Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:24] What inspired Dennis Steiner’s lifelong passion for empowering people who are blind
[05:50] How shifting from a caretaking model to an empowerment mindset transformed VisionCorps and its impact
[08:17] The role of mentorship and why culture trumps talent when developing leaders
[11:10] Why embracing failure and taking risks are essential for personal and professional growth
[13:11] How accessible technology and strong “blindness skills” have opened new career opportunities for people with vision loss
[20:05] What Dennis learned from representing the U.S. at the World Blind Union and advocating for employment worldwide
[34:14] The achievements Dennis is most proud of at VisionCorps
[40:09] Dennis’ advice for the next generation of leaders

In this episode…

Securing independence and meaningful employment for people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired requires more than just creating jobs. It takes mentorship, advocacy, and a deep belief in human potential. For over four decades, Dennis Steiner, president and CEO of VisionCorps, has led with that philosophy, transforming lives through opportunity and empowerment.

In this episode of our Mission Driven series, Dennis joins NIB President and CEO Soraya Correa to reflect on his 42-year career and the lessons that shaped his leadership. He discusses how shifting from a caretaking model to a culture of empowerment revolutionized VisionCorps, the critical role of mentorship in developing future leaders, and why embracing failure is vital for growth and innovation.

Dennis also shares his experiences representing the U.S. at the World Blind Union, advocating for greater access to employment and technology, and expanding VisionCorps’ reach to serve thousands across Pennsylvania. As he prepares for retirement, he offers thoughtful advice to the next generation of leaders – to listen, learn, and lead with purpose, creativity, and courage.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“I can teach someone how to do a job, but I can’t teach them how to care.”
“You have to take some risks along the way, but you just can’t be afraid to fail.”
“Good blindness skills are the foundation for good employment; if you don’t have those, you’re not going to be successful.”
“I don’t want to be known as a blind leader; I got here because I earned it.”
“You know, nothing makes me happier when I hear that one of our employees is, you know, will come into my office and say, you know, I’m going to buy a house. I’m going to buy a home.”
“Don’t be afraid to fail. My dad was a basketball coach, and I wrestled in high school. And, you know, it was constantly drilled into my head: It’s not about the last shot you took. It’s not about the last match you won or lost. It’s about the next one. So, don’t worry about yesterday. Keep focused on moving forward.”

Action Steps:

Mentor emerging leaders with purpose: Providing guidance and sharing experiences helps develop confidence, accountability, and long-term leadership potential among rising professionals.
Prioritize culture over credentials: Hiring for mission alignment ensures a team that’s passionate, values-driven, and dedicated to sustained impact.
Embrace failure as part of growth: Viewing mistakes as learning opportunities fosters innovation, resilience, and continuous improvement within teams and organizations.
Invest in adaptive technology training: Equipping employees with accessible tools and digital skills expands independence and creates pathways to broader employment opportunities.
Challenge limiting expectations: Setting higher standards for all individuals, regardless of ability, builds a culture of empowerment, equity, and excellence.

Sponsor for this episode

This episode is sponsored by National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation’s largest employment resource for and employer of people who are blind. NIB creates opportunities for people who are blind to become wage earners and taxpayers, reducing their reliance on government support and increasing engagement with their communities. Learn more about their impact at NIB.org.

This episode is also brought to you by NSITE, the premier organization dedicated to connecting professionals who are blind, low-vision, or visually impaired with career opportunities. Whether you’re an employer seeking talented individuals or a job seeker ready to take the next step, NSITE provides the resources and support to help you succeed. Learn more and explore opportunities at NSITE.org.

About Dennis Steiner

Dennis Steiner is the president and CEO of VisionCorps, a nonprofit that provides rehabilitation services and employment opportunities for people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired.

Dennis joined VisionCorps in 1983 and held a variety of roles with the agency before becoming CEO in 2008. Under his guidance, the organization expanded its facilities across multiple Pennsylvania counties and merged with a sister agency to further its reach.

Dennis has led initiatives to strengthen workforce development, expand community partnerships, and advance employment opportunities for people who are blind. Additionally, he serves on several national boards within the fields of blindness and rehabilitation.

