Our inaugural panel of Holman Prize judges was first selected by the LightHouse and met in June 2017 to choose three winners from a pool of more than 200 ambitious and adventurous blind candidates. In 2021 the committee convenes for the fifth time to decide on the next three blind prizewinners. Encompassing a wide range of expertise, our international committee members – all of whom are themselves blind – embody the spirit of James Holman, our finalists and the LightHouse for the Blind’s overarching mission. Learn more about the 2021 Committee below and then meet previous Holman Prize Committees.
Bryan Bashin
CEO, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Martine Abel-Williamson, QSM
President, World Blind Union
Jason Fayre
National Lead, Accessibility and Assistive Technology, CNIB
Karla Gilbride
Senior Attorney, Public Justice
Georgina Kleege
Professor in Creative Writing and Disability Studies, UC Berkeley
Karen Knight
General Manager of Client Services, Vision Australia
Trisha Kulkarni
B.S. Candidate in Computer Science, Stanford University
Jim Kutsch, PhD
Retired President, The Seeing Eye
Jim Marks
Program Director, Area IV Agency on Aging, Rocky Mountain Development Council
Natalina Martiniello, PhD
Research Associate, Université de Montréal; President of Braille Literacy Canada
Florence Ndagire
Lawyer
Walt Rainieri
Partner Emeritus, Fenwick & West LLP
Will Schell, J.D.
Deputy Chief of the Disability Rights Office, Federal Communications Commission
Joe Xavier
Director, California Department of Rehabilitation
Abby White
Co-founder and Volunteer CEO, World Eye Cancer Hope