My name is Darlene O’Brien, and I have been associated with A Touch of Understanding since August of 2000, and I am the proud mother of two beautiful young women, Bailie and Kelsie. I originally came on board with the organization as a speaker, as I lost my sight completely in November of 1998. ATOU has truly transformed my life in the most profound of ways.

I was brand new to blindness, when I first met Leslie and she graciously offered me the opportunity to speak to children in the schools, this enabled me to freely speak of the challenges and triumphs involved in living with a disability. At the time, I couldn’t have anticipated the effect this would ultimately have in changing the direction of my life, but shortly after starting with ATOU, I was compelled to expand my independence and I attended Guide Dogs for the Blind and was partnered with my loving, black Labrador, Callahan. I took on the role as Volunteer Coordinator for the organization, while maintaining my role as one of the speakers and life became more and more enriched as the opportunities to grow presented themselves.

My role in the organization changed once more, as I became the Vice President of the Board of Directors, which afforded me the freedom to maintain my commitment to ATOU, while at the same time I was able to pursue my goal of creating the Career Development Program at the Society For The Blind in Sacramento, which I managed for over six years. During my span as the manager of the program at SFB, I was able to train and assist over 200 visually impaired and blind job seekers in finding competitive employment throughout the Country.

In addition to this, I started my own company, BLIND AMBITION, and I now travel throughout the United States providing a lively and dynamic Disability Awareness Training for both public and private sector organizations. I am now a motivational speaker, and my adventures and experiences have led me full circle as I have recently been honored by being able to join forces with Leslie DeDora and A Touch of Understanding in a more official capacity as the creator of the new Adult Disability Awareness Program that ATOU will be offering to the employers of the greater Sacramento area.

To say that A Touch of Understanding has had a profoundly positive influence on my life would be a gross understatement. I believe that each and every one of us have the ability to choose whether we are going to make a positive or negative impact on the world we live in, and A Touch of Understanding gave me, and other volunteers just like me, the opportunity to make that difference, by giving us the chance to stand up and be counted as the valuable members of society that we all are.