Anu Pala has been a Career Coach with the Neil Squire Society (new window)’s Burnaby (new window) office for almost 3 years. Her job requires her to develop curriculum, facilitate online workshops, and provide one-on-one coaching to clients. Anu is blind (new window) and, as such, she relies on assistive technology to access print materials and certain websites.

To access print materials, Anu uses a scanner and Optical Character Recognition (new window) (OCR) software. She simply scans paper documents to her computer and the program interprets the scanned document, translates it and provides speech output enabling her to hear the information. To navigate her computer and create her own documents, Anu uses JAWS (Job Access With Speech) (new window). This program enables her to access the computer through sound and a key board. Keyboard commands replace the mouse, thus enabling Anu to access various applications and websites. Anu also makes use of her iPhone (new window) to stay on top of meetings and access contacts when she’s out on the road.

Anu is very happy with her work and says that “opening clients to new ideas, concepts and opportunities and watching them reach their goals” confirms why she chose this career. “I feel honored to have the opportunity to work with an organization that is proactive in helping to change the lives of persons with disabilities.”

The Neil Squire Society (new window) is honored to have great people like Anu on our team!