Employee of the Month - April 2023

Lindsay Kerr, Instructional Materials and Technology Consultant
Bob Murphy Access Center / Division of Student Affairs

Top row, left to right: Mary Nguyen, BMAC Director; Lindsay Kerr, BMAC Instructional Materials and Technology Consultant; Jane Conoley, CSULB President; Stacey Schack, Associate Director of Learning, Development, and Recognition Programs Second row from top, left to right: Lauren Barbosa, BMAC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Coordinator; Valerie Iapello, BMAC Fiscal and Operations Analyst; Tina Sutera, BMAC Learning Disability Specialist; Liz Alessi, BMAC Front Office Coordinator Third row from top, left to right: Lethia Cobbs, BMAC Writing and Assistive Technology Specialist; Jonah Coloma, Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) Center Alternative Media Specialist; Ben Kim, BMAC Assistive Technology Specialist; Sonia Acosta, AIM Center Coordinator Fourth row from top, left to right: Austin Soto, BMAC Accommodations and Retention Counselor; Brian Carey, Assistant Director of the Stephen Benson Program; Jessica Wood, BMAC Associate Director; Velma Martin, Assistant Director of Special Projects Last row, left to right: Domonique Rood, BMAC Mental Health Case Manager; Toni Congdon, Lindsay’s mother; Bonnie Congdon, Lindsay’s grandmother

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Awarded Wednesday, April 12, 2023, via Zoom Virtual celebration. Lindsay was joined by President Jane Close Conoley, Bob Murphy Access Center (BMAC) Director Mary Nguyen, numerous BMAC and campus colleagues, and family.

For the past six years Lindsay Kerr has worked in the Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) Center as the Instructional Materials and Technology Consultant. Her role consists of providing input on accessibility including electronic documents and campus environments for people who are blind or low vision. In addition to checking websites and documents for accessibility, she also proofreads Braille documents and make corrections when necessary. In addition to all the work that she does for CSULB, she also is a student at San Francisco State in the Graduate College of Special Education specializing in Visual Impairment.

Lindsay shared, “I spend a lot of my time serving the blind and low vision community, by being a part of the California Association of Blind Students, and the National Association of Blind Students. Soon, I will also be a part of the National Association of Guide Dog Users, as I am waiting on my first dog. The journey to this point has not been easy, but I know that now is the right time as I will be commuting to several schools and classrooms sooner rather than later.”

Several of Lindsay’s colleagues have expressed their appreciation for her dedication, expertise, and positive attitude. The Bob Murphy Access Center (BMAC) Director, Mary Nguyen remarked, “Lindsay is a spirit of ‘I can do this’ and never gives up on advocating for herself and others. She is knowledgeable, fierce, and is going to make a name for herself as a future educator to young minds. Lindsay always is connected to the latest and greatest with regards to accessibility and assistive technology. She always points us in the right direction when we have questions on how we can create an accessible living environment.

“Lindsay is self-motivated and passionate about accessibility for individuals with disabilities. As a long-time BMAC staff member within the AIM Center program, she informed me that she recently completed the JAWS Certification Exam and is now JAWS and ZoomText certified. Lindsay plans to pursue the next level of completing a Trusted Tester Training and a Braille Transcriber course. I am inspired by Lindsay's dedication to being an accessibility expert for our campus community.”

Jessica Wood, the Associate Director of BMAC, shared, “Lindsay is a wealth of knowledge within BMAC/AIM, always lending her expertise in a manner that is approachable, kind, and digestible. She continually shares her findings and accessibility knowledge with BMAC staff to empower us to best serve our student and campus population. On a personal level, I appreciate Lindsay’s candor in hearing about her lived experience that she often provides via a funny anecdote or recounting of events. I am grateful to Lindsay and all that she does for our campus.”

“I enjoy working with Lindsay,” said Domonique Rood, BMAC’s Mental Health Case Manager. “She is straight forward and so helpful. I send her a Teams message asking for help; I expect to get a 2-3 sentence answer. Instead, I get 2 paragraphs, 3 journal articles and a link to an annotated bibliography! WOW! She went above and beyond.”

Lauren Barbosa, BMAC’s Deaf and Hard Hearing Services Coordinator, expressed, “Lindsay shares wonderful resources with us and always passes along such helpful information. She is very driven and such a pleasure to work with.”

BMAC’s Life Project Coordinator, Jen Schwartz, shared, “Lindsay has a fantastic sense of humor, heart of gold, and a knack for colorful manicures. She always has a nice word to say, provides invaluable support when working with blind/low vision students, and helps me feel like a welcome part of our team.”