{"id":2555,"date":"2024-05-22T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2024-05-21T03:22:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T08:22:04","slug":"hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode #28 Podcast with Rob Buettner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaoqoyt-eff9416252855e0da8e19e23e5cd8783\">\n.avia-section.av-lpaoqoyt-eff9416252855e0da8e19e23e5cd8783{\nbackground-repeat:no-repeat;\nbackground-image:url(https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/green-backgrounds.png);\nbackground-position:50% 50%;\nbackground-attachment:scroll;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-lpaoqoyt-eff9416252855e0da8e19e23e5cd8783 main_color avia-section-no-padding avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_section  avia-builder-el-first  about-banner avia-full-stretch avia-bg-style-scroll av-minimum-height av-minimum-height-custom av-height-custom  container_wrap sidebar_right'  data-section-bg-repeat='stretch' data-av_minimum_height_px='400'><div class='container av-section-cont-open' style='height:400px'><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-wkr3k-218c28c5e642d5bed8a577edbdeb1f9b\">\n.flex_column.av-wkr3k-218c28c5e642d5bed8a577edbdeb1f9b{\npadding:50px 0 50px 0;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-wkr3k-218c28c5e642d5bed8a577edbdeb1f9b av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-1  el_before_av_two_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpajmsdm-1d9a16561661093373bb779fc2819e4b\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpajmsdm-1d9a16561661093373bb779fc2819e4b .avia_textblock{\ncolor:#ffffff;\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpajmsdm-1d9a16561661093373bb779fc2819e4b '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><span style=\"text-transform: uppercase;\">PODCAST <strong>MAY 22, 2024<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n<br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaog3tp-9736516b58dd1a74bdb188c97a5460de\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpaog3tp-9736516b58dd1a74bdb188c97a5460de .avia_textblock{\nfont-size:20px;\ncolor:#ffffff;\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpaog3tp-9736516b58dd1a74bdb188c97a5460de '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>From HR to Advocacy: Rob Buettner\u2019s Impact at Beyond Vision<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-g2ehs-795d0447a28519abff57c7d885bc42c7 av_two_fifth  avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-ad1qw-cb2c798756517a328215865da9145cb0\">\n.avia-image-container.av-ad1qw-cb2c798756517a328215865da9145cb0 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-ad1qw-cb2c798756517a328215865da9145cb0 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-ad1qw-cb2c798756517a328215865da9145cb0 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-6  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  position-bottom'   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class='wp-image-2557 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-2557 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner.png\" alt='Rob Buettner' title='28-Rob-Buettner'  height=\"720\" width=\"720\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner.png 720w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner-80x80.png 80w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner-36x36.png 36w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner-180x180.png 180w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/28-Rob-Buettner-705x705.png 705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/main><!-- close content main element --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_2'  class='avia-section av-1ew72g-de1e16718005f5fffb003fc6d6320eed main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpgfyikv-ec1bf3297d5502190f28dec72e86a249\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-lpgfyikv-ec1bf3297d5502190f28dec72e86a249{\nheight:50px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-lpgfyikv-ec1bf3297d5502190f28dec72e86a249 hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_codeblock  el_before_av_codeblock '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n<div  class='flex_column av-13l4qw-3555056d158d12e7eeaa7f79cf037fd1 av_three_fourth  avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_codeblock  el_before_av_one_fourth  first flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpavxbhg-a391eecf62d312cf9e77c10a2a22f68d\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpavxbhg-a391eecf62d312cf9e77c10a2a22f68d .avia_textblock{\nfont-size:20px;\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpavxbhg-a391eecf62d312cf9e77c10a2a22f68d '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/link.chtbl.com\/000\"><strong>Listen on your preferred platform<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-xfamw-b03d87bbb45626d09469160d3c669baa av_one_fourth  avia-builder-el-13  el_after_av_three_fourth  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpavyx44-c8a6a3f14a6c0c695da375e446de55d4\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpavyx44-c8a6a3f14a6c0c695da375e446de55d4 .avia_textblock{\nfont-size:20px;\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpavyx44-c8a6a3f14a6c0c695da375e446de55d4 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/#transcript-rob-buettner\">Episode Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_3'  class='avia-section av-ja53e0-bf57feb40e981cd5550829af327b5b0f main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-15  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-gqpk0o-a2819c025666febdd6e3bcd8075fce61 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-16  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  first flex_column_div  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpbwzdw3-5067057efb9891b5e191787dde2dcd81\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-lpbwzdw3-5067057efb9891b5e191787dde2dcd81{\nmargin:0 0 0 0;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-lpbwzdw3-5067057efb9891b5e191787dde2dcd81 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-lpbwzdw3-5067057efb9891b5e191787dde2dcd81 .av-special-heading-tag{\npadding:0 0 0 0;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpbwzdw3-5067057efb9891b5e191787dde2dcd81 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-lpbwzdw3-5067057efb9891b5e191787dde2dcd81 av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-17  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  heading-color'><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Show Notes<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpbwzyh4-ed1be6aa88593d8690e6bb07905d44e3\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpbwzyh4-ed1be6aa88593d8690e6bb07905d44e3 .avia_textblock{\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpbwzyh4-ed1be6aa88593d8690e6bb07905d44e3 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: left;\">In this episode, Dr. Hoby Wedler sits down with Rob Buettner, Vice President of Relationships and Business Services at Beyond Vision, to talk about leadership, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and where they merge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">After being diagnosed with Stargardt\u2019s Macular Dystrophy as a young adult, Rob faced uncertainty and darkness. It wasn\u2019t until he found a community of other people with the same disease that reminded Rob he could do anything he set his mind to, with or without his vision.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">From starting a business distributing low-vision technology products to advocating for policy change, Rob\u2019s journey exemplifies the power of perseverance and purpose. Hear what Rob Buettner learned as an advocate at the Public Policy Forum by building strong legislative relationships during his visits to Capitol Hill. Find out why Rob believes in the importance of persistence and kindness for achieving any goal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>What You\u2019ll Learn: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>The power of finding a community that shares your experience.<\/li>\n<li>How finding a supportive community helped propel Rob towards his goals.<\/li>\n<li>Why entrepreneurship is for anyone who loves solving problems and thrill-seeking.<\/li>\n<li>The fulfilling and impactful work Rob does at Beyond Vision.<\/li>\n<li>How Rob ensures public policy advocacy is part of the daily work Beyond Vision does.<\/li>\n<li>The strategies Rob has found effective for creating change at a policy level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Featured on the Show: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Rob Buettner: <a href=\"mailto:rbuettner@beyondvision.com\">Email<\/a>, Phone: (414) 778-5800<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beyondvision.com\/\">Beyond Vision, Inc.