Blind Ambition is a consulting and training business in Sacramento, California that delivers dynamic, interactive training to managers and staffing professionals in the public and private sectors.
After a long battle against detaching retinas, Founder Darlene O’Brien lost her sight completely in 1998. In July 2001, she attended Guide Dogs for the Blind, where she was partnered with her beautiful and loyal black Labrador, Callahan. Darlene is also the mother of two incredible daughters who attend school in Rocklin, California.
Blind Ambition offers a unique approach to Disability Etiquette Training and captivating keynote addresses to private corporations and federal, state and local governments. Through presentations at meetings, conventions and conferences, Darlene offers a lively Disability Etiquette Training program to human resource professionals, managers, supervisors, hiring officials, staffing agencies, medical professionals, teachers, and others.
Darlene has developed a reputation for being a dynamic trainer and motivational speaker. Her enthusiasm and tell-it-like-it-is humorous style have won over audiences in both the public and private sectors, and she is known for engaging her audiences.
The workshops give those hiring for federal, state, and local government jobs the tools they need to successfully recruit, interview, assess, train, hire, and ultimately work with visually impaired and blind applicants and employees. No one in the country is known to offer anything like this training, which has been enthusiastically received by those who have attended.
In addition to running her company, Darlene served as the Career Developer at the Society for the Blind, in Sacramento, California. In that position, she helped visually impaired and blind job seekers find competitive employment. She acted as the liaison between applicants and employers, coordinating the recruitment process, including interviewing, assessing accessibility issues, evaluating job sites, and recommending assistive technology for the job.
As a blind woman herself, Darlene knows the challenges people face when meeting her for the first time – the awkward handshakes and uncomfortable pauses.
“I developed this training after working with blind and visually impaired job seekers struggling to find work. My fun, high-energy workshops help attendees overcome their uncertainty by walking them through the hiring process. During the workshop, I cover the initial meeting and handshake protocol, sighted-guide demonstrations, guide dog and white cane etiquette, use of verbal descriptions, and adaptive technology available for use on the job.”