Episode Transcript

Intro: 00:01

Welcome to the Heard & Empowered podcast presented by National Industries for the Blind. We’re on a mission to empower people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired to build fulfilling careers, gain personal independence, and take the next step toward achieving their own American dream. Guests from all walks of life share their journeys and how they overcame challenges they faced along the way. Whatever your interests, experience, talents, or career goals, listen to discover important connections and unlock the resources and inspiration you need to chart a new path. Ready to be heard and empowered?

Soraya Correa: 00:36

Hello and welcome to Mission Driven, a special series of the Heard & Empowered podcast. I’m your host, Soraya Correa, president and CEO of National Industries for the Blind. In this series, I sit down with the people who power our mission to create meaningful employment for individuals who are blind, low vision or visually impaired. My guest today is Dennis Steiner, president and CEO of VisionCorps in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Dennis has devoted 42 years to providing services, employment opportunities, and mentorship for people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired.

He will be retiring at the end of October, and I’m excited to have the chance to speak with him about leadership and our shared mission before he starts his next chapter. Dennis, thank you for joining us today.

Dennis Steiner: 01:22

You’re welcome. Soraya, it’s great to be here.

Soraya Correa: 01:24

Thank you. So, I’m going to start with your, you know, kind of open up with your career journey. Let you tell us a little bit about, you know, how you got started in the business. And then we’ll jump into some discussions about leadership and some of the great work that VisionCorps has been doing and that you personally have been engaged in.

So my first question revolves around basically, you’ve devoted 40 years to VisionCorps and to creating employment for individuals who are blind.What inspired you to join the agency back in 1984, and what has kept you passionate about this work for all these years?

Dennis Steiner: 01:58

Well, it’s really interesting because I had absolutely no desire to get into this field. I graduated from Penn State with a degree in rehabilitation counseling, and was doing some work for an organization in the area where I grew up. And it was difficult because there wasn’t a lot of transportation up there in rural Pennsylvania, and I really needed it. I really needed to be in a place where I could be a little bit more independent. So this job became available as a case manager, and I took it, although I had, I really I thought, you know, I grew up with a vision impairment, I don’t know that I want to work in this field. But I did it, and I immediately fell in love with the community of Lancaster and I, I really liked the organization, but I was really struggling because it was a paternalistic kind of organization at the time. It was more about taking care of people. And about three years into my career, or maybe four years into my career, I started looking around and we but at the same time we got a new CEO and our employment program was really struggling at the time.

And he called me into his office one day and said, he tells a different story than I do, but I remember it saying, what do you know about our employment program? And I said, you know, I don’t think we have any expectations for people who are blind. I think our expectations are low. I think we treat people as though they’re incapable and not capable.

And he said, okay, the job is yours. Now his recollection is he came to me and asked me, asked me that question. And he told me that I said he needed me because, you know, we, I thought we could do a lot more with our program. And the rest is, it is sort of history.

I mean, I, I really fell in love with the operation side of the business, and I, and I realized very quickly that a job, you know, just creating a job is not enough. Because with a job comes so much, so much else. Empowering people to have economic independence, greater personal independence. and that to me was important. It wasn’t so much about making things and packaging things or shipping things.

It was about really impacting a person’s life beyond that. And that’s kind of where my passion for this whole business started. And, and, you know, I knew nothing about operations. I have absolutely nothing about, you know, workflow, process flow. And, but I really wanted to learn it and, you know, and it, it got to the point where if, we were making, you know, 25 cases of something a day, I wanted to figure out how we were going to be able to make 26 and share that as we got better at what we were doing, raising wages, increasing benefits for people.

And that’s really what my passion has been.

Soraya Correa: 05:50

You know, it’s interesting to hear you talk about that, you know, it’s more than just giving a person a job. It’s about helping that person really understand what it means to be economically independent, and to build that self-confidence in the individual by giving them that job and showing them that career path. I think that’s the role of leadership, believe it or not. I’ve always believed that the job of leadership is not just to bring in people to work, but to enable them to do the job, teach them how to be better, guide them, mentor them. So I certainly appreciate your passion because I share a very similar passion.

And I and I love your commentary about getting in there and figuring out, well, how did we make those 25 cases, and what does it take to do it? ’Cause once you understand the business, it makes it easier to manage the business.

Dennis Steiner: 06:41

It really does. I had a couple of really good mentors. One of them was from; because I didn’t know anything, I hooked up with the Lancaster Industrial Engineers group and they had a, you know, every profession has a group. And I reached out to them and said, you know, I don’t know, I don’t have any idea what the hell I’m doing.