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpbxts23-99beba7e1400df53fd472d101328ebc5\">\n.avia-section.av-lpbxts23-99beba7e1400df53fd472d101328ebc5{\nbackground-color:#e5e5e5;\nbackground-image:unset;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_4'  class='avia-section av-lpbxts23-99beba7e1400df53fd472d101328ebc5 main_color avia-section-large avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-19  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-g00oyw-bc76dfbac119b5314a504840e165ba0a av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-20  el_before_av_two_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpbx0cl5-e45031d4e0754df6daf991fabdf5a51e\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-lpbx0cl5-e45031d4e0754df6daf991fabdf5a51e{\nmargin:0 0 0 0;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-lpbx0cl5-e45031d4e0754df6daf991fabdf5a51e .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-lpbx0cl5-e45031d4e0754df6daf991fabdf5a51e .av-special-heading-tag{\npadding:0 0 0 0;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpbx0cl5-e45031d4e0754df6daf991fabdf5a51e .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-lpbx0cl5-e45031d4e0754df6daf991fabdf5a51e av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-21  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  heading-color'><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >About Rob Buettner<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpbxgvlu-22df0d32b82a690eb996441b13e79010\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpbxgvlu-22df0d32b82a690eb996441b13e79010 .avia_textblock{\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpbxgvlu-22df0d32b82a690eb996441b13e79010 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Rob has over 25 years of executive experience in the field of blindness and vision impairment. For the past 11 years he has worked at Beyond Vision leading their H.R. function, call center, and public policy efforts. And just recently, he took over leadership of their commercial business development.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Rob has been legally blind since 1998 due to Stargardt&#8217;s Macular Dystrophy. He is married with two wonderful children.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-emtn94-c0a9a885ddd343df9c235354cb20afe1 av_two_fifth  avia-builder-el-23  el_after_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpc0x0yb-551ee880325b663d76c2183d3b7e6f4b\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-lpc0x0yb-551ee880325b663d76c2183d3b7e6f4b{\nheight:50px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-lpc0x0yb-551ee880325b663d76c2183d3b7e6f4b hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-24  el_before_av_image  avia-builder-el-first '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpc0t2tu-6acb23ad6c9b7e92a55f0aa5b8f1e634\">\n.avia-image-container.av-lpc0t2tu-6acb23ad6c9b7e92a55f0aa5b8f1e634 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-lpc0t2tu-6acb23ad6c9b7e92a55f0aa5b8f1e634 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-lpc0t2tu-6acb23ad6c9b7e92a55f0aa5b8f1e634 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-25  el_after_av_hr  avia-builder-el-last '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class='wp-image-2564 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-2564 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/EP28-Rob-Buettner.png\" alt='Rob Buettner' title='EP#28-Rob-Buettner'  height=\"501\" width=\"501\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/EP28-Rob-Buettner.png 501w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/EP28-Rob-Buettner-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/EP28-Rob-Buettner-80x80.png 80w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/EP28-Rob-Buettner-36x36.png 36w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/EP28-Rob-Buettner-180x180.png 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 501px) 100vw, 501px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaw5502-609e27610323b5e3d284563de45353ef\">\n.avia-section.av-lpaw5502-609e27610323b5e3d284563de45353ef{\nbackground-color:#ffffff;\nbackground-image:unset;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='transcript-rob-buettner'  class='avia-section av-lpaw5502-609e27610323b5e3d284563de45353ef main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-26  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-6uf3s-2a6bef1a945300f759f272059c9add8a av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-27  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaw4323-54720ec315246cd334583eb8ef1aaf63\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-lpaw4323-54720ec315246cd334583eb8ef1aaf63{\nmargin:0 0 0 0;\npadding-bottom:25px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-lpaw4323-54720ec315246cd334583eb8ef1aaf63 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-lpaw4323-54720ec315246cd334583eb8ef1aaf63 .av-special-heading-tag{\npadding:0 0 0 0;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpaw4323-54720ec315246cd334583eb8ef1aaf63 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-lpaw4323-54720ec315246cd334583eb8ef1aaf63 av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-28  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  heading-color'><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Episode Transcript<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaw4v8l-56d42a19ed023668fb0199d086c17027\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpaw4v8l-56d42a19ed023668fb0199d086c17027 .avia_textblock{\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpaw4v8l-56d42a19ed023668fb0199d086c17027 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>The older I get, the more people I meet. Everybody has got something, whether they\u2019re dealing with a physical disability or mental health or whatnot. Just keep in mind that you\u2019re not alone, because I know when I was first dealing with my vision loss I felt very isolated. But the best thing that you can do is engage other people, and not just professionals or organizations like us that employ people, but other people that are blind or visually impaired that are successful.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the Heard &#038; Empowered podcast presented by National Industries for the Blind. You\u2019re not just a listener here, you\u2019re a catalyst for change. Whether you\u2019re blind, visually impaired or an ally, this is your ultimate resource for building a fulfilling career and an enriching life. We\u2019re on a mission to shift perceptions, open hearts and minds and unlock unparalleled job opportunities for the BVI community. Ready to be heard and empowered? Let\u2019s welcome our host, Dr. Hoby Wedler.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Good day and welcome back to the Heard &#038; Empowered podcast. I\u2019m your host, Dr. Hoby Wedler and I am so excited to be here with you today. We have a very special guest, but before we introduce him, I just want to thank you so much, all of our loyal listeners, for spreading the love, sharing our podcast, getting it out on social media, liking it on LinkedIn. Please, whenever you hear an episode, give us a review. If you feel like we deserve it, give us five stars. And if you can write a comment, even one word comments are good in your review if you haven\u2019t reviewed us and commented on what we do already.<\/p>\n<p>And if you think that anyone in your network or your friends network or friends of friends networks who could use this podcast, could use the great advice given here by folks like our awesome interviewee today, please share it with them. Get the word out there. We do not want to be a secret. So let us shine as much as you can. And thank you all so much for everything that you do and for your everlasting support of the Heard &#038; Empowered podcast and everything we stand for.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I am beyond delighted to welcome Rob Buettner to the studio. Rob is on the executive leadership team at Beyond Vision in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We\u2019re just beyond honored to have him and be able to talk to him about some of the great work that he does, both in Milwaukee at Beyond Vision and also up on Capitol Hill in D.C. to advocate and create public policy that supports NIB and all of our amazing nonprofit agencies. Rob, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, thank you, Hoby. It\u2019s wonderful to be here. I\u2019m a big fan of the show and I\u2019m really humbled and grateful to be invited to talk with you today.