[Editor's Note: How many braille readers who have mostly given up reading hardcopy braille still depend on "Syndicated Columnists Weekly" for quick reading
while waiting for or during paratransit and bus rides? Just think of it: seeing how names in the current news are spelled! We have Diane Croft to thank
for that publication and so many other braille projects at National Braille Press. My husband Steve and I had breakfast with Diane at last year's ACB convention.
Visiting with her is always one of the highlights of our convention week. Her contributions to the concept of what should be produced in braille for children
and adults have made National Braille Press a cutting edge producer of braille materials at reasonable cost. We can only hope that NBP replaces her with
someone with as strong a vision for the future for those of us who read braille. We wish Diane well with her new book and other new endeavors.]
National Braille Press today announced that Publisher Diane Croft will step down in April 2016. After 34 years of service to NBP and to the blindness community,
Diane is excited to embark on this next stage in her career, devoting full-time to publishing under a new imprint, Interleaf Press, and the release of
her book on the collective unconscious this summer.
"I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to have had the privilege and honor of working in this community for so many years," said Diane. "At
NBP, I work alongside a group of enormously talented, hardworking individuals, who care deeply about braille. Stepping away from what I know and love is
hard, but change also brings new energy and creativity."
After receiving her master's degree from Harvard University, Diane was hired by then-NBP President Bill Raeder to oversee NBP's publishing efforts and
new product development. Among her first accomplishments were the launch of the first Children's Braille Book Club, a weekly editorial newspaper, Syndicated
Columnists Weekly, and the start of NBP's self-help books on access technology. Since then, her commitment to the promotion and advocacy of braille is
renowned throughout the world.
The blindness community has recognized Diane for her contributions to the field with numerous awards, including the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award and the Jacobus
tenBroek Award from the National Federation of the Blind, the 1990 Book Award from the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities,
the Uncommon Vision Award, and the Bay State Council of the Blind Outstanding Service Award. She received the Hands On! Award from NBP in 2012 for her
efforts to promote braille literacy, an award that has also been given to Former First Lady Laura Bush, J.K. Rowling, then Senator John Kerry, and Sabriye
Tenberken. Diane is a published author and editor of dozens of publications, including the award-winning biography of the inventor of braille, Louis Braille:
A Touch of Genius, which has been translated into seven languages.
Brian Mac Donald, President of NBP said, "Diane is a brilliant writer and editor, and she is loved and admired in this community because she has been a
passionate, thoughtful, and caring advocate for the blind and visually impaired. Her creative leadership in supporting braille literacy programs for children
has left a permanent mark in the history of braille."
NBP has established a search committee to identify Diane's successor.