So I met with an engineer, and she was an engineer for Armstrong Corporation, and she basically mentored me for a year on time and motion and process flow and, and that’s really kind of how I learned it. And then I had another mentor who, his best piece of advice to me was, he said, if you can manage a dollar, you can manage a million, and you just need to know where every penny goes. And I kind of understood that and used that as kind of a model when we were growing our employment program and improving our efficiencies throughout the organization.

Soraya Correa: 07:58

Wow. That’s outstanding. I’m glad you mentioned the mentorship because I know that you’ve mentored folks, but it’s always good to hear about, you know, when leaders talk about who mentored them and how they took advantage of that mentorship, you know, how it changed their lives. Can you talk a little bit about some of the mentoring that you’ve done?

Dennis Steiner: 08:17

Well, I think to me, two things I’ve always lived by, you know, the philosophy that culture trumps talent. I can teach someone how to do a job, but I can’t teach them how to care. I can’t teach the passion. So as I looked at hiring managers and people throughout the organization, the first thing I look for is, you know, how they fit into the culture and how they fit into the mission. And then, you know, then it becomes a matter of coaching people, helping them, helping them develop their specific job skills.

And, you know, we’ve really made a conscious effort in our organization, for a long time, of promoting individuals who are blind into higher levels throughout the organization. And I’ve always told our employees that you’re not going to get this job because you’re blind, right? I’m not falling into that trap. You’re going to get the job because you deserve it, because you’ve earned it. And that’s kind of been my approach.

And I, you know, I always tell people, if people are blind, if you want to be a leader, the first thing you need to understand is you’re going to put more time in than somebody with vision. The truth is, it just takes you a little longer to do things. You know, voice recognition and screen readers don’t work as fast as your eyes. And, you know, and you’re going to have to, you know, work at learning how to read different kinds of Excel sheets and that kind of thing, which don’t always work well with assistive technology. But if you’re willing to put the time in and you’re willing to put the effort in, you can grow and you can be a leader in this organization, if not this organization, any organization.

Soraya Correa: 10:30

Yeah. No. That’s fantastic. That’s interesting that you say that because I’ve always believed that, to be a leader, you have to put in more time, you know. In other words, you know, some people have to work harder at it than others, but you’re always going to have to put in one more time because, to be a leader and to be a good leader or an exceptional leader, as I like to say. That means you’re learning every day.

You’re trying something new every day, you’re willing to go out there and put yourself out there. And I would think that for an individual who’s blind, that’s even doubly more important to really, you know, put themselves out there and explore the opportunities, the learning, the capabilities, and what’s out there that’s available that can support and assist them through their journey. So I appreciate you saying that.

Dennis Steiner: 11:10

And the other thing I think that’s really important is, and I always tell people, and this doesn’t have anything to do with vision loss, but you can’t be afraid to fail.

Soraya Correa: 11:19

Exactly. Yes!

Dennis Steiner: 11:20

You know, you have to, you have to take some risks along the way and, you know, understanding what those risks are. Right. You know, but there is risk and you just can’t be afraid to fail.

Soraya Correa: 11:37

I can’t agree with you more. In fact, you know, I always say that the most successful people can tell you how many failures they had, and they’re probably going to say they’ve had more failures than successes, because that’s how you learn. You learn when things don’t go well. You know, I’m one of those people that always says, if somebody tells me they never fail, I’m like, done with you. Thank you. See you. Goodbye. Because if you have never failed, then how do you know how to recover? How do you know? How do you learn? How do you try new things? You know, risk.

Dennis Steiner: 12:07

One of the questions. I always ask, the questions I always ask during an interview is, tell me about a time when you really messed up.

Soraya Correa: 12:14

Yeah. Yeah.

Dennis Steiner: 12:15

And it’s really interesting to hear how people respond to that. You know, some people are very forthcoming and other people are… Hesitant? Yeah. You know, I don’t know. And so I always ask that question. Tell me about a time in your career when you really screwed up and what did you do about it.

Soraya Correa: 12:36

Exactly. Now, I love it, I love it. I think you did ask me that question when you were on the selection panel for me.

Dennis Steiner: 12:43

I probably did.

