2025 Year in Review & 2026 Outlook: Part 1

On this two-part series, we’re talking with APH’s leadership about the moments that defined 2025. The wins, the challenges, and everything in between. Plus, we’ll take a look at what’s coming next as we head into 2026 

On this episode (in alphabetical order)

• Jo Haas, Vice President of Advancement and The Dot Experience
• Anne Lancaster, Vice President, Chief Officer, Innovation and Strategy
• Craig Meador, Ed. D., APH President
• Paul Schroeder, Vice President of Impact and Outreach

Transcript

Narrator: 0:00

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: 0:15

Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's public relations manager, Sara Brown, and on this special two-part series, we're talking with APH's leadership about moments that defined 2025, the wins, the challenges, and everything in between. Plus, we'll take a look at what's coming as we enter 2026. Let's get into the interview. Hi, Craig. Hi, Ann. Hi, Joe, hi Paul, and welcome to Change Makers.

Craig Meador: 0:43

Good morning. Hello, Sarah.

Sara Brown: 0:46

Hey, Sarah. Great to be here. And before we get going with our questions, would you like to introduce yourself and let our listeners know just a little bit more about what you do at APH?

Anne Lancaster: 0:57

Hi, I'm Ann Lancaster. I'm the Vice President and Chief Officer of Innovation and Strategy at APH. And the work my team does sits kind of at the intersection of mission, of uh the customer technology, and of course the future of learning. And our team is responsible for making sure that the innovations that APH is investing in are actually removing those barriers for blind and low vision learners.

Jo Haas: 1:21

I'm uh Joe Haas, uh VP of Advancement and The Dot Experience at APH.

Paul Schroeder: 1:28

And I am Paul Schroeder, the Vice President for Impact and Outreach, which has a lot of our external facing stuff other than The Dot Experience.

Craig Meador: 1:37

And I'm Craig Meador. I'm the President and CEO of APH. And I get to work with a lot of wonderful people who help direct the activities and programs and products at APH.

Sara Brown: 1:49

So 2025 is over, but it was a big year. Can you talk about some of the highlights or key accomplishments from last year that stand out for you?

Paul Schroeder: 1:59

I'm going to start because I have relatively few accomplishments to note. But I like to, well, partly because I like to start with government funding. And I think we all remember that we had a 43-day shutdown uh in uh October into November. Uh, we have an appropriations process that is uh in in some dis well, a lot of disarray. Uh, and of course, by January 30th, Philip had to make new decisions here in 2026 about the funding for this year. But I do want to note two, a couple of accomplishments in that area. Uh, one is that although the Department of Education has been through a lot of chaos and staffing challenges and staffing reductions, and that led to some changes for us in terms of who we report to at the department. The silver lining is it's also led to, I think, a much stronger relationship with the Department of Education, especially the special education programs there. Uh, we are much more connected now than we ever were at the toward the end of the year in December. We did a monarch demonstration for the Office of Special Education Program staff and some others. Um, we worked very closely with our project officer, our liaison there at the department, who is herself a former teacher of the visually impaired. So we have that's a strength. And I think the other accomplishment I'd say on the funding side is we uh did achieve a slight increase in the House of Representatives appropriations bill. Now they haven't finished the process uh for 26, but that arguably is the bill that has more funding cuts in it, but we didn't uh APH got a slight increase there. So I will chalk that up as a as a small but but important funding accomplishment for the for the year.

Jo Haas: 3:47

And you know, from the uh The Dot Experience side of things, you know, 2025 was a uh a big uh a big year with a lot of heavy lifting on the construction um and planning side of things. Um, you know, the building came up out of the ground and uh um is now, you know, we're now at the point where we're working on on fit and finish and and uh um the the sort of final push to um to get us to the point where we can start exhibit installation. Um so that so that you know in and of itself was a uh I think a huge accomplishment, a lot of transformation on um uh on our campus here in Louisville. Um and and it's been a big year for uh private um and foundation funding. So, you know, most of that directed uh specifically to The Dot Experience, which is something that um we uh are not authorized to use federal funding for, of course, and have been trying to um raise uh um funds from other streams uh for for that project, and um have secured uh several six-figure gifts um uh for that project. And and just um as we're nearing uh the end of the calendar year are um uh just at about 4.5 million in hand uh for for that project. So exciting.

