On this episode of Change Makers, we are talking to the one and only producer and consultant, Joe Stretchy. He’s making changes in how individuals who are blind and low vision are portrayed in movies and media. He is a man of many talents and he is here to talk about his childhood, various jobs and how he became the go-to man in the industry.
On this Episode (In Order of Appearance)
Additional Links
On this episode of Change Makers, we are talking to the one and only producer and consultant, Joe Stretchy. He’s making changes in how individuals who are blind and low vision are portrayed in movies and media. He is a man of many talents and he is here to talk about his childhood, various jobs and how he became the go-to man in the industry.
On this Episode (In Order of Appearance)
Additional Links
<silence> Welcome to Change Makers , a podcast from APH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.
Sara Brown:Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown . And today we're talking to the one and only producer, consultant, Joe Strechay. He's making changes in how individuals who are blind or low vision are portrayed in movies and media. He's a man of many talents, and he's here to talk about his childhood, various jobs he's had, and how he became the go-to man in the industry. Hello, Joe, and welcome to Change Makers .
Joe Strechay:Thank you so much for having me.
Sara Brown:And first off, before we get rolling, do you just wanna share off the top what it is that you do?
Joe Strechay:Yeah. Um, I'm a producer and consultant. I work in the entertainment fields and around blindness and disability , uh, trying to create , uh, inclusion, accessibility , uh, in the entertainment world, but also , um, helping , uh, organizations such as the American , uh, printing House for the Blind, specific to their , uh, new museum, The Dot Experience. But , um, I've worked on productions like "See" for Apple TV+, and Marvel's "Daredevil" on Netflix back in the day , uh, "The OA" on Netflix and, and other shows as well.
Sara Brown:All right . So just talk a little bit more about where you're from and about your early life. Can you talk about your childhood?
Joe Strechay:Definitely. I grew up in Northern New Jersey, like 20 miles west of Manhattan , uh, in New York City. I , uh, have a twin brother who's , uh, not blind or low vision. I'm blind and , uh, my mom is blind now. But growing up , uh, I would , we both , we all had like learning disabilities and , uh, learning from , uh, the skills that were necessary to help us , uh, succeed in school. Like I had a hard time learning to read , uh, early in school, and until I had those strategies , uh, around my learning disability. And , uh, around 11 , uh, I found out that I was, I had a visual impairment. My mom found out at the same time she had one. And , uh, over time, I , I lost my vision, but I , I was , uh, wasn't legally blind until I was 19, but school was, was, was tough. Um, I , between learning disability and, and all that, and , uh, I, I , I guess I enjoyed it, but , um, it was definitely difficult and , uh, took a lot of effort and , uh, as time went on , uh, my visual impairment started to impact it later on. Yeah .
Sara Brown:So you've worked for the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and the Florida Commission of the Blind Services and American Foundation for the Blind , also known as AFB, what you did there?
