Diane Bergeron

January 13, 2022

Diane has a Master of Arts in Leadership and has put that to good use working in government administration at the municipal and provincial levels before accepting her current position as President, CNIB Guide Dogs and VP, International Affairs also for the CNIB. Her role involves national and international advocacy, a responsibility she has undertaken on behalf of other organizations as well. Diane’s appetite for adventures that few of us would undertake is what caught my eye. To say she is a daredevil is something of an understatement! Diane has rappelled down the side of a 29-story building, skydived and driven a race car. She is passionate about exercise and in 2017 completed the Ironman Mont Tremblant. It will not shock our listeners to hear that Diane is the recipient of numerous awards for advocacy, excellence and leadership and not surprisingly, that she is a motivational speaker. What may come as a surprise is that Diane is blind, a process that began when she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of five. By the age of 10 she was legally blind and in her 30’s she lost all sight. Diane occasionally consults with accessibility architect Ron Wickman on his projects. Designing buildings for accessibility often focuses on wheelchair access however Diane’s advocacy for the blind has proven useful in Ron’s work by allowing him to integrate design that meets the needs of those with diminished or no sight and that is the subject of our conversation today.