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Well, the pleasure is all mine. This is going to be a great conversation. So I like to get a vision of the person behind the mission. So you do all this great work for Beyond Vision. You\u2019ve served them for a few years now, but tell me a little bit about Rob. I want to get to know you, sort of your early life, you maybe losing some eyesight or if you were born with limited eyesight. If you just can tell us a little bit about your background and kind of how you ended up at Beyond Vision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, no, I\u2019m happy to. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And of course raised by two parents, I have a younger brother. Went through a pretty typical childhood, grade school, high school, sports, Cub Scouts, friends, and so forth. Then went on to start college. I went to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which is about an hour outside of Milwaukee to study business.<\/p>\n<p>Then after my freshman year of college, it\u2019s summer break and you go for all the doctor\u2019s appointments and things like that while you\u2019re home. And I went to go see my ophthalmologist, who I\u2019d seen my whole life. And I went through the eye exam, went through the whole process, checked my vision, was able to correct my vision to 20\/20 with my contact lenses and glasses. And then in the part of the exam where they do the examination of the retina, he looked at my retina, kind of had a puzzled look on his face and started digging through my chart.<\/p>\n<p>And he says, Rob, I\u2019m seeing something on your retina that I\u2019ve never seen before, and I don\u2019t know what it is. I\u2019d like to send you to a specialist. So, he sent me to a specialist, spent like the whole day at this retina specialist being tested and so forth, and ended up getting a diagnosis of Stargardt Macular Dystrophy. And the retina specialist indicated the fact that you\u2019re 19 and your vision is still good is a good sign. This may impact your driving at some point or your ability to read at some point, good luck and go get them.<\/p>\n<p>So, I went on, finished college, and ended up meeting my wife of 26 years at Whitewater.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Congratulations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, thank you. Graduated with a degree in business administration with an emphasis on HR management and started my career. At about the age of 25 I started noticing some changes in my right eye. Went back to my ophthalmologist. He indicated that, well, Rob, there\u2019s some additional scarring, this is the best I can correct your vision. You can still drive legally, but there\u2019s nothing that we can do.<\/p>\n<p>And I remember driving home after that appointment and pulling up to my home and I just sat in the driveway for 15 minutes and just cried because I had no idea what this eye disease was, what it meant, how it was going to impact my ability for employment. I had some pretty big dreams with a business degree, and I just felt absolutely lost and in a very dark place.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Yeah, I understand that. Wow. That led you to, about age 26, you had a great job that was flourishing. You had a new relationship, fairly new relationship with your wife. And then this comes and it\u2019s totally unknown.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean, it\u2019s just a recessive genetic eye condition. So, again, my parents didn\u2019t have anything, my brother didn\u2019t have anything. I was the lucky customer that got the two bad chromosomes that created the Stargardt\u2019s gene. So, I went on with my career, and again, vision loss started to progress. I was working in a corporate HR setting.<\/p>\n<p>Now, what really helped me was back in 1997 a real great, it turned out to be a great friend of mine, became a great friend of mine, Tom Perski, ran an organization called Macular Degeneration International and had a Stargardt\u2019s division. So, in the fall of 1997, my father and I went down to Chicago and I learned a lot more about Stargardt\u2019s. Met about 60 other people with the same eye condition, plus met a lot of other people with varying degrees of blindness.<\/p>\n<p>And from that experience, I really left there believing that regardless of how bad my vision got, as long as I had the determination and the right tools and the right support, I could still do anything that I wanted to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>This is amazing. And it\u2019s so, isn\u2019t it incredible how there\u2019s one, usually one event, and I was born totally blind, so I was lucky enough not to lose vision during my life, but I learned the world as a blind person. But I still remember that one event, which I\u2019ve talked about a little bit on the show in the past, which was, I knew how to walk from my high school campus to the downtown. When I learned how to walk from the high school campus to my home, which is almost a two-mile walk, some on country roads and this sort of thing. It was this a-ha moment that I could do anything I wanted.<\/p>\n<p>You know, it\u2019s such a funny thing, and you just told the story for you. It was that one pivotal afternoon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, and it was really powerful. And it also had a profound, my vision loss was having a profound impact on my parents as well. My dad felt very guilty. You know, he has no control over his genes, but my dad felt very guilty, and my mom was in denial. What was interesting is my wife, Wendy, she was my fianc\u00e9 at the time this was happening, and she knew what was going on. And she just said, &#8220;Well, Rob, this is your thing. It doesn\u2019t change anything between us.&#8221;\u00a0 And at that moment, I knew I had the right partner.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>And how awesome is that? It\u2019s like your blindness is just like you having a different color hair, you know? It doesn\u2019t mean anything to me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, and in 26 years of marriage she\u2019s learned that I have bigger problems than blindness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>I love it. I love it. That\u2019s a great way to put it. That\u2019s great. I love your humor. That\u2019s awesome. And do you think this pivotal day of meeting with the Stargardt division, with the Macular Degeneration International Group really helped your dad?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>I do, again, because he saw individuals, all different ages, with the same eye condition. You know, we met a physician who was a psychiatrist. We met, at the time she was a young woman, she was the leading scorer of her high school basketball team. Engineers and so forth. Parents. So it really helped my dad.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Oh, that\u2019s awesome. And just, I don\u2019t mean to ask too personal of questions, but it\u2019s interesting. I\u2019ve dealt with people in my life who, even though I was born blind and there\u2019s no fixing it, are still kind of, not family but more acquaintances are still in denial about it. Did your mom ever come around and say, okay, this is what\u2019s happening and it\u2019s okay?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I think she really came to terms the day that I decided to give up driving. I quit driving a month before our wedding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>And I think it was at that point that my mom finally came to terms and understood it. But even, like I do use the white cane from time to time. And I remember one time my mom saw me with the white cane and it kind of freaked her out a little bit. But again, I\u2019ve been dealing with this and I\u2019ve been legally blind for 26 years and it\u2019s just part of who I am. My family accepts it, my friends accept it, my kids accept it. It\u2019s just who Rob is and that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>That\u2019s awesome. So how, from your job working in a corporate environment, utilizing your business degree, how did you end up discovering Beyond Vision and deciding \u2013 This is a question that I love asking because it can go in many different directions and the answers are always super positive. How did you end up deciding, first of all, getting to know Beyond Vision and then deciding that Beyond Vision was an awesome future?