Noon, February 18th at CVNR—
Atlanta VA Conference Room, 12th Floor
A Wonderful Wednesday Presentation:
Mike May, CEO, Innovator, Skier
"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself." - Søren Kierkegaard
Mike May was totally blinded at age three from an explosion of calcium carbide. He grew up believing he was lucky to be blind and still alive. Mike has been an innovator of many technologies including navigation systems that improve the independence of people who are blind. Mike's personal life and professional career have been characterized by pioneering efforts in business, research and community service.
He has collaborated for over 20 years with nationally-known researchers on a variety of projects to develop technologies for persons with a visual impairment.
As President and CEO of The Sendero Group, a non-profit he founded in 1999, he employs many persons who are visually impaired, and produced the first accessible GPS solutions for this population, including BrailleNote, Braille Sense, Sendero PC Maps and GPS, and Sendero LookAround for iPhone and Android. In 2014 they released Seeing Eye GPS (U.S. and Canada) and RNIB Navigator (U.K.) – the only fully accessible turn-by-turn apps for the iPhone. The Sendero Group's GPS technology received the Consumer Electronics Show's "Innovation Honoree" title in 2004 and 2009.
Also, among his many accomplishments, Mike holds the record for downhill skiing by a person who is completely blind (racing at 65mph). He competed in the alpine skiing event at the 1984 Winter Paralympics and won three bronze medals in the downhill, giant slalom, and combination events.
Mike regained partial vision in 2000, at the age of 46, after cornea transplants and a pioneering stem cellprocedure by San Francisco ophthalmologist, Daniel Goodman. In 2003, three years after the eye operation, results were mixed. May reported being unable to grasp three-dimensional vision and unable to recognize the faces of his family members.In 2006, journalist Robert Kurson wrote a book on May, Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure and the Man Who Dared to See. It is now being picked up as a motion picture project.
Mike Will Be Available to Meet with Individual Investigators for 15 or 30 minutes between 9AM and 11:30AM, and between 1PM and 3PM.
Email: to make an appointment to meet with Mike.
Lunch: You may bring your own bag lunch, buy lunch in the VA cafeteria, or email to order items from Jimmy Johns ().
Go to the North Druid Hills Location for Prices. Pay David Ross when you pick up.