Soraya Correa: 12:45

So, you know, I’m going to talk a little bit about rehabilitation services because you, you know, you’ve been in this business for basically over 40 years. Talk a little bit about how technology, accessible technology and services have improved to enable individuals who are blind to be able to venture into business areas that perhaps they did not consider before or they were not considered viable for them before.

Dennis Steiner: 13:11

Yeah. Well, the first thing that that, you know, when you talk about employment and the one thing we really stress here at VisionCorps, and this goes regardless of what position you’re in or what position you’re applying for, is that you develop what I like to think of as blindness skills.

Traveling independently, having, you know, being able to navigate around the workplace. And that’s first and foremost in my mind. And then we kind of talk about those other skills taking, you know, taking care of yourself. How do you make sure that you get those things in your life done that need to get done, whether that’s the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry and, and whatever? And then, because I believe that good blindness skills are the foundation for good employment, if you don’t have those, you’re not going to be successful in your job.

So. we really focus on those with new employees or new individuals who come into our organization is developing those blindness skills. Then we talk about, you know, you ask about the technology and and, you know, that’s probably the biggest change that I’ve seen in the 42 years that I’ve been here is the technology that allows people I mean, if you think about it, just doing research 25 years ago, someone who was blind had to get somebody and go to the library and they had to find it and read it. Now, with the advent of all the technology and the accessibility, and look, there are still problems with accessibility. I get it. You know, some things are more accessible than others. Other programs are more accessible than others. But, by and large, you can function pretty independently if you have those, you know, accessible technology skills. If you can use Zoomtext, if you’re low vision or, or JAWS or Window-Eyes or whatever program you prefer, you can do anything in the job market now. And I think it’s opened a lot of doors for people who otherwise wouldn’t have had that opportunity.

Think about, you know, using a screen reader to read an email, as opposed to getting a letter in the mail and trying to figure out how you’re going to read it. So it’s also, you know, it’s also allowed people to be more independent with all the, the, you know, Amazon online shopping now, Instacart, I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get to the grocery store now. I can use Instacart and order what I need. So it’s really, for an old guy like me, sometimes it’s just unfathomable about how far we’ve come. And, you know, you know, we still talk and we still gripe about some of the things that don’t work out the way we want them to. But it’s pretty impressive. I mean, you know, we’ve got people now working in our contract administrative program, doing contract closeout work. Twenty years ago, that wouldn’t have been possible.

Soraya Correa: 16:49

Exactly. Well, call center’s, right? Call center work that we do. Right? Yeah.

I’m always impressed by the incredible skills and talent that I meet when I go out and meet, you know, when I go out to visit our nonprofit agencies, whether it’s services, manufacturing, or a combination of both, just the incredible skill and talent of the people. And, you know, one of the things that you emphasized at VisionCorps that I, that I really like is that concept of taking care of the entire person, making sure that they have what I call those soft skills that are needed to be able to survive in a work environment. Frankly, we need to teach that to a few sighted people, too. You know, those soft skills of how to navigate, you know, the work environment, how to deal with people, how to work through the day, including how to take care of yourself. I think those are extremely important skills.

And so, I’m grateful that we’re focusing on that a lot more.

Dennis Steiner: 17:47

One of the things we, you know, and particularly with our younger population, you know, oftentimes they don’t have the opportunity to to have a job as a teenager or to understand what work is. And so, you know, you’re right. We have people who come to work here, and it’s the very first job they had. And, you know, it’s all about, hey, you got to get up in the morning.

You got to be here on time. You have, you know, things that teenagers learn, excited teenagers kind of have an opportunity to learn as they’re growing up, and we have people graduating from college who’ve never had that experience. So, one of the things we really do try and focus on is those soft skills, because I think that’s really important. You can’t succeed without them.

Soraya Correa: 18:49

It is. And that’s true whether you’re sighted or blind. You gotta have the right soft skills. You gotta know how to navigate the work environment, engage with people, you know, again, take care of yourself, get yourself to work, you know, have managed your time wisely. So those are extremely important skills.

So I’m glad to hear that we’re doing more of that. And frankly, you know, I sometimes wonder why people think that individuals who are blind are actually different because they’re really not. They’re really not. The difference is in how they do things. Right?