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, when I was in the corporate HR role, again, that\u2019s when the vision loss occurred. And again, the vision loss had a profound impact on me that I felt like I wanted to do more. So again, my wife and I were young, we didn\u2019t have a mortgage, and didn\u2019t have any debt. I had the opportunity to actually start my own business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>I started a distributorship of low vision technology products, video magnifiers and so forth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Really?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Oh, that\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>So with only $2,000 in my pocket, 26 years old, never started my own business, I just took a leap and took a chance and started a business and grew it over three years. During that time of growing and developing that business, I developed great relationships within Wisconsin and the greater Milwaukee area.<\/p>\n<p>I had developed a close relationship with the executive director at the Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired. They were the rehab agency and they had an opening on their leadership team to run their adult rehab center. And he had lunch with me one day, he goes, Rob, I want you working for me. So for 11 and a half years I ran an adult rehab program and oversaw a multidisciplinary team that provided O&#038;M training, technology training, communications.<\/p>\n<p>And through my work at the rehab program, I got to know Jim Kerlin, our CEO at Beyond Vision. They invited me on their board of directors in 2010. I got to know Jim, I got to know the mission, I got to know the board. They had an executive position open in 2013. Jim called me asking me if I knew anybody that had HR experience and that was legally blind because Jim really pushes on creating employment at all levels for people that are blind and visually impaired.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>And I told Jim, well, I only know two people, the person that\u2019s leaving and that\u2019s me. And he forgot about my HR background because he knew me as a leader at the rehab center. And so he goes, well, I forgot about that, Rob. He goes, how much do you want?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Oh, that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>And I said, &#8220;You can\u2019t afford me.&#8221; He goes, &#8220;Want to make a bet?&#8221; So we ended up having breakfast and he offered me the job in the middle of breakfast. I joined the team in March of 2013. It\u2019s been an amazing ride and journey with Beyond Vision and my friends and partners through the NIB program.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Oh my gosh, Rob, I love that. And what a cool thing that you had two decisions, or you had two choices you could have made when your vision started diminishing. And you took the choice of saying, wait a minute, I have to deal with this, I want to help others deal with it. So you started this distributor company. I love it. Is that still around?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>What was great about it is I grew the business to a point that I was able to sell the business to someone. That helped with us buying our first house. Our children are actually adopted and we adopted both of our kids from China, so the sale of the business helped with that. So yeah, it was a great experience.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019ve tried to take that entrepreneurial spirit that I developed with my business to how I approached our rehab program at my previous employer and how we run things here at Beyond Vision, trying to take that sense of entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>I can tell you\u2019re an entrepreneur, and I am through and through. I\u2019ve started a few companies now and am working on selling one of them actually fairly soon and then just building on this whole thing. So I love that we share that in common. And it\u2019s amazing if you take that entrepreneurial spirit, I\u2019ve found, to any walk of life, any sector, because what are we doing as entrepreneurs? I mean, a lot of people like to tell us we\u2019re just out there to make a bunch of money fast. And I think that couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. I\u2019ll speak for myself, I\u2019m trying to solve problems. I\u2019m trying to make life better for folks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, solve problems. And I\u2019ve talked to other entrepreneurs too, it\u2019s the chase that\u2019s kind of fun too. Taking something that didn\u2019t exist, something that maybe isn\u2019t doing very well, and taking it to another level, it provides a great sense of accomplishment that no paycheck or check can really. It doesn\u2019t matter, it\u2019s the chase. It\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>It is. It\u2019s thrill-seeking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Yeah, no, I totally agree. You are working as a vice president of \u2013 Tell me the exact title. Vice president.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, this is the fourth title I\u2019ve had in my 11 years. And it\u2019s vice president of relationships and business services, which encompasses all the areas that I have responsibility and that I lead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Relationships and business services. That\u2019s awesome. That\u2019s incredible. So I\u2019m saying this right now because you\u2019re an amazing guy to talk to, we\u2019re going to have you back on the show in the not distant future to talk about all the amazing work that you do at NIB and what your job entails and what makes you tick, what you love about it from a day-to-day perspective.<\/p>\n<p>What I want to talk about today is your work as sort of a guru, if you will, for Beyond Vision, as a real star of public policy and advocacy work within the entire NIB network. So how did you get involved in public policy form and changing policies and really just understanding the tapestry, if you will, of the political side of things?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean, that\u2019s a great question. I think first and foremost, when I was first hired, Jim Kerlin, our president and CEO, asked me to not only lead human resources, but Jim understands the importance of public policy, especially at the national level, but also on the local and state level, and wanted me to take a leadership role in that. And I hadn\u2019t had a lot of experience in public policy before that.<\/p>\n<p>But a couple of months right after I started was the NIB Public Policy Forum or Symposium, I forget what they called it back then. But once I had a chance to learn more about the greater NIB program, because it\u2019s funny, even though I had been at that point in the blindness field for 12 years, I didn\u2019t know a lot about NIB.<\/p>\n<p>To be honest, I kind of had a myth and misconception about these agencies. And in the back of my mind, I thought maybe they were still operating like sheltered workshops and so forth. And as I got into it, and I got to see things on the national level, I realized that these aren\u2019t our grandparents\u2019 sheltered workshops. These are really dynamic, powerful organizations that do amazing things in creating employment and upward mobility.<\/p>\n<p>So that first public policy trip, six to eight weeks on the job, I was hooked and, again, really fortunate to have an organization, a board, and a boss in Jim that really values it and allowed me a lot of freedom to get engaged.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Wow. And I love what you\u2019re saying about realizing that the nonprofit agencies supported by NIB are not sheltered workshops. And you were actually able to take your knowledge from business and bring it to NIB, excuse me, you were able to take your knowledge from your business school and bring it, and HR experience, and bring it to Beyond Vision in a super meaningful way and get duly compensated for that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean it\u2019s fantastic. And some of the stories, many of your listeners have heard these podcasts, but there are so many amazing stories within this program and within the walls of Beyond Vision. And I\u2019m just so proud to be a part of this greater mission and so many of the talented leaders and people that are forging forward and trying to grow the mission. It\u2019s wonderful to be a part of.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>That\u2019s awesome. Your first trip to the Hill as part of a nonprofit agency was in 2013, shortly after you were hired. And have you been every year since?