Anne Lancaster: 5:29

Well, you know, 2025 was a really a defining year for the Monarch, and it's when uh that whole platform, not just the device, but really started to scale. And I think, you know, we saw a lot with our Monarch Student Pilot. We have about 200 uh students who are enrolled in that, who have monarchs that are using them both at in the classroom and at home, and they're reporting data back to this. They and their teachers and their parents are giving us regular data about the use of the monarch. And so we really started to understand uh what the impact could be. You know, some of the numbers that we've seen uh showed us that uh our tactile graphics image library, 14,000 tactile graphics were downloaded onto the Monarch in just nine months of last year. And that's that's really awesome because when we started this project, teachers told us that they maybe teach about 10 tactile graphics a year. But now kids have access to thousands and they're exploring the world in new ways that they haven't been able to do before. Another interesting stat that we got from that is that teachers are reporting that their prep time has been reduced by about 30%. And that's just staggering because if you think about that, that's that's almost a day a week that teachers are getting back in time and where instead of preparing these accessible classroom materials, they're actually able to teach their student. And that's very, very exciting. And then I think another statistic that I just love and was such a surprise to us is that uh the kids are spending 60% of their time on the monarch when they're at home. So that means at home in the evenings when they're not even school, the in school, they're reading books, they're exploring, they're playing games, they're learning, they're gaining valuable literacy skills through those activities, and that's extending far beyond the day of of school. So that's that's just really exciting to see those kinds of impacts. You know, that's the exciting stuff. On the flip side, the kids want more, they want their monarch to do everything that mainstream technology does for them. Uh, it's a little intimidating, but I'm also just very proud that they they want what everyone else has and they insist on it. And uh it's been great to talk to some of the kids in this program because they really they they want more, and we're gonna try to do our best to get there. Um, but you know, we now have nearly a thousand four monarchs uh out there being used in classrooms and in workplaces every day. And that level of use, that's that's just that drives us. That is our mission. That's that's what innovation is about.

Craig Meador: 8:00

Yeah, so that one kind of that is the that is the mountaintop experience for 20 uh 25. I mean, there there were some other really great products that came out, but that's that's that was the big one because that represents I think the beginning of of uh a Braille revolution, the next revolution in Braille. So um I don't have much to add to that and hear Ann's passion and excitement there. Um and I share that deeply. Um, but some of the other things that have been going on at APH is uh it was a year of a lot of transitions. Uh we added a couple key new team members to help us as we move forward to the years to come. Um, we made great progress on the building remodel and on The Dot Experience. And then the other one is just the other big challenge that came was the the new administration, which um had deep impacts on the Department of Education, continues to have deep impacts on the uh Department of Education, and has really changed us from a um more of a field focus and um into having to be very much a political um, I hate to say activist, but pretty much, yes, advocate. Maybe that's a better word. We have really spent a lot of energy this year in advocating not only for the needs of APH, but the needs of all the agencies in our field that serve kids with low vision and blindness.

Sara Brown: 9:41

Now let's talk challenges for a slight bit. 2025 was not without our obstacles and challenges. Can you share any and explain what was done in response? Paul, I feel like you might be able to talk a little bit more about that.

Paul Schroeder: 9:56

Yes, 2025 was a challenging year uh from the government perspective, from working with government, a lot of change, a lot of chaos. Uh again, without getting into the politics of one way or the other, it was just a challenging environment for everyone to figure out how best to uh get things accomplished, and with lots of changes at the Department of Education uh and some difficulties with with Congress. So I think a lot of that. There was also the constant stress of whether federal grants would get pulled, whether funding would be pulled uh from APH. Um, we didn't really think it would, but um it is always a concern when you're starting to see uh lots of funding cuts taking place at the federal level uh in a way that's very different than we've ever seen before. So that was that was a lot of what 25 is. I do want to add one other accomplishment for the year, and that was in the Monarch Rise program. Uh, and that was uh getting monarchs into the hands of adults to start uh working on how it can best be used as a device to support employment uh for uh individuals in transition uh to employment, as well as adults who are looking to advance in employment.