I remember somebody telling me that when I first came to work here, that it wasn’t, the blindness just makes you do things differently, that’s all. But you still do the same things. You study in the same way, you know your brain generally works in the same way. So, you know, I’m glad to hear that you guys are focusing on the soft skills.

Soraya Correa: 19:40

I was going to say so because a lot of people may not know this about you, that, you know, you’ve represented NIB at the World Blind Union and also served as president of NAEPB. So these national and international roles of leadership. Tell me, you know what, what you learned about shared challenges and opportunities across the spectrum for individuals who are blind?

Dennis Steiner: 20:05

Well, we’ll start with the World Blind Union. I mean, that was really interesting because I had an opportunity to spend a lot of time with some folks from Canada and, you know, the North American group. And the one thing that really stood out to me was when we went to Trinidad for a meeting and meeting people from an island country who were, who were blind. And you know that the lack of services there was just amazing to me. And I, I came away thinking that, you know, we complain about the services here in the United States and, and legitimately so, there are things that we could do a lot better. But when I spent 3 or 4 days with those folks and, you know, the lack of basic services like orientation and mobility, rehabilitation services, rehabilitation, teaching. The other thing that amazed me about that group of people was, though, how resilient they were. I mean, they were, you know, they figured out how to do things on their own, and they figured out how to navigate the system. And that was really impressive to me. And then I, I, you know, had an opportunity to, to get involved in, in some other things like the Marrakesh treaty where copyright laws, we got countries to agree to, to, you know, rewrite their copyright laws so that we could exchange books, audible books and those kinds of things. And then how in Europe, you know, they’re working on electronic, electronic vehicles. They’re wonderful. But they don’t, they don’t give a sound off like a car does. So traveling for someone who is blind, and it, just working with individuals who were focused on those kinds of things.

And of course, working with the NAEPB was really interesting. At times I felt like, you know, I was trying to herd cats because we’re all independent organizations with different needs and different objectives. But I think the one thing that that group has been able to do, as it’s kind of matured over the years, is really have a stronger public policy voice, which I think is really critical. But one of the things that it taught me was that, you know, I think because of that, I was a better listener. I think it’s a better, better understanding of the big picture.

Right. Because we all get kind of focused in our little world. And when we go to those meetings, we tend to focus sometimes on what’s important to us and not important to the collective group.

Soraya Correa: 23:35

Right. That’s very good. So, you know, I was going to say what you said made you a better listener. I don’t know if you heard me say better advocate, probably because, you know, you were speaking on behalf of the NAEPB.

And that leads me to, like, my next question, which is, you know, you’ve been a very strong and frequent advocate on Capitol Hill. And, you know, I just wonder what do you think policymakers need to better understand and appreciate about employment for individuals who are blind? What’s that message, that resounding message that you want them to take away?

Dennis Steiner: 24:12

I think the resounding message is that public policy makers need to understand about employment programs like ours, like the AbilityOne program, iIt’s really a benefit to society. Whenever you talk about a government program, the immediate thing that people think about is some kind of giveaway. Or it’s not, you know, and what I try to show them is how this program positively impacts our country, not just not just for people who are blind, but from an economic standpoint from a, a, you know, NIB and the AbilityOne Program. We’re a significant supplier of textiles to the Defense Department. I mean if you take AbilityOne agencies out of there, there’s a problem, right? Because there aren’t textile manufacturers in our country like there were 25 or 30 years ago. And we provide valuable products and services to the federal customer. And, in return, the people that are performing that work are becoming contributors and not takers. And that’s really the message that I try to send to our leaders in Washington and our elected officials.

Soraya Correa: 25:43

Sure, sure. It’s about, you know, creating employment opportunities and giving people an opportunity to really be a part of the American fabric. And here’s the thing, you know, when everybody else was going overseas, we stayed here. We’re the Americans.

We’re the folks who are producing products here in the United States. So I think it ties perfectly to the administration and their genre, but overall to the American dream. So I think that’s extremely valuable. And I’m glad that you continue to advocate and share that message with our political leaders, because they do need to hear that.

Dennis Steiner: 26:12

You know, nothing makes me happier when I hear that one of our employees is, you know, will come into my office and say, you know, I’m going to buy a house. I’m going to buy a home.

Soraya Correa: 26:23

That’s so cool. Yeah. You know, sending the kids to school, right?

Sending my kids to school, right?

Dennis Steiner: 26:28

People ask what gets you up in the morning every day, and that’s it, right?

