Event Highlights & News

The Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation (IBCF) is excited to share that longtime board member Kathy Nimmer has been named a 2026 Helen Keller Achievement Award winner by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).

Established by AFB in 1994, the annual awards celebrate and promote the notable achievements of individuals and organizations that have improved the quality of life for people with disabilities. Individuals who have received the award in the past include Stevie Wonder, Washington State Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib, architect Chris Downey, disability rights advocate Haben Girma, and chef Christine Ha. Organizations that have received the award in the past include Apple, JPMorgan Chase, Google, and Netflix.

Although born in a Chicago suburb, Kathy Nimmer grew up in the small town of Munster, Indiana, where her imagination was able to run free.

“I was the absolute dreamer, storyteller kind of kid,” she says. “I could play with Barbies or be on our swing set in the backyard for hours just making up stories.”

While in second grade, she began to have trouble discerning what letters her teacher was writing on the board, which was the first indication that there may be an issue with her vision.

“It took about a year of testing in order to get the diagnosis of a rare retinal degenerative disease,” Nimmer says. “Ultimately, I became a research patient at the University of Chicago, where they tracked my vision loss. A couple of times a year, we drove up there for extensive testing. We did that for a decade.”

Starting at age 7, Nimmer’s vision began to slowly decline, which eventually led her to attend Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) from sixth grade through twelfth grade. At many points over the course of her schooling journey, Nimmer recalls having impactful teachers who eventually led her to become one herself later in life.

“Every time I would be gone to the University of Chicago for the lengthy days of testing, my third grade teacher would take me to the side, work with me, and catch me up,” Nimmer says. “I just have such a clear memory of the revelation that a teacher was making a difference to a student. Right there, I was like, ‘I know I want to teach. I want to have that same role of impact for someone in the future.’”

After reading large print for many years, Nimmer eventually switched over to reading braille in tenth grade. While attending ISBVI, she also had several teachers who helped her cope with vision loss and who paved the way for her teaching career later in life.

“All the teachers at the Blind School were purely incredible,” Nimmer says. “Linda Francisco helped me find a gift for playing the piano and an outlet for the emotions that I experienced with the vision loss. Becky Heck helped us dissect frogs in high school, and there were so many others. I knew I had to do what they were doing. I took pieces of each of them and incorporated them into the teaching persona that I developed through college and into my career. I credit all their contributions to why I grew into the teacher I became.”

After earning a bachelor’s in English Education from Trinity Christian College in 1991 and a master’s in English from Purdue University in 1992, Nimmer went on to teach English at Harrison High School in West Lafayette for 29 years before eventually shifting into her role as director of the SEEDS (Supporting Educators Entering District Service) program for the Tippecanoe School Corporation. Nimmer took an early retirement from K-12 work last year to free up more time for speaking, writing, and serving.

Early on in her teaching career, Nimmer says she had to come to terms with being a teacher who was blind.

“I became a good teacher when I stopped trying to minimize my vision loss,” Nimmer says. “I was doing so much to work around making that a thing that I was not being genuine, and genuine Kathy Nimmer is funny, expressive, and responsive. I am very committed to feedback, listening, and lively presentation, but all of that was stifled when I was trying to focus on minimizing the fact that I was blind. Once I made that shift, things started going better in the classroom.”

Nimmer would eventually be named the 2015 Indiana Teacher of the Year and a National Teacher of the Year finalist — a pair of accolades that helped propel her public speaking pursuits to new heights.

“During my year of service as Indiana Teacher of the Year, I had a sabbatical for the full year and the invitation to use that time away from the classroom to pursue passions I individually had as an educator,” Nimmer says. “My passion was motivational speaking and disability awareness, so during that year, I did over 370 separate presentations. Sometimes, it was huge convocations or speeches at national conferences. Sometimes, I was sitting on the floor in a kindergarten classroom and talking about guide dogs. Those moments were my choice and my absolute privilege. I look back at that time, and I’ve never worked harder. I’ve never had the gift of doing something from the heart level as intensely and constantly as I did during that year.”

Having now been named the 2026 Helen Keller Achievement Award winner, Nimmer looks forward to reaching even more audiences with her story of hope.

“I’ve had more recognition and opportunities than anything that I deserve, and I’ve been highly aware of the multiple blessings that I’ve had,” Nimmer says. “I never do anything for recognition of any sort. So anytime something has come my way — whether I have been in an active application process or whether it has come from seemingly nowhere — I’ve been aware that in no way, shape, or form do I think I am someone who needs or even aspires to have high recognition. But I have always leaned into trusting that those recognitions will open opportunities that I wouldn’t have had without them. That makes it exciting to see what’s behind that next door.

In reflecting on all the previous winners of the Helen Keller Achievement Award, Nimmer describes each individual as a luminary.

“As an English teacher, I love a lot of words, but luminary comes from the root meaning light,” Nimmer says. “The primary definition of luminary is an individual who shines a light of hope and possibility within a particular sphere of influence, and the individuals and corporations on that list are luminaries without question. So many of those people are individuals that I’ve dreamed of meeting one day.”

Nimmer continues, “The older definition of luminary is a natural source of light, such as the sun. I feel deeply certain that individuals who have won this award are people who have shined that light of hope for others. I feel that I might fit that second definition better because as a natural source of light, I’m just doing my life, and that includes living well, helping others, speaking encouragement, and being as authentic a human as I can be. If that provides some kind of natural hope and light for others, then I am blessed and happy to know that, and it’s a gift to be in a position to shine that light.”

When it comes to what she hopes will follow her winning this award, Nimmer says she looks forward to what’s next.

“I am hoping that the doors that open because of this award lead me into more places to speak, share, and write,” she says. “There’s a book idea I’ve had where I’m waiting for the right time, and maybe this award will make that pathway clearer.”

As for the impact she wants her story to have on others, Nimmer says it all comes back to living authentically and with a passion for doing good.

“I want anyone who looks at my life to not stand back and say, ‘Wow. She has superpowers. That is unattainable.’ Because that’s about as far from the truth as it could be,” she says. “I want someone to look at me and say, ‘All things are possible when your motivation is to do the best you can with what you have for the goodness of the moment and for the knowledge that you are making the world a better place.’ With that as the center of what you do, whether it is small or big, whether it is noticed or quietly happening behind the scenes, then it is good, it is right, and it is part of the story that is yours to tell. When you’re living with authenticity, your story is going to be told, and the brighter and more genuine your commitment is to serving others and to helping bring joy to the world, then that story is worth telling, even in the imperfections and times of failure.”

Kathy Nimmer will be honored alongside the other 2026 Helen Keller Achievement Award winners at an award ceremony in New York City put on by the American Foundation for the Blind on April 23, 2026. Please join us and the rest of the IBCF family in congratulating her on this tremendous honor!

Find the official article here: bit.ly/KathyNimmerWinsHelenKellerAchievementAeard