Joe Strechay:Yeah. Coming out of my graduate school training at Florida State University, go Noles! Um, where I, I, I studied teaching children who are blind or visually impaired , um, orientation mobility, so teaching people how to use the white cane and travel independently out in the world and, and then a specialty around transition from school to work. I, I ended up in , uh, New Jersey , uh, uh, teaching orientation mobility , uh, and, and really enjoyed it and had a good time. But I also got involved in different aspects. I was working at a training center , uh, at the time they would call themselves a rehab center, but now it's the Joseph Cohen Training Center. And while I was there, I, I got involved in like employment skills, like job seeking skills. They had a class on that. And I got involved in like, adjustment, vision loss. Uh , I was passionate about that and I was filling in for someone else and helping with that and trying to create some curriculum around these different aspects and , um, to try to make it more structured. But , uh, orientation mobility is a lot of fun, getting people out into the world. And I always try to include an employment focus with, even within orientation mobility, so like , uh, how to talk to employers , uh, navigating all the tips , uh, like create , uh, mock interviews , uh, with different employers or , um, going to check out and , uh, like creating , uh, figuring out how to get to different locations , uh, that would be related to an employment goal, and making sure I had that focus on employment. And not too long after being in , uh, New Jersey , uh, the State of Florida is , uh, Division of Blind Services reached out. And , uh, I interviewed for , uh, a transition position overseeing transition statewide and programs and , uh, doing quality assurance, but also , uh, managing the contracts and giving , um, kind of like assistance and , uh, guidance as we were developing out statewide programs as well as the working with the local providers who are amazing. And we had a , a lot, we had about 14 different transition programs in the state of Florida at that time. Um, so I did that for a couple years. Uh, and then , um, the American Foundation for the Blind , uh, Dr. Karen Wolf , uh, created a position within their program called Career Connect , um, which is , uh, now actually part of the ConnectCenter , um, for the American Printing House , uh, for the Blind. And , uh, something I'm really passionate about. And employment skills, mentorship and , uh, tr creating curriculum around job seeking skills. I got to create the Job Seekers Toolkit , uh, back then. And , uh, uh, <laugh> spent many a day sitting and writing, which was a lot of fun. But , uh, uh, kind of on self-awareness, career exploration , uh, the job seeking skills like interviewing and, and then post interview and getting the content. And , uh, during that time, I was also writing blog posts for the CareerConnect ®, blog and the American Foundation for the Blinds General blog. And I, I was really into popular , uh, media and I, I , my undergraduate is actually around media , uh, so from East Carolina University, go Pirates! We just got beat up by Appalachian State, which was sad. But , um, we , uh, well, East Carolina, I studied public relations and media and , um, hoped to work in media , uh, down the line. And I kind of hit a , some roadblocks as a person , uh, legally blind at that time. And , uh, and probably not as competent as I am today , uh, in my blindness skills , uh, early on. So , um, I came, I came to , uh, to explore media, but I, I always had this interest in media and , and , but I , I just felt , felt like it wasn't gonna happen while I started writing about popular media and culture and like, reality shows and interviewing , uh, persons who are blind or low vision that are on television and film. And then , uh, I, I started getting contacted by , uh, by , uh, productions. And I first worked on a writer's room for a USA Network show called Royal Pains with, they did three episodes with this character who's blind. So building in my , uh, like slang into the character and such, and in the situation that was happening and trying to make the writing , uh, fit, fit our world and have, have my input in there. So that was, it was really a cool experience. And I worked on some documentaries and other things, just helping them connect with people and commercials that were casting persons who are blind or low vision, connecting them as well. And , um, so I got , I got a little experience, and then another show came down the line, caught reaching out.
Sara Brown:Okay. So all of this kind of steered you into becoming a consultant, right? Is that, how, is that what happened? It's just like you sort of, you just sort of veered off to that path, right? Is that how this all happened?