Soraya Correa: 26:32

Yeah.

Dennis Steiner: 26:32

When you hear stories like that, that or somebody within the organization gets a promotion or or, and that’s what it’s all about.

Soraya Correa: 26:43

Exactly. No, I agree. So I’m gonna turn to a little bit more again about your leadership philosophy and some of the thoughts that you’ve shared in the past with us. You’ve been quoted in the past as saying, “I don’t like to think of myself as a blind leader. I like to think of myself as a leader who just happens to be blind.”

Unpack that a little bit for me. Tell me, tell me what that really means to you.

Dennis Steiner: 27:04

Yeah. Well, you know, when I first got into a leadership role here and, and became the COO back then at that time it was director of employment or manufacturing or something, you know. And 30 years ago, that was a big deal because there weren’t many blind people in,in leadership roles. In fact, the first NIB conference I went to, I was kind of shocked because I was like, where are all the blind people? Like. I was the only one there. And so I got a lot of, you know, I got a lot of recognition for that. Oh, this is great. You know, you’re a blind person and you’re in a management role. And I’m like, no, that’s not it.

I don’t want to be known as a blind leader. I got here because I earned it. I worked hard for it. Had nothing to do with my blindness. And I think that kind of resonated with me as I, as I my career progressed and I became the CEO and I, I, you know, the president of NAEPB and on the NIB board and all those things I, I wanted to be, I think it’s important to recognize people for their ability,

Soraya Correa: 28:30

Right.

Dennis Steiner: 28:30

and not their blindness or their race, their color, whatever the case may be. And, o so that’s why I, I really kind of focus in on that and said, you know, I want to be recognized for my leadership ability, not for my blindness because there’s nothing special, you know, I mean, you you’ve probably heard some of your employees or people talk about, you know, if somebody’s successful because, and they’re blind, they’re always kind of viewed as like, superhuman, right?

Yeah. Yeah. It’s because he’s blind. I mean, you talk to people who know me, they’ll tell you I got plenty of flaws. And, you know, blindness has nothing to do with any of that.

Soraya Correa: 29:26

It’s it’s. You know. Your skills.

Dennis Steiner: 29:26

Yeah. Yeah.

Soraya Correa: 29:28

No, I agree. I mean, I, you know, I can identify with that because of her. You know, I say the same thing. I say I’m not here because I’m a woman or a minority. I’m here because I have leadership skills, because I have capabilities. I have certain talents that can contribute.And I probably being a woman, being a minority, just like being a blind, just helped you overcome certain challenges or helped you learn to deal with some of the biases that are out there, right? How to overcome those things. But it doesn’t change the fact that you just had basic skills and capabilities that were brought out that, you know, that brought out the best in you and have turned you into a leader. And that’s what we try to bring out in all the people that we manage, whether they’re blind or not. So. So I certainly can understand, you know, where you’re coming from.

So yeah, you mentioned earlier that, you know, when you were talking about, you know, how you kind of came into being in the career field and how you continued to evolve in the organization, that you told your boss, expectations for people who are blind were far too low. And certainly, you know, just based on our discussion today, it’s abundantly obvious that you’ve worked really hard to change those expectations. Tell me if you, you know, could continue doing what you’re doing, I know you’re still going to be involved, what advice would you give to the leaders that are coming into the workforce today, whether they’re blind or not, about not having such low expectations about people, about opening their minds up to the possibilities?

Dennis Steiner: 31:03

I think my biggest piece of advice would be two things. Number one, first of all, talk to people. Talk to people that are doing the job. Talk to people on the floor. You know, I and then I think,challenging people, letting them know that, you know, because you are blind doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful, doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve the same productivity as a sighted person. And then, teaching people how to do that. One of the things that I remember, and we have some people who, you know, and I don’t want to make a general statement, but a lot of times if you’re if you’re born without vision and you say to somebody, you know, you can you can do more. They’ve never seen anybody perform that job. So they don’t know what you know, what that performance looks like.

And so that’s when you get real creative with your rehabilitation team and you say, how do I show Soraya that packaging ten bags in a half an hour is not fast? How do I show her that? Well, maybe maybe it’s, you put your hands on mine and you feel how they’re moving, and that’s fast, right? This is just. And so I think helping people understand what. And teaching people what they don’t know. Helping them understand that. And I remember we were, you know, we were able to do that with, with one individual and, and you know, she turned in to be one of our top performers. But when she came to work for us, she had no idea what. You know.

