Overview

Ability ASCEND launched at the beginning of 2021. It is the second module in an incredible matchmaking service between deserving job candidates and the employers who value them. The 2020 virtual Disability:IN conference asked if you were IN for inclusion. Companies that want to be IN should definitely register for Ability ASCEND as soon as possible.

People who self-identify as having a disability are eligible to register for free in the Ability ASCEND database. Registered companies will have access to candidates who match their open positions based on three criteria:

– Skills
– Desired location
– Desired compensation

Ability ASCEND will eventually fall under a broad portfolio of services, including the original Veterans ASCEND. Future modules include first responders, recent graduates (i.e. millennials), and returning citizens. All of these groups tend to be un- or under-employed, yet in many cases they represent significant potential. In some cases, they have already given much of themselves and it is time for them to be rewarded. In all cases, they represent the cognitive diversity that wise employers seek.

Contact edhenkler@theblindguide.com to learn more.

About The Blind Guide, LLC

Academy Connection

Ed Henkler (USNA '78) is the Founder of The Blind Guide, LLC. After 10 years in the Surface Navy nuclear power fleet, he joined Merck & Co., Inc. Most of his time at Merck was in the Research Division, providing strategic planning and operations suppport, including management of a $1 Billion annual capital plan. After early retirement from Merck, he has pursued a passion borne of his mother's loss of sight to macular degeneration. He is making the world more accessible for people who are blind.

The Blind Guide, LLC

Ensuring that people who have lost their vision shift their goals from surviving to thriving. Dedicated to people experiencing vision loss and those that love them.

Based on our Founder's career history, we have a special focus on increasing the employment of veterans, veteran and military spouses, people with disabilities (especially blindness), and their intersectionalities (e.g. blinded veteran).

The Blind Guide, LLC partners with a number of veteran-owned small businesses and the National Industries for the Blind to create meaningful employment opportunities with mainstream compensation.