For Melanie Sinohui, ACB has been a place to call home since the age of 10. She went from being a fifth grader attending local chapter meetings alongside her parents who were looking for low vision resources for their child, to being an affiliate president with a plate full of national roles. She most values the time she has been able to spend with leaders and mentors, each of whom has shown her that the most independent and strongest among us are those who ask questions and are open to learning and growth.
Throughout her childhood and college years, she fondly remembers exploring Texas as she attended state conventions and other affiliate events all across the large state. During those early days, Melanie began learning how to lead, even though she was not conscious of it at the time. She loved learning about the processes involved in ACB business, including Robert’s Rules of Order and other standard operating procedures that kept the organization running. In addition, she learned from her affiliate president how important it is to connect with members on an authentic level. After a state convention banquet one year, in a moment of adolescent levity, she threw a sugar packet across the table to the affiliate president. This began an epic battle of sugar packet warfare, as the two tossed sugar packets back and forth across the table. In addition to some hardy laughter, Melanie gained something more. Members of ACB can be any age and come from a variety of backgrounds. When leaders choose to connect with members where they are in their lives, whether in moments of joy or moments of learning, the organization flourishes.
Thirty years later, Melanie is the president of the Arizona Council of the Blind. She is the vice chair of the Durward K. McDaniel Fund Committee, where she enthusiastically mentors first-time convention attendees. She is the secretary of the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International, and serves on the Employment Committee. In addition to serving as second vice president of ACB Next Generation, she co-chaired the Convention Committee, leading the efforts to create engaging programing to build community, just like the community that brought her into ACB in the nineties. When there is community, questions are asked, connections are made, and networking happens. Building those relationships are more meaningful to her than any title.
Outside of ACB, Melanie is a Senior Process Engineer at Wells Fargo. She loves trying different kinds of food and wine. She enjoys road trips, likely due in part to the ACB event trips she took starting at a young age. History in various contexts interests her, whether she is reading about it or experiencing it at a museum. She is also fascinated by her own history and that of her family, and catalogs it through her scrapbooking hobby.