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, every year that wasn\u2019t prevented by the pandemic. Typically, I\u2019m in D.C. twice a year for the conferences and once in a while I need to go there for other reasons. But we\u2019ve really tried to ingrain public policy at Beyond Vision is that it\u2019s just not this sidecar that we do once or twice a year, but we try to make it a regular part of our day-to-day operations. I mean, we created a public policy \u2013<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Yeah, how do you do that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>We created a public policy team here at Beyond Vision. In addition to myself and Jim, we have two advocates that have gone through the advocate training program through NIB that we work with. Plus, we have other employees that are part of a public policy team that we meet on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n<p>And we not only talk about some of the national issues and what\u2019s going on with our congressional delegation and how we need to engage them, but we also talk about what\u2019s going on with the state of Wisconsin, state legislatures, what\u2019s going on within our city council, what\u2019s going on with the county and transportation. So we try to keep a pulse and figure out where we can position ourselves and help make change.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>That\u2019s incredible. And I imagine all those people, so yourself, Jim, and the two other advocates all have other jobs at Beyond Vision, but there\u2019s just a mutual desire to, if you will, to support public policy. Is that right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean, we really think it needs to be a team effort. I mean, we\u2019ve played with the idea of trying to create a position and at some point we might get to that stage. But we think it\u2019s a team sport and it actually is an opportunity to engage other employees at all levels in the greater mission and advocacy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Yeah, no, for sure. So at the national level we\u2019re advocating this year for a 1% mandate. So I guess as you know, basically the Department of Defense made a voluntary agreement to try to increase their utilization of AbilityOne goods and services from whatever it was in 2022, around 0.55%, up to 1%. But we haven\u2019t seen much movement on that. So that\u2019s the goal this year, is raising that, really mandating into Congress as well as we can the fact that we need this utilization to be at 1%. So it\u2019s not a goal anymore, but an order, if you will.<\/p>\n<p>How do you see that helping, just looking at Beyond Vision as a little case study, as a little lens, how would that help you all if 1% was hit?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean, if you look at that increase, if you assume that that increase in DoD spending would be spread across all of the nonprofit agencies throughout the whole program, you\u2019re talking about almost doubling the amount of orders. I mean, so we could double the amount of employment that we need. And not just at the direct labor level with manufacturing or with services or whatnot, but I think a lot of people outside the program don\u2019t understand the pathways for upward mobility.<\/p>\n<p>So many people that work here at Beyond Vision and that have even appeared on the podcast, started out in direct labor positions but have grown and developed their skills and have grown into leadership roles and professional roles. So I think it could double our business on the government product side and therefore double the number of employees at all levels that we have.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>I love that. No, I think that\u2019s \u2013 And what, you know, considering an unemployment rate that hovers very sadly around 80%, above 70% I should say, anything we can do to decrease that unemployment rate and provide, in your case, twice as many jobs, I mean that\u2019s huge. That\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, it\u2019s really a key thing and it\u2019s one of, you know, in Beyond Vision, in our walls we actually look at this as almost a business development initiative. By increasing that demand from an existing customer, that\u2019s going to grow the business and therefore grow the mission and grow the jobs and upward mobility opportunities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Well, one of the things we were talking about before we hit record was your fairly new role in overseeing business development for your commercial services. So it\u2019s interesting, you might be doing assembly work for some of the large equipment companies out there in the United States. Advocacy to them and helping them increase the commercial services they need is no different than working with the federal government to increase the AbilityOne utilization. It\u2019s the same thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, on the commercial side, it\u2019s a little bit different.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>A little harder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, it is harder, but it\u2019s fun. But I think business development is like anything. It\u2019s like human resources. It\u2019s like public policy. You have to have good systems in place and be disciplined to those systems. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to build on the commercial business development side. I\u2019ve got two very talented business development people that work with me and we\u2019re building something pretty good. And even after just a few months, we\u2019re starting to fill our pipeline and hope to see those opportunities turn to fruition soon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>There it is. And that\u2019s, you know, sometimes patience feels hard to come by, but it sure is rewarded when things go right. And yeah, that\u2019s very exciting and very cool. And again, we\u2019ll talk about that sometime for sure.<\/p>\n<p>So anything else you want to mention, I guess, on the Hill, you\u2019re going to be on the Hill this May, correct?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I\u2019m really excited. We\u2019ll be doing our Hill visits along with our fellow nonprofit agencies in mid-May. Our advocates, Steve and Megan, are already working on those congressional appointments.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s great is we\u2019ve done a great job of building relationships over the years that when we send out a request to our contacts, we get responses right away. But again, that goes back to being disciplined. Not just contacting these people once a year, getting them to know that we\u2019re partners and so forth. But I\u2019m very excited. I\u2019m very excited about the 1% ask. I think it has a huge implication to our program. And also, I\u2019m also excited that this is going to be our only ask this year, which means that we\u2019re laser-focused.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>It\u2019s so much easier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, we\u2019re laser-focused on it, which will be fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>The other thing that I think is so powerful about all the public policy work for NIB and our nonprofit agencies is that how can you properly say, no, we don\u2019t believe in that? I mean, there\u2019s so many issues on the Hill that are very controversial where some people have very strong opinions for and some people have very strong opinions against. We\u2019re talking about employing people who deserve full gainful employment, just like the folks on Capitol Hill. And it\u2019s hard for people to say, no, we don\u2019t want to do that, you know?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean the great thing about our program is that in a time where you can\u2019t get Congress or people in the two parties to agree on anything, it\u2019s a pretty easy sell that employment for a population that historically has had high unemployment or underemployment rates is a pretty easy sell. So I\u2019m really proud. We have great relationships with legislators and staffers on both sides of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>And again, we don\u2019t focus on personal politics or personal beliefs. We focus on the mission. And what we do is awesome. It\u2019s not going to be the solution to the whole employment issue, but it can help. And it\u2019s a pretty easy sell. And again, we have Republicans and Democrats that we consider close friends of the organization, and we\u2019re proud of them and they\u2019re proud of us.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>I love it. And it\u2019s a great way to, it\u2019s a tool that you can lend legislators and staffers to reach across the aisle and do what is so needed in this day and age.