Joe Strechay:So, while I was at the American Foundation for the Blind , uh, uh, it was more like a hobby at first, and , uh, just some interest. And I , I was definitely interested in it, but I didn't see a career happening in it. And , um, I, I would've loved it for a career to happen out of it. But , um, a show Marvel's "Daredevil" reached out, and I, so I worked on the scripts and with the Prop Master and set decoration and the lead actor and the child version of , of the, the lead character and , uh, and background performers and all these different aspects that I , I truthfully didn't know much about. Um, I got to , uh, impact a lot of different things. And, and at first , uh, if , uh, the organization I was working for wasn't , uh, wasn't sure how that would work, like "how could I work on a sh show <laugh> and work for them?" And , uh, so I, I took time off and I relocated, basically , uh, I would work , uh, my hours for , uh, AFB, but then I would work on set, like we arranged , uh, the shooting schedule around like my availability , uh, for the lead characters , uh, when he was Matt Murdock. My expertise is not superheroes. Uh, Daredevil is a superhero who's blind. And , uh, this is Marvil's "Daredevil," not like Fox's "Daredevil" with Ben Affleck. This is with Charlie Cox. And they arranged the schedule so that I could be there when anything , uh, dealing with Matt Murdock or the young Matt Murdock and , uh, worked with them . And I would spend a lot of time traveling. And so I, I just, I would stay with my parents up in , uh, New Jersey or my twin brother up in New York State or , uh, or other friends and , uh, stay on couches basically, while , while we were filming that show. And , uh, sometimes, you know, I didn't get to go home 'cause it was long, long nights and early starts. But , uh, and it , I didn't make a ton of money truthfully doing it. And I did season one, and , uh, it was a great experience, cool experience, loved everyone I worked with. Um, and I, I was like, they, and they kept trying to convince me to move to New York, and I was living in West Virginia , uh, with my wife and working for AFB, and , uh, I was like , uh, "I don't think so." We, we tested the waters, we looked at New York , uh, like what it would be to live up there. And , uh, even , uh, my wife Jen started applying to jobs out there to see , uh, and, and we were just like, I don't, we don't think it's the place we wanna live. And , uh, we kept go , I kept going in my career with the AFB and , uh, um, eventually, actually I got recruited for the Director of the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to supervise all the services for , uh, people who are blind or low vision in , in Pennsylvania. And I , I was like, oh, that , uh, it was part of my , my long-term plan to become an executive and a blindness organization and , um, get that experience. And so I, I, I went and , uh, actually I flew up on a Thursday and , uh, I was supposed to start on Monday, and I had a extended stay hotel. And in the morning on Friday morning, I get a call from a producer who's like , " um , one of our producers worked with you on , uh, Marvel's Daredevil. And, and I'm , we're working on a show where the creator , uh, is the lead actor and she's writing it, and , uh, uh, we would love for her to work with you." And I'm like, "well, I'm starting a new job on Monday. Um, I don't think I can." She's like, "I would love, we would love you to be here for a number of months, working with her and everything." And I'm like, "I can't do that. But I could come this weekend and on the weekends and have calls in the evening with , uh, different departments and stuff like that." And I , uh, so I, I, within a few hours, I was on a train in New York City meeting with Brit Marling , uh, who , uh, amazing, intelligent, creative , uh, woman. Um, and I got to work with her while she was , uh, writing it, but also like preparing. And so I trained her, like I've trained other actors as I would train any person who's blind or low vision. So I used sleepshade training and , uh, teach them how to use the cane properly, white cane properly, and teach 'em all the other skills. And she actually started learning braille and all that too, and , um, teach 'em technology and other things. And , um, but I , so I worked on the OA on weekends and nights, and , uh, again, really, I, I got paid more than I did on , uh, "Daredevil," but I didn't see this as a long-term career. Um, and I , I even passed off some of the work to other people at times. Uh, um, but , uh, I, I did most of it and I just , uh, wasn't sure. So I , uh, kept doing my job in Pennsylvania. I was the director for like three years , uh, before another show came to me. And, and, and it was kind of an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
Sara Brown:This is so cool. So all of this is just sort of word of mouth and you're, you're the mm-hmm . <affirmative> , you're the , the director of, you know, you got a , a , you know, quote unquote "regular job" by day, and then by nights and , and on nights and weekends you're consulting and doing all this other really cool stuff, and all this is just happening by word of mouth. You work with somebody who worked with somebody who's like, "hey, we worked with Joe and you should use him." That's how all of this is starting.
