Leadership

Every member of our team is an expert in the field of low vision. Each member provides specialized knowledge, and together we offer the best possible services for clients seeking support and information. We’re here to help all Massachusetts residents with vision rehabilitation and many other services.

Who We Are:

Sassy Outwater-Wright – Executive Director

Sassy Outwater-Wright joined MABVI in December 2016 as the director of the assistive technology program. She became director of MABVI in September 2017. Sassy has a background in disability and patient advocacy. Outwater-Wright studied acoustics, audio engineering and vocal performance at Arizona State University. As a blind acoustician and audio engineer, she found the music industry largely inaccessible technologically and set out to change that, establishing the first collegiate program to teach recording sciences and music technology to blind musicians. She spent fifteen years working in the digital accessibility field consulting for small businesses, helping make products and services digitally accessible, with a focus on user experience and assistive tech and digital accessibility for persons with multiple disabilities. Outwater-Wright is totally blind, and a cancer survivor with multiple disabilities. She brings lived experience of disability to her leadership at MABVI and strives to make sure that things like disability justice, autonomy, intersectionality, and accessibility are being addressed wherever and whenever possible by MABVI policy and work.

Cynthia Canham – Deputy Director

Cynthia has been a key MAB Community Services and MABVI’s senior leadership team member for over 20 years. She has played a critical role in developing the organization’s successful marketing and development departments. Cynthia now focuses her wealth of experience on MABVI’s special projects and initiatives as well as on program evaluation.

 

Steve Jordan – Director of Orientation and Mobility (O&M)

Steve began at MAB as an intern in 2008, and quickly became a full-time member of the Orientation and Mobility Department. In 2016 he accepted the position of Director. As Director of O&M, Steve supports clients as they learn to travel as independently as possible in their homes, work, and other environments. He also performs environmental assessments. Mr. Jordan received a National Certification in Orientation and Mobility from UMass Boston.

Jerry Feliz – Director of Assistive Technology Training

Jerry manages and oversees all recruitment and training of volunteers at MABVI’s Assistive Technology Training Centers (ATTC). The ATTC’s are located at the Brookline and Natick Senior Centers and Watertown Library. Jerry is also guiding the expansion of these services to other regions of the state. He brings over ten years of experience in the assistive technology sector, including five years at Perkins School for the Blind, where he was an assistive technology training specialist. Jerry has also helped companies and universities streamline accessibility guidelines and develop solutions for employees with visual impairments.

Amy Ruell – Director of Adjustment Support Services and Support Groups

Amy is guiding MABVI’s mental health adjustment counseling services. She has over 30 years of experience in a variety of settings and has lived experience with blindness. Her prior roles include eight years as a Clinical Care Manager at Beacon Health Options, Inc., seven years as a Program Manager at National Braille Press, and 21 years as a Clinical Social Worker at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.

Kimberly Thibault MS, OTR/L – Director of Vision Rehabilitation Services

Kimberly oversees the expansion of MABVI’s in-home services, a vital component of our mission. She coordinates MABVI’s 14 occupational therapists, who provide multiple visits annually to clients across the state. Kimberly graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She has been working in vision rehab for over seven years. She has worked as a lab instructor for the MGH IHP Occupational Therapy Doctoral program for the past three years. Other prior work experience includes Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in the Vision Rehab Clinic and Community Rehab Care, working in a community-based outpatient rehabilitation program for brain injury.

Tai Tomasi – Director of Digital Accessibility Advocacy

Tai Tomasi, Esq., M.P.A. (she/her/hers) is a multiracial blind adoptee, attorney, accessibility expert, and advocate for disability justice, equity, and inclusion. Tai has 20 years of legislative and administrative experience and has advocated for the rights of marginalized and intersectional groups from a young age. She has worked as an attorney representing disabled clients and has managed programs dedicated to helping blind and low vision people pursue their independent living and employment goals. She believes that accessibility is not merely about meeting legal requirements for a classified few but promoting innovation and improvements that ultimately benefit everyone.

MAB Community Services Executive Staff

MAB Community Services Board of Directors