Page 30 - October 2020

National Disability Employment Awareness

Month Achievers Award Winners

WINNERS

James Deremeik with acquired vision loss who are Anna Moyer
Research Associate, navigating educational, vocational and Graduate Student
Rehabilitation transportation systems, young adults in Johns Hopkins
Therapist for Low need of work-related accommodations University School of
Vision and older adults with acquired Medicine
Johns Hopkins impairment and comorbidities. His
University School of exceptional skills as a therapist are
Medicine demonstrated daily as he works to Anna Moyer has been highly involved in
improve the quality of his patients’ the Johns Hopkins disability community
James Deremeik has been working at lives through counseling, education and as a student leader and as someone
the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute teaching visual skills. with a chronic illness. She leads the
for over 25 years, caring for patients During the past four years, James Equal Access in Science and Medicine
with chronic vision loss in the Lions has collaborated with the Lions Club Committee, which is a group of Ph.D.
Vision Research and Rehabilitation International Multiple District 22 to students at the school of medicine who
Center. As a rehabilitation therapist form the Low Vision Rehabilitation are dedicated to disability awareness,
and low vision specialist, James has Network. This program uses Lions accommodations and representation.
been integral in the establishment of Club resources to raise awareness Other successes for Anna include
many clinical programs that address of low vision rehabilitation services securing a Johns Hopkins University
the education and rehabilitation needs and to make them more available for grant that helped create Students for
of children and adults with low vision. patients in the Delaware, Maryland Disability Justice, a universitywide
He has field tested vision assessment and Washington areas. James also group for students with disabilities,
tools for children that are produced has leadership roles with several mental health conditions and chronic
by the American Printing House for organizations that support research, illnesses. Anna also helped organize
the Blind at the Arkansas School for education and rehabilitation for people a lecture given by bipolar disorder
the Blind. In collaboration with Johns who are blind and visually impaired. researcher and activist Kay Jamison.
Hopkins researcher and scientist She also organized a virtual film
Robert Massof, James has developed James Deremeik demonstrates the screening and book club to keep the
and implemented training programs for core values of Johns Hopkins Medicine community connected during the
patients to become skilled with using by helping to meet the health care COVID-19 pandemic. One of Anna’s
new technology such as the Low Vision needs of the disability community. It is most successful projects is Accessible
Enhancement System and the IrisVision for this reason that he is being honored Chef, a website she created to teach
low vision virtual reality glasses. To with an Achievers Award. cooking skills to people with intellectual
improve health care delivery systems, disabilities. For her Ph.D. dissertation,
James has authored many manuscripts, Anna is currently researching brain
including a white paper that set development in people with Down
policy for low vision services, and he syndrome. Her commitment to the
was active in the establishment of a disability community goes beyond
national low vision clinical network that seeking accommodations — she hopes
measured outcomes of using vision to include the voices of people with
rehabilitative services. disabilities in the design of any process
or program. We appreciate Anna
Patients and families served by
James include young children with Moyer’s commitment to Johns Hopkins
congenital vision impairment, teens Medicine’s core values.

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