John O'Dillon, CVRT
John O’Dillon, a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, is in charge of all activities having to do with Vocational Rehabilitation services at Independence for the Blind. He has been employed at IB since 1993, his being hired to augment employment efforts for the blind and visually impaired in the western Florida Panhandle.
John achieved a B.A. in Philosophy in 1989, and an additional B.A. in English Education in 1991. His strength is his versatility in relating to people of all walks of life, for prior to working for IB, he worked construction, in machine shops, in the public school system as a teacher and as a job coach for individuals with developmental disabilities.
As a Job Coach, he entered many different job settings and had to quickly determine job duties and strategies for keeping the job. Through his experience with developing relationships countless employers, he found his passion. For the past 16 years has been a Rehabilitation Teacher for individuals with blindness. More recently, he was selected to sit on a panel of individuals from the private and government sector who administer services for individuals with blindness identify “Outcomes” and establish “Standards” for service delivery to the population we serve. Currently, he supervises the VR Program activities, the Transition program and the technology department at Independence for the Blind. In John’s free time, he enjoys the outdoors and spending quality time with his beautiful bride of 32 years, Brenda.