Karen Parsegian is full of charisma and simply a delight to be around. Karen, who previously had a driver’s license and good working vision, was thrown a shocking curveball in 2002. Complications from an accident to one eye left her unexpectedly and totally blind in both eyes.

Karen’s tenacious spirit allowed her to bounce back quickly from this setback. With more than 25 years of corporate and non profit experience under her belt, Karen now deems herself “a work in progress and a student of reinventability.”  She speaks to schools and groups across the country about overcoming adversity, disability awareness, and the importance of living life as an active participant.

On top of her genial personality and extensive volunteer work, Karen was the subject of "A Daring Adventure," a one hour documentary that followed her transition from 22 weeks blind to graduation day at blind school. It premiered at Twentieth Century Fox studios in 2004 and has been shown at several film festivals around the U.S.

Karen says that learning about A Touch of Understanding is one of the best things that has happened to her since going blind. ATOU’s unique hands-on experience and positive environment to bring awareness about disabilities from theory into practice “pretty much blew her hair straight back.” She says that she could not sign up fast enough to become a volunteer in 2008 and loves hanging out with the ATOU cast of characters, because she claims she always learns something new and it's never boring!

We feel so blessed by Karen’s presence with ATOU!