O&M Pre-conference session will be presented on Thursday, March 22nd, by Dr. Gene Bourquin. The title of his presentation is:

“ADVANCED AND EVOLVING TOPICS IN O&M: Travelers with hearing loss, Modern Signals and Complex Intersections, and Drivers’ Yielding”

Bio: Dr. Eugene Bourquin is a native New Yorker who works at the national center on deafblindness in suburban New York (HKNC), and has served as a senior instructor, supervisor, coordinator, and director in programs providing services to individuals who are deafblind. He also worked as the O&M specialist and travel instructor for more than a decade in NY’s largest school for the Deaf.   Gene has lectured internationally and nationally on topics related to drivers’ yielding, sign interpretation, and communication and mobility with deafblind people.  He has earned certifications as a COMS and CLVT (retired), as well as two national certifications in sign language interpretation.  Gene has published regularly in peer-reviewed journals and enjoyed teaching in personnel prep programs at Salus University, North Carolina Central University, and Mahidol University and Chiang Mai University in Thailand. He is a co-author of the Foundation chapter about travelers with hearing loss and an ordained Deacon in the Episcopal Church.