Joe Strechay:Yeah. Uh , all of it was word of mouth. And I would have references from like executive producers from like , uh, "Royal Pains" when I worked on that show. The executive producers , uh, said how valuable my work was , uh, when I was, because originally for Marvel's "Daredevil," I was actually recruiting other people for the job. I I recruited a whole bunch of people and , um, and got them, and they interviewed a number of people , uh, to do the work. And , um, and at the end of that, they were like, "we would really like you to interview for," I was like, "I have a full-time job." Uh, they're like, "I don't know. We, we just really think you'd be perfect for it, but , uh, we'd love for you to come up." So I ended up , uh, flying up to New York to interview for it, and , uh, they offered it. I'm like, I don't know how I'm gonna do this. Uh, trying to figure it out. And yeah, it , from then on , uh, then producer passed me on to the, "The OA" and , um, actually for Apple TV+ is, see they found me because , uh, my friend who's now, now , uh, became a friend, Gina Moss was searching like all people around blindness and , uh, consultants for television and film. And , uh, I was on a list of people then , and, and they talked , uh, to , uh, people I'd worked with. And they said, this is the person you need to connect with. And , uh, and Apple as well , uh, brought my name up as , uh, to them too. But , uh, Gina Moss put me in front of , uh, Francis Lawrence, who's directed four out of five "The Hunger Games" films, one coming out soon. Um, he, Steven Knight , who's , uh, created , uh, "Peaky Blinders" and "See," and , uh, just also wrote , uh, the episodes for , uh, our limited series, "All the Light we Cannot See" for Netflix coming out November 2. Um , but , uh, put me in front of those, these studio heads and, and people, and I was interviewing with the head of , uh, like Chernin Entertainment and , uh, uh, people running Apple's , uh, TV at the time, which was just starting. And yeah, I, I guess word of mouth and , uh, and notoriety, because Marvel's "Daredevil," like , uh, Charlie Cox spoke about me in like every interview he did. I , that changed a lot of things. Uh, one night I was , uh, in going to bed , um, and I woke up at like 5:30 in the morning with all these messages on my phone. Uh, and I guess Charlie was interviewed by Seth Meyers on Late Night with Seth Meyers. And half of his interview was spent talking about our work together, because prior to that, I couldn't even mention the words, Marvels "Daredevil." Um, I, I wasn't allowed to talk about working on it, and I didn't think I was ever gonna get to say anything. And then , uh, all of a sudden he's talking about me , uh, on television, and it changed everything. And it opened it up , uh, quite a bit. And I did some interviews, and one of the local interviews I did for a newspaper got picked up by like 88 other newspapers, including like, some of the largest in the country. And , uh, you just never know. And I guess, yeah, so word of mouth and all , like Brit Marling talked about me on, on like CBS Saturday Morning or something like that , uh, about our work and working together. And , uh, it's just, yeah, word of mouth for the most part.
Sara Brown:That is so cool. So you just went to bed one , you went to bed, a regular person woke up a celebrity.
Joe Strechay:Yeah, <laugh> . I , I wouldn't say celebrity, but , uh, I've definitely , uh, I had 15 minutes of fame there for a bit. <laugh> . Hey ,
Sara Brown:That's so cool. Now, when you're doing consulting on these, on these films and movies and documentaries and anything, when you're doing consulting, how do you, how are you instructing? How do you, how do you teach that to those, to the actors?