Soraya Correa: 33:15

Yeah.

Dennis Steiner: 33:17

And so, I think the most important thing is communicating with people and challenging people. And then when you challenge them, help them develop those skills that they’re able to meet the challenge.

Soraya Correa: 33:31

Yeah. No, I sincerely appreciate that. I think it’s right. I think part of career development is helping, you know, challenging people, pushing them to go a little bit further than they think they can because sometimes you’d be surprised how far you can go. So I, I certainly agree with that philosophy.

So, you know, we’re getting close to wrapup time. But I have to ask you as you, as you prepare to retire, you know, and people are celebrating your great leadership, what is Dennis most proud of having accomplished. What if I could say to you, hey, what is your biggest accomplishment or your greatest two accomplishments? What would you like to do?

Dennis Steiner: 34:14

I think the growth that we’ve experienced here at VisionCorps, not just our employment program, but our rehabilitation services, you know, 60 or probably 80% of the people that we serve are over the age of 65. And I gotta tell you, when someone learns how to use that iPad to read their menu or to read their, their mail, whatever they want to do, it’s just as important to an 80 year old as a job is to a 20 year old. And so, just that that growth has, has… When I look back, I came to work here, probably 30 people in the organization. We now have 200, we serve over 1,500 people in our rehabilitation programs.

To me, that’s what I’m most proud of. And I’m also incredibly proud of our leadership team. I’ve been really fortunate. You know, you’re only as good as your team. And I have a terrific team that is passionate, that is committed, that is always looking beyond today. Right. Let’s focus on, we have a philosophy here that whatever we’re doing today, let’s try and do a better job tomorrow. And you know, just thinking about where we’re going in the future. And I’ve got a tremendous, very talented, very committed team. Those are the two things I’m most proud of.

Soraya Correa: 36:03

That’s fantastic. And you know, all great leaders know that you have to surround yourself with great people because ultimately they’re the ones that make it happen, right?

So talk a little bit about, you know, you’ve been serving Pennsylvania, multiple counties of Pennsylvania. You mentioned the growth of VisionCorps, and you have now multiple facilities as well as a facility down in Arkansas, if I’m not mistaken. What do you think the future is for employment opportunities for people who are blind, not just in Pennsylvania but across the country. How do you see the future going?

Dennis Steiner: 36:37

Well, I think the future is, I think it’s positive. Right? I’m a glass half-full guy anyway, but I think there’s opportunities. I think the population that we are serving now is much different.

You know, people who are blind and are extremely capable are not necessarily coming into the AbilityOne program because they don’t need to. And that’s a good thing, right? But I also think there’s a population out there that is struggling with, whether it’s skill development, whether they have other issues going on, and so I, I think that’s a challenge that we have. You know, someone said to me, I can’t find, it’s hard to find qualified blind people. And my response was, it’s our job to qualify them. Right.

And when you’re looking at the bottom line in your business, you know that that can be expensive. But that’s what we do. We’re a jobs program. We’re not a procurement program. Our job is to help people who are struggling find employment and be successful.

I think the other thing we need to do is, you know, there’s people throughout the country that are not located near organizations like mine or, or other organizations. There’s a lot of people out there, and, you know, I’m going to call it the hinterlands, for those who don’t have access. And we’ve got to find a way to get those folks employed, whether that is, you know, developing more remote work opportunities or, in cases like mine, you know, I got to move to where the work is. And that’s not always easy for someone who is blind. So, you know, organizations need to provide those support services. But I think, you know, when somebody moves, how, where do I get my groceries? Where do I do this? I do that, and that’s one thing we’ve done a lot of here. People move into the area and our rehabilitation team helps them get established in the community. So, but I think that, but I think there’s a tremendous future there because I’ve looked at the survey of the working-age blind who are not working. There are plenty of people out there that we got to reach. We got to figure out how to do it.

Soraya Correa: 39:18

Exactly, exactly. And, you know, and I was glad to hear you say that we’re not supposed to be a procurement program. We really are a jobs program, because our goal is really to bring people in, get them into the work environment, help them develop and grow, whether in our own environment, or develop and grow out of our environment. That’s fine too. We have many folks who have gone on to be leaders in other organizations outside of ours. So I think your point is very well taken and very valuable.