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, and the more that you\u2019re on the Hill and you get to know these people, regardless of what your political persuasion is, my feeling is 90% of the people that we meet with and we work with want to do good. There\u2019s the media and there\u2019s how many clicks you get if we publish this story or that story. But when it comes down to it, I believe 90% of the people that are on that Hill, whether they\u2019re elected or they\u2019re employed, want to do good. And this is an avenue for \u2013 The AbilityOne program, NIB, Beyond Vision is an avenue for them to do good.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Absolutely. No, absolutely. And it\u2019s a great way to, I\u2019ll use the word, empower them.<\/p>\n<p>You mentioned the fact that you have great relationships with your congressmen and women, and you mentioned being persistent. What do you think creating those relationships and holding onto them so tightly, what are some of the tools you use in your toolbox to do that? One that I\u2019m sure works well is the recess visits to Beyond Vision so that they can see what\u2019s happening, right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, obviously we love to get legislators here, but the one thing that I\u2019ve learned in doing this for 11 years is that the staffers are almost more important. If you can get staff individuals, if you can develop those relationships, then you\u2019re going to be able to meet with the legislators.<\/p>\n<p>So our tactic has been don\u2019t worry about if the senator or if the congressman or congresswoman, don\u2019t worry about if they\u2019re not going to come the first time around. Get their staffer there and really sell the staffer on the mission and let them see for themselves. They\u2019ll go back and tell their staff that, hey, this is pretty cool, and we really want Senator Johnson or Senator Baldwin to come visit here. So we\u2019ve had luck with that strategy. Again, not just focusing on the D.C. staff, but also making sure that you\u2019re developing relationships with the local offices of the congressional delegation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Absolutely, bring them there. Bring state legislators, absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>What are some of your big asks within the state and local community? I mean we\u2019ve got this 1%, but that\u2019s pretty restricted to the national theater. Just to give us an idea, because I think you guys are really strong, if I\u2019ve done my homework correctly and if I\u2019ve heard you correctly, in not only the national, but the state and local advocacy policy work as well. What are some issues you\u2019re working on there?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, well, we just finished an issue back in March. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed Wisconsin Act 142, which is a transportation tax credit for workers who are blind or visually impaired. And this is a $1,500 tax credit that individuals that are legally blind can apply to expenses relating to transportation to and from work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>That\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>So Beyond Vision was really involved at the very beginning and the lead advocate on this bill. And it came about late in 2022. There\u2019s actually a legally blind state representative, his name is David Steffen, from the Green Bay area. He\u2019s got retinitis pigmentosa. We developed a relationship with Representative Steffen over the last 10 years. And he called us late 2022, called us at Beyond Vision and wanted to meet with us because he wanted to do something relating to employment and blindness.<\/p>\n<p>So we developed this concept of the transportation tax credit. He wrote a bill. We tried to get it in the state biennial budget. That didn\u2019t work. But then we got other people involved, both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, senators and assembly people. And it passed out of both chambers unanimously earlier this year, and the Governor signed it into law. So we\u2019re really proud of that. A lot of hard work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>You should be proud of that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, a lot of hard work from our public policy team. It\u2019s going to have a direct impact on our employees that use various transportation modes, but also people that are legally blind throughout Wisconsin where the cost of transportation is a challenge for employment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Prohibitively high.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>So that was really exciting. And what was really cool is that the Governor, we asked the Governor to sign the bill with a Skilcraft pen. Yeah, it was a pen made by our partners out in Greensboro. And we actually have a photo on our social media with myself, Jim Kerlin and Steve, our advocate behind the Governor, signing the bill and holding up the Skilcraft pen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>I love it. If that\u2019s not a good story, I don\u2019t know what is. That\u2019s awesome. No, that\u2019s incredible. There\u2019s something else you mentioned, you know, everybody\u2019s trying to get to the representative. I just want to reiterate and home in on everybody\u2019s trying to get to the representative themselves and get a meeting with a representative. And maybe it\u2019s not as good if I don\u2019t get a meeting with a representative. You said it best when you said meeting with the staffers and befriending the staffers is one of the best ways to get your foot in the door and create and foster these relationships. And it really is thanking people and being nice to people because you never know who knows who. And it\u2019s all about just building together.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, that\u2019s really key. I mean, people sometimes get disappointed that I didn\u2019t get to talk to the senator or I didn\u2019t get to talk to my congressman. But in reality, and we kind of joke that it\u2019s really the staffers that run the country. I mean, no information gets to the representative without going through the staffer. So we try to take the approach of be nice to everybody, be genuine, follow up, be clear with our ask. And again, being disciplined and being patient, that\u2019s paid off with the relationships we\u2019ve been able to develop.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Well, and, you know, it\u2019s the old adage that office administrators are really the ones running any large company that you might think of. I mean, it\u2019s true. They\u2019re the ones that are deciding when and who you should meet with.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, when you think about the commercial business side, typically you don\u2019t get a direct line to that company\u2019s CEO or vice president of operations. You\u2019re going through gatekeepers. So be nice, be strategic and be persistent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>There it is. Kindness, strategy and persistence. That\u2019s great. Well, I\u2019m really excited, Rob. I\u2019m going to be with you on the hill this year. We\u2019re going to be doing some interviews and catching some soundbites. And I hope I get to go to one of your meetings with you, it\u2019d be a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Oh, we would love to have you there. And it\u2019ll be great to meet you in person. And like I said, congratulations to you and NIB, these podcasts are phenomenal. And they\u2019re really telling the true story of NIB and its nonprofit agencies. So thank you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Thank you, Rob. That means so much to hear that coming from you. And we\u2019re really proud of these. And I think it\u2019s a great tool and a great vehicle, so I really appreciate you saying that.<\/p>\n<p>A couple more questions. One more thoughtful one and then the last one is just going to be how folks can get a hold of you because they\u2019re going to be inspired, I\u2019m sure, like I have been over the past few minutes of our chat. But my first question for you is you went off and got a business degree. You were working in corporate America and then you saw literally before your very eyes, your eyesight diminished and you could have taken this many different ways. You could have said, &#8220;Woe it&#8217;s me, I\u2019m going to live on Social Security for the rest of my life.&#8221; And obviously, that\u2019s not you. That\u2019s not your personality.<\/p>\n<p>What advice would you give someone who\u2019s totally freaked out about vision loss and trying to figure out what the next step is? What do you think would be good for them to hear?