Joe Strechay:Yeah. A lot of my work early on was definitely around blindness and making sure the portrayal of blindness for actors who were sighted, and also like all the scripts and the little things about blindness that people , uh, don't know, like don't live it every day or, or study My graduate, my , the mix of my graduate work about , uh, blindness and my living it every day, I'm blind. Um, and , uh, building that into the scripts, but also I, I trained the actors as I would train someone who's blind or low vision, but also everyone learns differently. So I , it started off by training them that way, but also, like Charlie Cox would film me traveling around New York City and , um, which was interesting 'cause some kids started , uh, yelling at him, these , this from this school, this saying that , uh, what , why are you filming this blind guy? You know, it , it's why you're creepy doing this kind , yelling at him. And , uh, but , uh, we were doing it purposely. He wanted to see like, my little movements, and he built that into , uh, the character of Matt Murdock's, like how he holds his cane. And even like when I get to the edge of a curb and the exact angle I hold it at and stuff. So it kind of cool to have like your, your gestures and , uh, like my fist bump , uh, I, I love the fist bump, and so him and foggy , uh, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson do a fist bump, because I would do it with Charlie Cox. 'cause it's just a lot easier to reach out in your fist than make the person "pound it" versus the "handshake" at times. And, and it's a little hipper too. So , um, it got built into the show, but I, I trained them , uh, under sleepshade. Like I would train any other person who's blind or low vision. It started off in that kind of way. But like on "See" when I , when I, when I would ask, "are you gonna hire actors or who are blind or low vision?" Their answer was "yes." So over three seasons on, on "See" on Apple TV+ we brought on like 35 or 36 actors who are blind or low vision, like 20 of them in recurring roles, which means more than one episode each. And , um, getting to create accessibility for these actors, but also we brought on background performers, like hundreds of 'em over three seasons , uh, who are blind or low vision. So those are the people in the background, those extras. Um, and also actors with other disabilities. We had actors with cerebral palsy , um, ALS uh, uh, uh, background performers who are deaf or hearted hearing , um, all kinds of disabilities represented in our show. But their , the story wasn't around their disability, and I got to create accessibility for them . And , and I helped cast all these different people. And by season two of "See," uh , uh, Jonathan Tropper, who was the showrunner in season two and three, and really , uh, and , and , and I have to say Geno Toppin from Chernin Entertainment really made me part of casting. Uh, so Jonathan and I would review every audition that came through, whether , uh, it was an actor or stunt person, and to decide who got the part. And , uh, and we always made sure there were actors who were blind or low vision in the mix. Uh, they had to be in the final round, and we wanted to make sure they were always part of the, the decision. And it didn't mean they were right for every part, but , uh, it , uh, if there was a great opportunity to cast someone talented who's blind or low vision, we made it happen. And so I had to also create that accessibility, how we did things , um, what kind of, what medium the , their scripts were delivered in, and , um, like how blocking worked on set, like , um, whether we , uh, got to give , allow them to walk the set a little bit earlier , uh, or what , you know, their staff had to be something they could use really as people who are blind or low vision , um, in real life. So in having pockets built in for sunglasses, if they're gonna be filming outdoors. Uh, so in between takes, they could put 'em on or have their cane folded up in a , in a , in a bag or, or whatever else they needed because of some other sis disability. Um, just making sure that , um, they're able to just come and work on the day and they don't have to worry about whether things are gonna be accessible. So that's something I brought to "See." But also , uh, now to Netflix is "All the Light We Cannot See." And Shawn Levy wanted to cast a lead who's blind or low vision and casting Aria Mia Loberti , uh, who's amazing, a newcomer to film. And, and she's doing what she's meant to be doing. Uh, she is outstanding as Marie-Laure Leblanc and , and , uh, Netflix is , uh, all the light we cannot see, but making sure it was accessible to her. But, and , and introducing her to film and things I've learned, but also , uh, um, introducing , uh, Nell Sutton , uh, who's plays the young version of Marie-Laure Leblanc , uh, who's from, she's a, she was seven at the time , uh, from Wales. And , uh, what film, what the whole process of filming is and , uh, how that works. And then making sure her , uh, space is accessible. Uh, you know , uh, I , on all my shows, I made sure we had braille signage and , uh, race print if or other folks, and , uh, uh, we, we made sure the hotels that , uh, they , uh, people were staying at had braille as well. And , um, all those things are a part of the work I bring to shows . But casting people, you know, I , I helped go review thousands of auditions for , uh, "All the Light We Cannot See," for the, for the Marie-Laure Leblanc character , uh, uh, making sure that , uh, you know, lots of people claim to be blind or low vision , um, and would say they were legally blind, but not all of them were , um, which was interesting. And I, we saw this in " See," too, like, any person who wore glasses said they were legally blind. And, and that's not the case. Um, you know, people want to get, get an opportunity and , uh, if, if that opportunity means bending the truth a little bit, they're willing to do it. Uh , but so my work has changed over time, and now it's just making sure that we also capture , uh, blindness properly. And , um, not just in the script, but on camera. Like, so if, you know, Aria and I would talk about like, if she was , uh, you know, fi using her feet to find the edge of the carpet , uh, to know exactly where she was in some kind of space , uh, to find some object or whatever , um, we might not pick that up with a camera. We , uh, so telling her, oh, the camera didn't pick it up , um, sometimes Shawn would adjust , Levy would adjust the camera to pick it up, but other times we'd have to change the strategies we were using as a, as people who are blind to make sure it would tells that story in, in, in camera frame . Um, so that's something else I bring to , uh, the world of film and television is making sure we're telling the story properly . And , um, yeah. Yeah.
Sara Brown:Now, when you're consulting, do you read the script beforehand and figure out in your mind how you're gonna work with the actor?
Joe Strechay:All the productions I, I work on the scripts as well, so I'm giving input to the writers , um, on like, suggestions about every scene , um, like language and things that they do, actions story. And , um, so I give input on all of that stuff. And then I also , uh, work with their, with actors , uh, in preparation. Now, if we're talking about like, sighted , are we talking about sighted actors or actors who are blind or low vision ?
Sara Brown:Either.
Joe Strechay:Oh, either one . Yeah . So are you working with, you know, when you're working with Yeah . Someone who's , who's blind or low vision? They might, I'm , I mean , they know how to, I'm gonna assume I'm, I would have a success , you know. Lots of low people with low vision don't have training in blindness. So if they're portraying total blindness, oh , and , uh, a lot of them don't have training and, or they, they had training once and they don't use the skills every day . So they, their skills are not , um, all that. But also, like, you know, people, you find people in different places. Um, so often for some people with low vision, I , I was the first person training them on orientation or mobility, really. And then , uh, uh, for our shows , <laugh> and , um, not for, like, Aria is a skilled, she's a guide dog user and a skilled cane user , um, in , uh, "All the Light We Cannot See." So I wasn't training her on anything like that, but I was, when we were blocking the scenes, I would be talking to her. I would give a suggestion to her or the director. Um , she, she's a person who's blind . She may do something in a different way, and that's, that's great. And , uh, I just want to know how something's gonna be done so that we can capture it in frame as well, and make sure that we , uh, we look for it or adjust it and, and talking to the director as well. So , um, yeah, it's, it's different. So working with a sighted actor, or even on " See," though, where all the, we had actors who were blind or low vision , but we also had sighted actors portraying blindness. I helped block every scene with the directors. And , um, luckily, you know, Anders Engström, I worked with him for almost he most of season two and all of season three, but , uh, making sure that , uh, you know, when we're blocking the scene, he allowed me to give input , uh, to him, but also to the, the actors. And , uh, so what we're, we are figuring out what , where someone starts and where they end. So their first mark, their last mark, but what they do, and, and I can incorporate little things from the world of blindness and sometimes weird things. And I , I can suggest them to the director and to the actors and work with them to see if we can , uh, embed it into a scene or into a , a shot. Yeah . This
Sara Brown:Is so cool to learn. Are there any other projects you're working on?
