The Board of Directors of NEC Foundation of American, under the leadership of their Director Ms. Sylvia Clark, are responsible for funding four United States seminars organized by the Institute for Innovative Blind Navigation. These regional seminars, called "Advances in Wayfinding Technology", were held in Michigan, Florida, California, and in the State of Washington. NEC Foundation of America was also the primary sponsor of the historic First World Congress on Blind Wayfinding Technology held in Baltimore, Maryland in October, 2005. Funding from NEC Foundation of American also made this textbook possible. We are deeply grateful for the confidence and guidance received from Ms. Clark and her Board of Directors. Through the seminars and World Congress, we participated in raising the awareness of professionals and consumers to the potential of emerging wayfinding technologies; in a small way, we made a big difference.

The National Federation of the Blind has a long standing reputation in the blind rehabilitation field as a determined, persistent champion of consumer rights and responsibilities. With the creation of the NFB Jernigan Research Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, the National Federation firmly established their leadership position in the blind rehabilitation community. In particular, the director of the NFB Jernigan Institute, Dr. Betsy Zaborowski, led the team that designed the World Congress on Blind Wayfinding Technologies. By hosting the Congress, NFB demonstrated a resolve to bring consumers together with professionals around the opportunities and challenges arising from the technology revolution.

A small but dedicated team of individuals, the members of IIBN's Board of Directors, moved the focus of the Institute from a local and regional agency to an organization capable of contributing and providing leadership on a national and a global stage. Four members of the IIBN board are mobility specialists. We want to thank Colleen La Rose, Ed Piotrowski, Susan Langondonk, and Dan Kish. Three of the board members are parents of blind children (and leaders in the State of Michigan in various blindness organizations). We thank Michael Kazmierski, Brunhilda Merke-Adams, and Jeffrey Steele. Fred Wurzeil was president of the NFB of Michigan and served on the IIBN board for five years. Fred was instrumental in bringing IIBN together with Jernigan Institute staff. We sincerely thank Fred for his support. Mike Hudson was IIBN Chairman of the Board and he is the Director of Michigan State University's Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities. Mike has been with the Institute since it's inception in 1997. We thank Mike for his many years of support and continued dedication. Dr. Lou Alonzo, Professor Emeritus; Michigan State University served on IIBN's Board all through the early years and she played a key role in bringing parents and consumers onto the board. We thank Lou for helping us launch and sustain IIBN.

We also wish to thank four advisors to the board. They include: James Royle, Professor; Department of Special Education; Saginaw Valley State University; Dr. Delores Kowalski, OD; Executive Director, Special Needs Vision Clinic; and Dr. Richard Long, Professor at Western Michigan University in the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies.