An Interview with Jeff Bishop, President, Blind Information Technology Solutions
Janet Ingber
Jeff Bishop has helped many blind and low vision individuals learn technology, first by hosting the ACB Radio program Main Menu and later by becoming president of BITS (Blind Information Technology Solutions). He is dedicated to helping others develop technology skills.
Bishop was born completely blind. After graduating from high school in 1985, he received his first guide dog, Sunny, from The Seeing Eye. That same year, he began college, working toward an associate degree in management information systems with a focus on software development and programming.
In 1987, he was offered a position as a documentation writer at Interactive Information Systems. He said, “I never actually completed my degree. I got married in 1988 and continued to work.”
Jeff and his wife moved to California for about a year. He explained, “We worked for a company that did work for Disney and some other companies as well." Afterward, they decided to move back to Tucson. He returned to Interactive Information Systems, which had changed its name to Avalon Software. “I really started to engage both on the software development side and in teaching others how to code. I started that pretty early in my career.”
He continued, “I was responsible for onboarding our newest employees and teaching them our development fundamentals.” He added, “We treated it as a real-world situation and had a lot of fun with it. It allowed me to grow, and I think that’s where a lot of what I’m doing today comes from, because of the work I did early in my career.”
Bishop currently works for the University of Arizona as an accessibility consultant.
Throughout school and his career, Bishop used a variety of assistive technologies. He said, “I was pretty lucky. We started to get technology around that time. I began with a VersaBraille 2 and then a VersaBraille 2+. Of course, the Braille ’n’ Speak was around then, and I used that for a really long time for both work and school. I did all my assignments on it, connected to a mainframe system, wrote COBOL, and did all kinds of things. That’s really where I started.”
He continued, “Back in the DOS days, we didn’t have Windows. That was an amazing time to start a career and learn technology. It feels like we may have lost something in some respects, but we gained a lot too.” He added, “There was something special about that time, when we had to think very creatively. Not that people don’t do that now, but we didn’t have what we have today. We now have artificial intelligence and very robust screen reader technology. JAWS for DOS was pretty new in 1989.”
Bishop joined the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and became more active in the organization in 2004. He started with ACB Radio, working on streaming and podcasting. He explained, “I was always into technology and wanted to stay abreast of all the late-breaking developments.” From 2007 to 2012, Bishop hosted Main Menu, a technology program on ACB Radio. He said, “I had a good time doing that and interviewed lots of interesting people.”
Bishop was elected to the ACB Board in 2015 and served for eight years. He currently serves on the National Board of Publications and is the president of BITS (Blind Information Technology Solutions). He said, “The presidency sort of fell in my lap due to some leadership changes. BITS has a great history, with lots of great people who have done great things.”
Bishop became president of BITS in 2023. During his first annual report, he announced, “If we’re going to do things, we have to be bold, think creatively, and think outside the box.” BITS subsequently held town hall meetings to learn what members wanted from the organization.
Bishop said, “We don’t care which organizations you affiliate with. If you’re willing to share, learn, and cultivate an environment of empowerment, and put people in a position where they can achieve whatever they want in their digital lives, then we want you.”
He added, “It’s not about philosophies of blindness organizations. It’s about blind and low vision people. We meet people where they are. That’s what matters to us.”
When Bishop became president of BITS, he believed there should be a strong emphasis on education. The first course BITS offered under his leadership focused on learning to code using Python, a popular programming language. The course attracted 150 participants from around the world.
Since then, BITS has offered many additional courses, including Microsoft 365, which had more than 450 participants. During the 2025 ACB Conference and Convention, BITS offered a three-day immersive AI course. An NVDA add-ons course is scheduled for the spring.
For the 2026 ACB Conference and Convention, BITS will offer two courses, a Microsoft track and a Google track. The schedule will allow participants to take both courses if they wish. BITS instructors will also be available throughout the day to assist participants with questions or challenges.
Bishop said, “We have 484 life members and well over 1,000 members.” He added that 80 to 90 percent of members use Windows rather than macOS. He continued, “We hear that we’re too Windows-focused, and we’re trying to do better. Again, it’s about truly putting people first, understanding their needs, and moving forward. I think it’s a great time to be involved, and we’re excited to help others. That’s what motivates me to continue trying to make a difference.”
Bishop concluded, “Don’t be afraid to be anything you want to be. Seek out people who can mentor you, help you find resources, and learn from others. That’s how we all made it through. It’s not all about college. I’m not saying college isn’t important, it is, but it’s also important to be plugged into a community. You should have as many tools in your tool belt as possible to achieve what you want in life. I encourage everyone to keep learning. If you haven’t learned something today, go learn something you can use later. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be very simple. It keeps you young, moving forward, motivated, and challenged.”
He continued, “We’d be happy to help you through BITS to foster that kind of mindset, whatever you’re trying to accomplish. We’re a family-centered organization where everyone is valued and respected. If you visit the BITS website, you’ll find our core values there. It starts with belonging and continues with respect and opportunity. It’s about ensuring people are given opportunities, and that they take advantage of those opportunities, to excel. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I want to make a difference and help others achieve what they’re striving for.”
Jeff and his wife, Keri, live in Tucson, Arizona. They have two adult sons, Brian and David. Bishop’s current guide dog is Chief, a male yellow Lab-Golden Retriever cross from The Seeing Eye.
Contact Information
You can find Jeff Bishop’s social media information/contact details on his website
Info regarding Blind Information Technology Solutions is available on their website.