Dear Laura,

The Carroll Center for the Blind is pleased to announce that Michael E. Festa has been hired as their new President.

Mr. Festa is a practicing attorney and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1999-2007, where he spearheaded the passage of the "Equal Choice for Senior and Disabled Persons" law. This law, sponsored by Mr. Festa alongside senior, disability and long-term care advocates, has resulted in a fundamental shift throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the use of long-term care dollars from an institutional bias to one that promotes independence in the home and community. Mr. Festa most recently served as the Secretary of the Executive Office Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he continued to promote innovative opportunities for seniors to live more independently in the community.

Mr. Festa earned a J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University. In addition to his strong leadership and life-long commitment to the elderly and disabled, Mr. Festa is an experienced manager and recognized leader in the field of healthcare and community-based services.

About the Carroll Center for the Blind

Considered a national and international leader in the field of blindness and visual impairment, the Carroll Center for the Blind (CCB) is committed to fostering the independence of blind and visually impaired persons by providing rehabilitation, skills training and educational opportunities to achieve independence, self-sufficiency and self-fulfillment and by educating the public regarding the potential of persons who are blind and visually impaired. Every year over 2,000 individuals face the physically, emotionally and financially demanding challenge of adjusting to vision loss with the Carroll Center's expert and compassionate assistance.

Founded in 1936, as the Catholic Guild for the Blind, the Carroll Center was brought to national prominence in 1954, when the Reverend Thomas J. Carroll established its innovative residential rehabilitation training program for newly blinded adults. CCB has continually pioneered new and innovative therapeutic and learning methods for blind and visually impaired persons to achieve their full potential in the home, the school, the workplace and the community including a nationally recognized fencing program, designed to build sensory confidence and physical strength in a safe environment.

For more information about The Carroll Center for the Blind, check out their website.

The completion of a good search depends upon the participation and collaboration of good candidates and strong sources. On behalf of The Carroll Center for the Blind, we want to thank you for your interest and assistance with this search.

Sincerely,