So that leads me to my last question. What advice would you give to the next generation of folks coming into this program, the AbilityOne Program, to organisations like NIB and or to non-profit agencies as leaders? You know, what’s the advice you would give to those people, whether sighted or blind?

Dennis Steiner: 40:09

I think the biggest piece of advice I would give is to really understand the landscape, first of all, because it’s complicated.

Soraya Correa: 40:16

It is.

Dennis Steiner: 40:18

You know, you know. It’s a complicated landscape. And I think so, first and foremost, try and understand the landscape, understand the blind community, understand the, you know, the government procurement process. And then I think, be creative. Because this program has changed significantly.

I mean, when I was, and you remember these days, I’m sure when everything went to a depo. Right. And pretty easy then, right? And then we, you know, we eliminated a lot of the depots. And so the environment is constantly changing. And you’ve got to really be creative to keep up with that environment. And the last piece of advice I would give is don’t be afraid to fail. My dad was a basketball coach, and I wrestled in high school. And, you know, it was constantly drilled into my head: It’s not about the last shot you took. It’s not about the last match you won or lost. It’s about the next one. So, don’t worry about yesterday. Keep focused on moving forward. Put one foot in front of the other and if you fail, get back up. Start again. And that would be my advice to any leader.

Soraya Correa: 41:54

Thank you. Thank you. Well, I know, I know that our time is running short, and I certainly want to thank you for that great advice, because I have heard you say that before, and it’s the advice that I’ve actually followed. And when you said, you know, this program is complex, take the time to learn it. That’s something that I, you know, I, I’ve said about every job that when a leader walks into a job before they start thinking that they really understand the business, go out there and learn it, because you’re going to be surprised at what you don’t know. Nobody walks into a job knowing everything, right? And in this world, I definitely would agree. I would tell leaders, you know, just much like you said, get out there and learn the business. Go out there and visit those nonprofit agencies, talk to the people, talk to the employees themselves. Right. The people who are doing the day to day work and hear about their experiences and hear what drives them, what you know, what brings their passion to the table. So I certainly appreciate that advice and couldn’t agree more. And I would… Go ahead please.

Dennis Steiner: 42:54

Everybody does a little bit differently in every organization. And you’ve probably learned this on your tour, right? Every organization for the blind does learn from people. I never thought I was the smartest guy in the room, but I always thought I was smart enough to find the smartest people in the room, right?

Soraya Correa: 43:14

Exactly. And listen to them. Listen to them. Right?

Dennis Steiner: 43:16

Yep.

Soraya Correa: 43:18

Well, Dennis, I can’t thank you enough for your leadership, for the time that you’ve spent in this program, for joining me today, by the way, to talk about and share with us your great work. I know that you have been an incredible force, not only at VisionCorps, but also at NIB on the AbilityOne Program and in the various organizations that you’ve represented. I’ve had the opportunity to personally work with you and to learn from you. and I am truly grateful for your leadership. And as sad as we are to see you leave the organization, we know that great leaders know that you got to make room for other leaders.

So again, thank you for your incredible service. Thank you for all that you’ve done, and I look forward to working with you in this next chapter of your life, whatever that may lead us to.

Dennis Steiner: 44:07

Thank you very much, Soraya. It’s my pleasure. And, you know, I always tell people I’m just, you know, retiring. I’m not going away.

Soraya Correa: 44:16

Exactly. Well, for more information on National Industries for the Blind and to learn more about our important mission, visit nib.org. Join us again next time on Mission Driven.

Outro: 44:29

Thank you for listening to the Heard & Empowered podcast. Please make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information, visit heardandempowered.org. That’s heardandempowered.org. Join us again next time.

About National Industries for the Blind:

Since 1938, National Industries for the Blind (NIB) has focused on enhancing the opportunities for economic and personal independence of people who are blind, primarily through creating, sustaining, and improving employment. NIB and its network of associated nonprofit agencies are the nation’s largest employer of people who are blind through the manufacture and provision of SKILCRAFT® and many other products and services of the AbilityOne® Program.

For more information about NIB, visit NIB.org.

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[Mission Driven Series] From Mentorship to Mission: Lessons in Leadership and Advocacy With Dennis Steiner