Jo Haas: 11:17

Yeah, and I would uh this is Joe, and I would piggyback on this idea of you know how divisive and um complex the um cultural landscape was uh this past year. Um and when you're running a project that's designed as The Dot Experience is to be very um a very high profile uh visible initiative addressing um the challenges and and needs in our society around equity and inclusion um and and disability awareness, you know, trying to trying to balance um how we take that messaging out into the public. And I think we did that um rather well uh by by focusing our core messages on messages about uh humanity um and kindness and open-mindedness, um, you know, really, really uh um paring down the the uh objectives and core values of The Dot Experience projects to those things that um really still, I think in even in today's divisive world, feel like um places of commonality or common denominators. Um we saw about not quite 7,000 people in our local community um in the you know Louisville MSA area in outreach programs uh in the last year. And uh and and folks have been very, very responsive to um uh to what The Dot Experience uh aims to be and promises um in terms of its impact when we open. So challenging year, but a good one.

Craig Meador: 13:23

Um we we've just had to be really sharp and very focused. It was um we spent a lot of energy uh putting together our scenarios. What I our um uh wow, I don't have a a nice family-friendly way of saying it, our what if scenarios. Um, but you know, what had what if our funding gets cut? Uh what do we do? We work that through as an executive team, we work that through as a with our with the APH governing board so that we had a clear defined path of what our next steps would be if funding should be interrupted or um we received other challenges. I'm happy to report that while we did not get increases in funding, we were uh spared any cuts, which really was helpful. And despite all of that, despite all the interruptions and and the political circus, we were able to keep pushing our mission forward.

Anne Lancaster: 14:29

Yeah, and I would, you know, I've been um, you know, our code word for this is that we're in the time of the 236. And and those who know braille know dots two, three, and six are the big question marks. So every day when you get up in the morning, you're wondering what's the two, three, six today, right? Um, you know, what challenge is going to come that we don't expect that that uh we're gonna need to pivot. We're gonna need to kind of step back and reevaluate where we are. Um, that being said, we've also learned that the news cycle, while it can feel pretty scary sometimes, it's it's a lot like the weather, right? If you wait a few days, it will change. So I think we've really learned to become very, very disciplined about our mission through all of this, to always stay focused on the mission, to not get distracted by what's going on. Um, and then, you know, to find that courage, to dig deep and find the courage and realize this is the time that we lean in. It's not the time that we cocoon and hide. We've got to lean in and go forward because you know, mission is not the soft side of the work. It is the work, it is the backbone. And and that is what gets us through all of these challenging times, I think.

Craig Meador: 15:36

Yes, very much so. Very much so. We always say we have funding for today, we have a mission forever. Um, yes. So that keeps us focused.

Sara Brown: 15:48

And talk about any major product launches or partnerships that made a significant impact to EPH and its long-term direction.

Anne Lancaster: 15:57

Oh, so so many, Sarah. And um, you know, when I was reflecting on this, you know, this is this is a hard thing to talk about in just a quick podcast because, you know, in all total, APH released uh more than 30 new and modernized products last year. Um, and that's in addition to everything that's going on with the monarch. So there's a lot of that, and every single one of those products carries an impact value of its own, you know. But, you know, I have to say, if I look back and I say, what is the partnership that I am most excited and proud of? I think there was this watershed moment for me uh last summer, I believe it was, when we were able to announce that Jaws had multi-line support for the monarch. Um, and the what why this is important is because you had multiple assistive technology companies. We had our partner at NFB. We had so many partners that pulled together to make that happen. And let's just be honest, some of these partners are fierce competitors, but they aligned and they said that, you know, this is important. Uh, we see the potential of monarch and education. We want to be a part of it, uh, we want to make a difference. And now you see other companies following that lead and also coming on and developing multi-line support for the monarch. So, you know, this is just a reminder that innovation isn't about gadgets, it's not about competition. It's it's about equity. It's it's about access, it's about progress. And to see the partners in our field and in our world pull together like that, despite their differences and their competitive nature, was just a really uh exciting moment for me. I think we ran like a uh, you know, a little ad that had all of the partners at the end. And I that's something I I you know, I don't want to say I never thought I'd see it, but I thought it would be a long time coming, and and there it was. And that was a big moment for me.

