenge of increasing the base of our financial support. This year, we are counting on over $270,000 to come from the gifts of private individuals and institutions who are committed to our cause.

If you haven't already, please join our list of investors - members of the RFB&D family who want to be a part of our vision: that all people have equal access to the printed word. you can donate through our donations page.

Thank you for growing with us through your financial
support.

Andrew Butler, Development Officer

Dedication of the Sallie Fell Griffin memorial plaque in memory of her many years of service to RFB&D's Princeton Studio, March 16, 2000. Her family, pictured L to R: Gordon Griffin, Jr.; Margaret Knapp; Barclay Knapp; Gordon Griffin, Sr.; Sallie van Merkensteijn; Jenifer Griffin; Eric van Merkensteijn; Henry Griffin. Gifts in Sallie's memory totaled over $25,000.

Newsletter Production Team
Bonnie DiBenedetto
Tony Gruenewald
Ted Taylor

Web Design
Sandra Shapiro

Administration
Ted Taylor, Executive Director
Andrew Butler, Development Officer
Jeanette Eng, Development Assistant
Tiffany Triplett, Administrative Associate

Princeton Studio
Amy Steinmetz,Studio Director
Shamus Adams, Asst. Studio Director
Jessie Falcone, Asst. Studio Director
Renee Reger-Kelsey, Studio Assistant

West Windsor Studio
Olivian Boon, Studio Director
Gail Clauer, Asst. Studio Director
Tony Gruenewald, Asst. Studio Director
Judy Wilson-Smith, Studio Assistant

Educational Outreach Center
Christine Ranaghan, Director of Educational Outreach
Sherry Deutsch, Outreach Officer
Charles Stewart, Outreach Coordinator

Board of Directors
Board Officers
Shawn Ellsworth, Co-Chair
Peter Gibson, Co-Chair
Daniel H. Jamieson, Jr., Vice-Chair
James A. Amick
Amy Regan
Carolyn Powell Sanderson
James D. Walker

Board Members
Catherine D. Brown
Jerome K. Freedman, M.D.
Daniel Goldberg
Geoffrey D. Green
Earl Groendyke
Richard Grondhovd
Margaret T. Harper
Mari Molenaar, Ed.D.
Raymond A. Olson
Sandra Shapiro

Emeritus
Ruth Bogia
Mary-Adele Mather
Hendrick van Oss
Hugh D. Wise, Ex-Officio

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