Dear Friends, I'm writing to share that, after twenty rewarding years, I will be stepping down as Director of the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness in just a few weeks. While it's bittersweet to close this chapter, I'm excited to begin a new phase in my professional journey-one that will still be deeply rooted in advancing services and opportunities for blind individuals. I look forward to continuing collaborations with many of you in this important work. I'm pleased to announce that Kristen Sims will be assuming leadership of PDRIB. Please join me in congratulating her and offering your full support as she steps into this new role. Casey Robertson will continue her outstanding work in training professionals to educate blind children, and Kayla Deason is poised to play a key role in ensuring that Tech students receive top-quality training. After August 15, I can be reached at edwardbell@gemini-rt.com <mailto:edwardbell@gemini-rt.com> or 318-278-0705. Thank you all for the incredible opportunity to work alongside such a dedicated and passionate group of professionals over the past two decades. It has truly been an honor. Warm regards, Eddie Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC, Director, Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness College of Education and Human Sciences Louisiana Tech University 600 Mayfield Ave / 210 Woodard Hall PO Box 3158 Ruston LA 71272 Office: 318.257.4554 Fax: 318.257.2259 <mailto:ebell@latech.edu> ebell@latech.edu <http://www.pdrib.com/> www.pdrib.com ************* "I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." -- Stephen Jay Gould