Joe Strechay:Right now? There's a Writers Guild of America and , uh, and the SAG-AFTRA strike. So all my other productions are on hold or on pause right now. Um, I was working on like two animation projects. One is a very small one, one was a bigger one, and then , uh, advising on some stuff , technology for a series and stuff. But , uh, uh, yeah, but I, what I'm really passionate about now is also making sure that people know about The Dot Experience Museum , uh, for the American Printing House for the Blind, it's such a amazing thing. And as a person who's blind, my mom's blind now too. And , uh, growing up with a visual impairment, then blindness and total blindness, and , uh, and my gradual work is around blindness. Knowing the history about blindness and wanting to see a amazing museum in the United States , uh, or North America, that really , uh, gives input on how people who are blind live their lives, but also like shows off stuff from Helen Keller's Archives. But it also has a number of stories, real life stories from , uh, cast members who are blind or low vision, living their life , uh, every day . And getting to help on that , uh, is kind of a dream come true. Uh , you know, I got to go to Louis Braille , uh, childhood home , uh, while I was filming in France. And , uh, check that out. And, but I , I, I really wanna see something that's universal design and full as accessible as possible. And, and really the American Printing House for the Blind is committed to that and making that happen. Uh, so it's a blessing to get, to have input on that and , um, and, and share that story. Um, and another thing the American Printing House for the Blind is doing is , uh, uh, releasing , uh, the Monarch , uh, refreshable Braille screen, which is , uh, also allows you access to the tactile , uh, images. And the thing is, in my work in film, I'm office often , uh, reviewing like , uh, art schematics and diagrams of sets and stuff like that, and I'll have to go through a whole process to make them accessible to me. And then I have these huge binders of big , uh, papers with raised , uh, images on it. And to have some kind of electronic device like that , uh, is a game changer. And when I got to see, like, look at the map of the U. S. And Europe , uh, through the Monarch, it blew my mind because, you know, I , I haven't seen a map like physically in a long time, and getting to feel where the borders are and the shapes and stuff, things I remember from before. Uh , and then in a second changing it to another image . And these are some concepts that I know, but some concepts I don't know , and I haven't seen in ages, so it just blows my mind that technology of the Monarch , um, as well. So I'm, I'm really excited about the American Printing House for the blind and all they're doing.
Sara Brown:So you actually just answered my next question I was gonna ask you, which was <laugh> talk about being a cast member for APH's new Dot Experience Museum, but so thank you for explaining that, that, because it's always lovely to hear it from other people's perspectives, but how does it feel, because I know the cast members are gonna be throughout the museum, sharing their stories. How does it feel to be one of those cast members?
Joe Strechay:It's amazing to be chosen as one of the cast members for the American Printing House, for the Blind's Dot Experience Museum , like to represent blindness, and, and every you meet one blind person. You've met one blind person. Uh, you know , uh, blindness is a spectrum and there's tons of differences, and whether you're low vision or blind, and , uh, getting to represent what I've experienced in life and been able to do , um, but, and sharing my story , uh, in such a platform, it , it just blows my mind. It is a huge honor , uh, like to be chosen to do that, but also, you know, like to be included with such amazing other people , uh, who've done so much and are accomplishing, I mean , just living their lives as people who are blind or low vision. And if someone can go there and learn from my story or anyone else's and, and feel like they, that someone else has experiencing it , I, I talked to so many people who are blind or low vision all over , uh, north America, but I I in Europe as well. And , uh, and getting to talk to them. And often they don't feel connected to other people who are blind or low vision and going to someplace where they can hear a video that's described or , uh, where someone's telling their story. And I, I think it's gonna help connect people and , uh, I think that's important. We all want to feel connected, like we're not alone. Um, you know, they're , everyone's different, but , uh, we're also all the same as well.
Sara Brown:And then you touched on another popular topic here at Change Makers is the APH Monarch, which is just, like you said, the dynamic tactile device that'll be able to display , uh, refreshable braille, multi-line braille and graphics. And that's just, we know it's such a game changer. If you've been listening , um, anybody out there listening to previous podcasts knows this is gonna change the way kids receive books. It , you can download a book, you'll be able to, you know, have the graphic displayed all at the tip of your finger, which is so revolutionary, and we are so excited about it. But talk about how the Monarch will help you do your consulting on, on movie sets.
