#ZoesPack

Kristin Fleschner

Apr 25, 2022
4 min

Back to the Seeing Eye

Zoe has given me so much over the ten years of our partnership, but her recent act of love goes above what I could’ve ever imagined. For many years, I have dreaded her retirement and aging more than almost anything else in my life. A couple years ago, I learned that Zoe’s mom had Laryngeal Paralysis and it was a breathing emergency that took her way too soon. When I learned about Zoe’s mom, I suspected Zoe had it and began some self-management that we continued for several ye

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Kristin Fleschner

Oct 2, 2020
2 min

The Power of the Vote

Happy Disability Awareness Month/Blindness Awareness Month! In Indiana there is no way for me to vote on an absentee ballot because you cannot have someone else mark your ballot for you. A traveling board of at least two people must come to my house (during a pandemic) to verbally take my vote, violating my right to a private vote. In fact, I could vote independently via an email ballot or portal if I were overseas, but I do not have equal access in the United States. I also

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Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)

Kristin Fleschner

May 21, 2020
3 min

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)

It's Global Accessibility Awareness Day! Take time to think about how accessibility impacts our lives. There have been improvements globally In accommodating and tech accessibility due to the pandemic, and we will continue to learn from this experience. Here are some tips from Kristin and our friend and fellow attorney and advocate, Tai Tomasi on making sure Zoom meetings and other online communication is accessible to everyone. ZOOM/ONLINE MEETING SOFTWARE Prior to setting

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Kristin Fleschner

Jan 5, 2020
6 min

December 2019

Dear friends, family, and members of #ZoesPack: As the year and decade come to a close, it is important to reflect on what opportunities we were afforded, where we are headed, and what we can do to foster positive change. Ten years ago I was living in Washington DC learning about sight loss and what it meant. For me, it meant leaving DC for a bit to go to Harvard Law and learn a new way of life. Much of my advocacy in the blind community came about through the creation of #Zo

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Zoe’s Top 10 Tips for A Zooming New Year

Kristin Fleschner

Dec 31, 2019
4 min

Zoe’s Top 10 Tips for A Zooming New Year

I think humans can learn a lot from the habits of both working dogs and pets. 1) Sleep More. I do not sleep the 18-20 hours a day that most dogs sleep, but I am good at sleeping while Kristin is working. Sleep is when I recover from all the hard work I do and it lets me keep doing the things I love. 2) Snort and Sneeze. This translates to Lab Laughter (or human laughter and smiles). Smiling and laughing makes you feel good. It actually reduces pain, increases immune res

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Kristin Fleschner

Dec 24, 2019
4 min

Zoe's Night Before Christmas

One bright Christmas Eve, Santa Claus awoke looking forward to taking to the night sky on his sleigh. He got out of bed, pulled on his hat and big red coat, and opened the outside door to go and visit his trusty reindeer. It was snowing and very cold. As Santa approached the stables, he smiled at the thought that he would soon see Rudolph's red nose shining through the blizzard. But, oh no, wait a minute; as he turned the corner, Santa saw not one but nine shiny red noses! Da

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Celebrate National White Cane Day with Us!

Kristin Fleschner

Oct 15, 2019
1 min

Celebrate National White Cane Day with Us!

Happy #WhiteCaneDay #ZoesPack! We hope that you are enjoying Blindness Awareness Month and Disability Employment Awareness Month. National White Cane Day is October 15th of every year and celebrated with a Presidential Proclamation to recognize the users of the white cane and to educate the public about the blind community. Check out today’s post on National White Cane Day! Our social media channels have been packed with educational stories, interviews with rock star allies a

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Oct 10, 2019
2 min

Progress for Digital Accessibility in Domino's Pizza Case Denial

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States denied an effort by Domino's Pizza to hear its case and potentially overturn a lower court opinion that required them to make its online pizza delivery accessible. The case was brought by a blind man named Guillermo Robles, who sued Domino's for not providing digital accessibility on their website or mobile app, preventing Robles from being able to order pizza. Robles pointed out that this was a violation of the Americans with

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Celebrate Disability and Blindness Awareness Month with Us!

Kristin Fleschner

Oct 1, 2019
3 min

Celebrate Disability and Blindness Awareness Month with Us!

Our team is proud to support 2019 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and Blindness Awareness Month (BAM). Held each October, NDEAM and BAM aim to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of Americans with disabilities. Throughout the month, we'll be engaging in a variety of activities to educate about disability employment and blindness issues and the role they play in fostering a disability-friendly cultur

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September 2019: Learning from the Greatest Generation

Kristin Fleschner

Sep 5, 2019
8 min

September 2019: Learning from the Greatest Generation

Life-Changing. Overcoming fear. Disciplined. Confident. Gratitude. All words that come to mind when I summarize the past month of life and work. Not all words about me, but qualities I have witnessed in those around me and that inspire me to be better. I left off the last newsletter getting settled in Indiana and planning a trip to Idaho after my apartment in the Washington, D.C. area flooded with a near total loss. Sometimes life changes as quick as a hair-pin in the road an

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August 2019: Advocacy, Athletics & Adventures

Kristin Fleschner

Aug 4, 2019
4 min

August 2019: Advocacy, Athletics & Adventures

I’ve had an epic month that even the best fiction author could not write. The end of June and beginning of July were packed with the US Para Road and Track Cycling National Championships, which were held in Knoxville, TN and Carson, California. I took a pit stop in Indiana, and then to the Federal Courthouse in Long Island, New York to speak to tenth graders at court camp. Read on for the details! VICTORY at Road Nats with brand new pilot, Carolyn Defoore made for a sweet int

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June 2019: Advocacy, Athletics & Adventures

Kristin Fleschner

Jun 23, 2019
6 min

June 2019: Advocacy, Athletics & Adventures

"The glory of each generation is to make its own precedents." - Belva Lockwood (Lawyer, Professor, and first woman sworn into the Supreme Court of the United States) When I reflect on the past month, I see how much I have in my life, how much I still have to do, and how grateful I am to those who are on this journey with me. Advocacy Each year, a group of fifty Harvard Law alumni are sworn into the Supreme Court. I was lucky enough to be among this group of grads this year. O

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Kristin Fleschner

Apr 8, 2019
6 min

Advocacy, Athletics & Adventures

Welcome to our second newsletter! It has been a busy month and we are excited to share our work. Last month, we asked for your burning questions and promised to highlight one winner, who will receive a #ZoesPack bandana. All other questions will be responded to via social media or email. Congratulations to this month's winner, Keisha Anderson! She asked an excellent question about traveling overseas with a guide dog. Here is Keisha's question: I am writing this email partly t

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Kristin Fleschner

Mar 11, 2019
5 min

Welcome to Kristin's Newsletter: Advocacy, Athletics & Adventures

Welcome to my first newsletter! We are combining news from my advocacy work, #ZoesPack, and para cycling in one place. E-mails will go out each month and can be found on my website at www.kristinfleschner.com. We look forward to hearing your feedback. February Advocacy Runway…or Run-a-WAY?!? I took over the Runway of Dreams social media account to raise awareness of how the blind community interacts with fashion. Runway of Dreams is an organization that promotes people with d

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