Congratulations to our winners for Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist!
Please read on to learn about their incredible achievements and work.
Tara Brown-Ogilvie, M.S.Ed., COMS, VRT
Tara Brown-Ogilvie is currently the Research and Accessibility Specialist at Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults. Her role is to support a robust research program, collaborate with universities, and provide consultation on the inclusion of individuals who are DeafBlind in research activities.
She has enjoyed over 10 years of working with youth and adults who are Deafblind as a support service provider, vision rehabilitation therapist, tactile sign language interpreter, HKNC regional representative, and certified orientation and mobility specialist (COMS).
Tara is also a National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD) scholar pursuing a Ph.D. in Special Education at University of Northern Colorado (UNCO). She also holds a B.S. in Sign Language Interpreting and a M.S.Ed. with an emphasis in Orientation and Mobility.
In 2019, she was awarded the Division on Visual Impairments and DeafBlindness (DVIDB) Virginia M. Sowell Student of the Year Award which recognizes a student committed to the education and rehabilitation of individuals with visual impairments and DeafBlindness. She has co-authored several articles related to visual impairment, DeafBlindness, and disability support services. Tara has also worked as an adjunct instructor and enjoys guest speaking at university classes, professional in-services, and conferences on DeafBlindness, transition services, communication access, and orientation and mobility instruction.
To learn more about the Helen Keller National Center, please visit: https://www.helenkeller.org/hknc/
Katarina Eller, COMS
Katarina Eller, born with low vision due to ROP, received her bachelor’s degree in modern Languages, German and Spanish, from Elizabethtown College in 2011; and her O&M certification from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020. She has been working at VisionCorps as a COMS serving adult clients with blindness and low vision since January of 2020. Along with providing O&M services, Katarina helps to facilitate three educational/support groups. Two of the groups focus on general mobility education and life as a dog guide user while the third group is a Spanish speaking support group called Sin Limites (translated to without limits).
Before becoming a COMS, Katarina worked for two summers with VisionCorps as a volunteer receptionist, and as an interpreter for a Vision Mission trip to Ecuador through World Blindness Outreach, which provided eye surgeries and rehabilitation training to people with blindness/low vision. She loves to read, go on walks and visit every coffee shop in the city where she works.
To learn more about VisionCorps, please visit: https://visioncorps.net/