At the May meeting, Niah Howard will be presenting on her experiences with nonvisual woodworking. She has completed training in blindness rehabilitation skills at both the Iowa Department for the Blind and the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Both training centers include industrials arts as a course for all of their students. She will talk about her experiences in those wood shop classes and will discuss the importance of inclusivity and accessibility.

Niah works as an Orientation and Mobility Instructor teaching blind kids and adults how to travel independently with the long white cane. She is a new member of the Des Moines Woodworkers Association and says she has already learned so much from her participation in classes this spring!