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean, I think a great metaphor is that there\u2019s no dawn without darkness, right, without night. And life has its ups and downs. And this is my thing, the older I get the more people I meet. Everybody\u2019s got something, whether they\u2019re dealing with a physical disability or mental health or whatnot. Just keep in mind that you\u2019re not alone because I know when I was first dealing with my vision loss, I felt very isolated. But the best thing that you can do is engage other people, and not just professionals or organizations like us that employ people, but other people that are blind or visually impaired that are successful.<\/p>\n<p>And I don\u2019t know, my parents really instilled in me a strong work ethic, the expectation that I was going to be a hard worker regardless.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Yes, mine too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>And also a strong faith life, which has guided me through some dark times too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>So powerful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, and I appreciate and I value that. So make sure that you have the right people, the right tools and the right attitude around you. It\u2019s really helped me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Attitude is so important. And you\u2019re right, getting to know those people. When I started thinking about, boy, maybe I could go to graduate school in organic chemistry and study organic chemistry, I met scientists and engineers who were blind and said, &#8220;Okay, well, shoot, if they can do it, what\u2019s the worst that can happen? Let\u2019s do this.&#8221; So it\u2019s all about the community and the attitude.<\/p>\n<p>And boy, a positive attitude and an attitude of I can do whatever it is I set my mind to is so incredibly important. I really believe that our brains are the biggest thing between success and being held back.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I have a button, a friend gave this to me. It\u2019s a button that sits on my desk and it said attitudes can be the real disability. And we try to live by that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>I\u2019m going to look that up and order one today. That\u2019s right. You nailed it. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Rob, as said, there are going to be a bunch of listeners who hear you over the course of this podcast, who are really inspired by you. How can folks get a hold of you? What\u2019s the best way for them to do that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I mean, you can email me if you can spell my name correctly. It\u2019s R-B-U-E-T-T-N-E-R @beyondvision.com. Or call our main number, which is 414-778-5800 and ask for Rob. Or if you\u2019re going to be in D.C. in a couple of weeks for the public policy event, let\u2019s find each other and let\u2019s talk.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Let\u2019s do it. Absolutely. Well, I look forward to breaking bread with you and having a good time and getting to know you even better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>I look forward to that, too, Hoby. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Today, we\u2019ve had the amazing opportunity to chat with Rob Buettner of Beyond Vision. Rob, thank you for your insights on public policy and on the great work that you do at Beyond Vision. And we\u2019re going to have you on in a few short months to talk more about your career and you as a person.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob: <\/strong>Yeah, I look forward to that, Hoby. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hoby: <\/strong>Thanks, Rob. It\u2019s an absolute pleasure. See you on the hill.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for being a part of today\u2019s conversation. Please subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode, give us a five-star rating if we deserve it and leave a review. Even just one word will help others discover the game-changing content of our show. For more information and free downloadable resources, visit heardandempowered.org. That\u2019s H-E-A-R-D A-N-D E-M-P-O-W-E-R-E-D dot O-R-G. Until next week.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_6'  class='avia-section av-qihug-c10048219502de1bca6a3278efc12cdc main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-30  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-gv9ug-492fdf18c941d1cce918f35089578097 av_one_third  avia-builder-el-31  el_before_av_two_third  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaout7q-cbb3da585241d092338fee4e20fa0583\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-lpaout7q-cbb3da585241d092338fee4e20fa0583{\nmargin:0 0 0 0;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-lpaout7q-cbb3da585241d092338fee4e20fa0583 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-lpaout7q-cbb3da585241d092338fee4e20fa0583 .av-special-heading-tag{\npadding:0 0 0 0;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpaout7q-cbb3da585241d092338fee4e20fa0583 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-lpaout7q-cbb3da585241d092338fee4e20fa0583 av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-32  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  heading-color'><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >This podcast is for you if you\u2019re asking yourself:<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-93tns-9a32c420ffba218579a18a3280994955 av_two_third  avia-builder-el-33  el_after_av_one_third  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpaowgaj-099f9a56a6889ba9856be378a030e18b\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpaowgaj-099f9a56a6889ba9856be378a030e18b .avia_textblock{\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpaowgaj-099f9a56a6889ba9856be378a030e18b '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><ul>\n<li>What kind of job can I find since I\u2019m blind?<\/li>\n<li>How can I build a fulfilling career despite my visual impairment?<\/li>\n<li>What are some of the best accessible places to work?<\/li>\n<li>Are there companies that really care about DEI?<\/li>\n<li>What resources are available to help BVI persons succeed professionally?<\/li>\n<li>How can I overcome workplace biases and challenges as BVI?<\/li>\n<li>What steps can I take to get started and find a meaningful job?<\/li>\n<li>Where can I find employers who value my skills and abilities?<\/li>\n<li>How can I ask for BVI accommodations at work?<\/li>\n<li>Should I disclose or not my visual impairment?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpau4w6k-255ca6da586cc9baa99f91cb973754a9\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpau4w6k-255ca6da586cc9baa99f91cb973754a9 .avia_textblock{\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpau4w6k-255ca6da586cc9baa99f91cb973754a9 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Every week, the show will dive into one or more of these topics and beyond.<br \/>\n<strong>Subscribe now so you don\u2019t miss a single episode!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_7'  class='avia-section av-qzvm8-6961445e4d68beb68fc883ec56fbfeae main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-36  el_after_av_section  el_before_av_section  avia-bg-style-fixed av-minimum-height av-minimum-height-custom av-height-custom  container_wrap sidebar_right'   data-av_minimum_height_px='300'><div class='container av-section-cont-open' style='height:300px'><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-2do2g-e5dc89620c81685f6cb9381eb326df58\">\n.flex_column.av-2do2g-e5dc89620c81685f6cb9381eb326df58{\npadding:100px 100px 100px 100px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-2do2g-e5dc89620c81685f6cb9381eb326df58 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-37  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  bg-gradient-bluegreen first flex_column_div  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8{\nmargin:0 0 0 0;\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8 .av-special-heading-tag{\npadding:0 0 0 0;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8 .special-heading-inner-border{\nborder-color:#ffffff;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-lpau55zv-443fa5fcbde9b30167d483517201f5f8 av-special-heading-h1 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-38  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first '><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >About National Industries for the Blind:<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpau6izj-3dce9d19e59faccd50e4b52e96c8caef\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-lpau6izj-3dce9d19e59faccd50e4b52e96c8caef .avia_textblock{\ncolor:#ffffff;\ntext-align:left;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lpau6izj-3dce9d19e59faccd50e4b52e96c8caef '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Since 1938, National Industries for the Blind (<a href=\"https:\/\/nib.org\/\">NIB<\/a>)  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\u2019s largest employer of people who are blind through the manufacture and provision of SKILCRAFT\u00ae and many other products and services of the AbilityOne\u00ae Program. <\/p>\n<p>For more information about NIB, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/NIB.org\">NIB.