Joe Strechay:Yeah. The Monarch is , uh, a dynamic tactile images and also , uh, refreshable braille screen , uh, that is gonna change how students access books. Um, you know, it has 10 lines of refreshable braille, which is a game changer in general, you know, for formatting, so for students to learn formatting. Uh, but also for me as a , as a person out there in the world , uh, being able to access , uh, uh, images and tactile images and set , uh, designs and different things and access that information , uh, on , on a screen where it's not just , uh, like a description of something or it's not having to run it through four other machines to make it accessible and, and then still having to do all kinds of other labeling. Um, Monarch gives me the opportunity to access images, but also like , um, information. So having the , being able to format documents , uh, uh, in a meaningful way. Uh , sometimes you , when you're, you're using , uh, the formatting with a screen reader, you don't get all the information you need. You might miss something. So getting run your fingers over , uh, the words and the lines and the sentences, and getting the edit in that way makes a big difference. Um, also if you're reading a book like , uh, in Braille and, and you wanna read the book, like physically, you know, that you're usually just reading one line at a time. Um, so being able to actually skimm and not have to scroll through all the time , uh, is a big difference. Uh , you know, we're usually used to using 20 or 40 character , uh, refreshable Braille screens. And , uh, having something that has 10 lines a braille is crazy and mind blowing . Um, I, I think it's gonna change how , uh, students learn information and access the graphs and charts. That's such a game changer . Like, if you're doing standardized testing, often they'll have a description, they won't have that, so that's not the same. So this is providing equality . I would say that this is access, this is a right for students, and , uh, but also for myself and my work, it , it , it , it could be quite amazing. So I look forward to down the line, getting to use it for my, my work. Yeah.
Sara Brown:Yeah, we're, we're, we're really excited. It's a really cool piece of , piece of insane technology that's just gonna change so much and give so much access to everyone. And that's our goal. I always like to ask these last two questions. What would you say to your younger self or to anyone out there listening that's interested in doing what you're doing but doesn't know how to start, what would you say to them?
Joe Strechay:I would say if you wanna make films, make films, like if you wanna act, act, so like, start making your own , um, and start creating , uh, be a creator. Uh, you know, if, if , um, one of my, my friends , uh, she's a , a famous actor, and she said , uh, you know, often people will ask her for advice. And she said, you know, if you love acting, go out and act, whether it's community theater, commercials , uh, anything, like, put yourself out there and , uh, and start doing it. Um, you know, take classes, but also put yourself out there. And I would say for film, if you wanna make film, create films, write scripts, do all those things, contact , uh, you know, apply for jobs as well. But, you know, not everyone's gonna be doing like huge projects. Uh, there are plenty of people making documentaries and small docs and small films and , um, and learning how to do the process. And, and I, I think we , we live in a time when there are people like Sheridan O'Donnell, who's a writer and director who's legally blind and , uh, uh, as well as , uh, James Rath , uh, trust in trust , trust rep , trust rep , uh, from, he's also has a show coming down the line, I think it's called "Blind and Abroad ," uh, about travel , uh, and , uh, and experiences out in the world as a person who's blind or low vision . Um, there, there are a lot of creators out there doing their thing and making it happen. And I , I think , uh, you just have to put yourself out there. You also, but have to practice and practice and practice. All these people I've mentioned , uh, are , have been , haven't been doing it just one day. They've been doing it for a long time, and they're putting their effort and investing in it.
Sara Brown:And then my final, final, final question is, do you have anything else you would like to say? Anything else you'd like to add about this, this topic?
Joe Strechay:I would say thank you , uh, to the American Printing House for the blind, for what they do, you know, really , uh, putting out products , uh, that are used by students all over the world in the schools. Um, the professionals, the textbooks that are training the professionals , uh, to work with people who are blind or low vision, making sure that , uh, access is, is , uh, right and making sure access is equal and that , uh, we have the , the tools we need to be successful in life and work and in education. And I , I want to say thank you for , for pushing to do that and making sure that's possible.
Sara Brown:Okay. Joe, thank you so much for joining me again on Change Makers.
Joe Strechay:Oh, it was a great pleasure. Thank you so much. Sara.
Sara Brown:Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change Makers. I've put links to Joe's website, his IMDb page, as well as information to some of the projects he's worked on, and to some projects that are coming out in the future. As always, be sure to look for ways you can be a change maker. This week I .