Kirk Adams ’19 (GSLC, PhD) was recently honored with the prestigious recognition of a 2024 Henry Viscardi Achievement Award. The international award recognizes individuals with disabilities who have demonstrated significant accomplishments and dedication to enhancing the lives of people with disabilities and the overall disability community.
Kirk Adams is a longtime champion of people who are blind or visually impaired and is committed to creating a more inclusive, accessible world for the more than 20 million Americans with vision loss. A preeminent leader in the field of blindness, Adams frequently serves as a keynote speaker at conferences across the country, informing audiences of AFB priority issue areas that include education, vocational rehabilitation and workforce participation, vision loss and aging, and technology. He has consulted with top leadership at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other high profile tech-oriented companies to discuss topics ranging from product and digital accessibility to civil and disability rights.
Adams graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He earned his master’s degree in not-for-profit leadership at Seattle University in Washington.
Learn more about Adams and read his dissertation Journeys Through Rough Country: An Ethnographic Study of Blind Adults Successfully Employed in American Corporations here.