Craig Meador: 17:50

That was huge. That was that was um, yeah, that was big. I would think uh beyond the product side, um, I was most proud of the field, the biggest partnership. I it's not new partnership, but what I will say was um, man, a a strong reset, or maybe reset's not the right word, but an amplification of the need for partnership. And a lot of that was led by Lee Nassahe at Vision Service Alliance. Lee did a masterful job when the world was turned upside down last January. She did both the job of being the uh triage uh person, making sure everyone's okay, figuring out who's hurting, um, and then did a great job of bringing everyone together and and providing a level of refocus and comfort for the field. Um and then then with all the partners at Vision Serv, being able to come together and saying, okay, let's all get on the same page as what are the what are the 10 or 15 things that we can all agree about, even though all our agencies are different. What are those those major tenets that we all stand for? And so, in essence, created um, I don't know. I mean, I'm trying to think of a historical document you would link it to, and probably I'm I'm getting a little dramatic there. But but basically it just said these are the non-negotiables for the blindness agencies within the United States. These are the things we believe in, these are the things we stand for. Yes, we have some some differences, we have some differences in mission, we have some differences in how in philosophies and how we feel mission should be carried out. But when you get right down to it, we all we've had met probably 30, 40 agencies come together and say, these are the non negotiables. And that gives us such a bigger voice on the steps of the Capitol. When you have basically a charter of all these agencies coming together saying, these are the non negotiables, and we're here to support each other. So, you know, that those are some of the great things that sometimes come out of a difficult situation. And uh, you know, the leadership of the field wasted no time and did not let a good crisis go to waste.

Paul Schroeder: 20:15

Well, I would say uh again, from the funding side, we benefit a great deal from the strength of our partnership and relationship with the National Federation of the Blind. They have been uh very supportive of not only funding for APH, but really of the whole uh system of programs and services that support uh blind peoples pursuing education, pursuing employment, pursuing independent living. Uh, and they they have really in many ways responded to the challenges of 25 by going to core principles to talk about the importance of these programs and what they mean for individuals. And it we've been a part of that because, of course, APH does provide uh a lot of these core educational supports that are needed uh for folks. And I think the other um benefit we've seen is a strengthening of our relationship with the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Of course, they will be in Louisville here in 26 for their uh biennial meeting. Uh, and that's going to be very exciting. And it's important to have that relationship with the educators and rehabilitation practitioners and orientation and mobility practitioners for uh APH for many reasons, of course, not only for press, but just in general, for APH press, but just in general for uh the work that we do. It's so uh much tied in with the work of those professionals.

Jo Haas: 21:44

It's been a really exciting year on the content development side of The Dot Experience project, um, uh with respect to integration of technology products, partnerships. Um the, you know, we've we've done a lot of work in collaboration with um uh the AFB Helen Keller Archive, um, and uh um and furthered that collaboration, you know, of course, the um uh objects from the archive will be um front and center as as uh as part of the Helen Keller Gallery um once The Dot Experience opens. And it's been um really uh um a nuanced and involved process to you know plan all of that out and get the uh the expectations aligned around the the use of that archive and even things like technology um and and partners like HumanWare, the Vispero, Ambutech, Lego Foundation, you know, all of the sort of um uh ways that uh um the organizations and companies that we work with and the things that we're using out in the classrooms across the country um will be visible and uh and and part of the visitor experience uh within our attraction as well.

Sara Brown: 23:18

That brings us to the end of part one of this episode. Please stay tuned in the next few weeks for part two of this conversation with leadership. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of ChangeMakers. And as always, be sure to look for ways that you can be a change maker this week.