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-g48uo-ecef5ca969523fa30b1083ebbab71cd3\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-g48uo-ecef5ca969523fa30b1083ebbab71cd3{\nheight:25px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-g48uo-ecef5ca969523fa30b1083ebbab71cd3 hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-40  el_after_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-last '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div><\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_8'  class='avia-section av-cy8kqg-3100b62700df6da9f693f0a2324226d6 main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-41  el_after_av_section  avia-builder-el-last  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-adoj14-07753f2b83b9b02304b4e7a6418b7d9d av_two_third  avia-builder-el-42  el_before_av_one_third  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-76onjc-083963cd9f0bec9b1fba87df94d23132\">\n.flex_column.av-76onjc-083963cd9f0bec9b1fba87df94d23132{\npadding:0 -20px 20px 0;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-76onjc-083963cd9f0bec9b1fba87df94d23132 av_one_third  avia-builder-el-44  el_after_av_two_third  el_before_av_image  flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-5g5pl4-75009f7f022aa8159f70932e765f6238\">\n.avia-image-container.av-5g5pl4-75009f7f022aa8159f70932e765f6238 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-5g5pl4-75009f7f022aa8159f70932e765f6238 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-5g5pl4-75009f7f022aa8159f70932e765f6238 av-styling- avia-align-right  avia-builder-el-45  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class='wp-image-95 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-95 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/HE-Logo-Footer-8.png\" alt='Heard &amp; Empowered Logo' title=''  height=\"110\" width=\"445\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/HE-Logo-Footer-8.png 445w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/HE-Logo-Footer-8-300x74.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-4jq89k-d46edc0dce23ec3cb2f72457759a433c\">\n.avia-image-container.av-4jq89k-d46edc0dce23ec3cb2f72457759a433c img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-4jq89k-d46edc0dce23ec3cb2f72457759a433c .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-4jq89k-d46edc0dce23ec3cb2f72457759a433c av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-46  el_after_av_one_third  el_before_av_textblock '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class='wp-image-96 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-96 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8.png\" alt='Divider with NIB logo' title=''  height=\"25\" width=\"1285\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8.png 1285w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8-300x6.png 300w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8-1030x20.png 1030w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8-768x15.png 768w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8-705x14.png 705w, https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NIB-Footer-Divider-8-1210x25.png 1210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1285px) 100vw, 1285px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-2l05bc-93daa67ee292c7c93994f1c70b0e2057\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-2l05bc-93daa67ee292c7c93994f1c70b0e2057 .avia_textblock{\nfont-size:16px;\ntext-align:center;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-2l05bc-93daa67ee292c7c93994f1c70b0e2057 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a9 National Industries for the Blind (NIB). All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='after_section_8'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-2555'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"line-height: 1.4;\">\nFrom HR to Advocacy: Rob Buettner\u2019s Impact at Beyond Vision<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Episode #28 Podcast with Rob Buettner - heardandempowered.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this episode, Dr. Hoby Wedler sits down with Rob Buettner, Vice President of Relationships &amp; Business Services at Beyond Vision, to talk about leadership, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and where they merge. After being diagnosed with Stargardt\u2019s Macular Dystrophy as a young adult, Rob faced uncertainty and darkness. It wasn\u2019t until he found a community of other people with the same disease that reminded Rob he could do anything he set his mind to, with or without his vision.From starting a business distributing low-vision technology products to advocating for policy change, Rob\u2019s journey exemplifies the power of perseverance and purpose. Hear what Rob Buettner learned as an advocate at the Public Policy Forum by building strong legislative relationships during his visits to Capitol Hill. Find out why Rob believes in the importance of persistence and kindness for achieving any goal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Episode #28 Podcast with Rob Buettner - heardandempowered.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this episode, Dr. Hoby Wedler sits down with Rob Buettner, Vice President of Relationships &amp; Business Services at Beyond Vision, to talk about leadership, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and where they merge. After being diagnosed with Stargardt\u2019s Macular Dystrophy as a young adult, Rob faced uncertainty and darkness. It wasn\u2019t until he found a community of other people with the same disease that reminded Rob he could do anything he set his mind to, with or without his vision.From starting a business distributing low-vision technology products to advocating for policy change, Rob\u2019s journey exemplifies the power of perseverance and purpose. Hear what Rob Buettner learned as an advocate at the Public Policy Forum by building strong legislative relationships during his visits to Capitol Hill. Find out why Rob believes in the importance of persistence and kindness for achieving any goal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"heardandempowered.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heardandempowered\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-22T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-21T08:22:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Podcast-28-Feature-Images-356x316px.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"356\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"316\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"33 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Justin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/#\/schema\/person\/afc5a1714d91930e12b6ecedee1da2f9\"},\"headline\":\"Episode #28 Podcast with Rob Buettner\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-22T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-21T08:22:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/\"},\"wordCount\":16557,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Podcast-28-Feature-Images-356x316px.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Podcasts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/\",\"name\":\"Episode #28 Podcast with Rob Buettner - heardandempowered.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/hr-advocacy-rob-buettner-beyond-vision\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/heardandempowered.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Podcast-28-Feature-Images-356x316px.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-22T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-21T08:22:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"In this episode, Dr. Hoby Wedler sits down with Rob Buettner, Vice President of Relationships & Business Services at Beyond Vision, to talk about leadership, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and where they merge. 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