Contributor

Mark A. Riccobono

President of the National Federation of the Blind

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mark Riccobono was diagnosed with glaucoma and aniridia at age five. Nonetheless, Mark attended public schools, graduating with honors. Mark earned a degree in business administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison After graduation, he became the first director of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Afterward he took a position in Baltimore with the NFB, and earned a Master of Science in Educational Studies. Mark served as the executive director of the NFB Jernigan Institute and in January 2011 at the Daytona International Speedway, he navigated a car equipped with nonvisual technology, demonstrating the first time a blind individual has driven a street vehicle in public without the assistance of a sighted person. On July 5, 2014, the National Federation of the Blind elected Mark to serve as its president at its national convention. Mark and his wife, Melissa, have three children, Austin, Oriana, and Elizabeth.