Ron Brooks is totally blind and a writer, speaker, entrepreneur and evangelist for the transformation of mobility for people with disabilities. In this episode, Ron discusses employment and transportation barriers, as well as his own entrepreneurial journey and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

A graduate of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Ron has 28 years of planning, management and executive-level experience for both public transit agencies and private providers within the areas of accessible transit and paratransit.

In 2020, Ron founded Accessible Avenue, where he draws upon his life and industry experiences to provide accessibility-focused training and consulting services to agencies and organizations designing, developing and delivering products and services that support the movement of people within indoor and outdoor spaces and on all forms of public and retail ground transportation.

In addition to his work in the transportation and mobility industry, Ron is heavily involved in the blind/low vision and larger disability communities. Since 2019, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors for Ability360, one of the largest independent living centers in the country, and he is a past Board member for the Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He is also an active member of the American Council of the Blind, serving as a long-time member of the ACB’s Transportation Committee.

Episode Transcript

Inform & Connect Season 2: Roy Samuelson, narrator; Stephen Letnes, composer