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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 4
provide train-the-trainer events from Dr. Emerson, to a small network of O&M
professionals to build local capacity and to ensure that COMET scholars would
experience greater programmatic fidelity within preparation.
As we began implementing grant activities, the Transportation Research and
Education Center (TREC) staff at PSU began a dialogue with our faculty about the
shared learning needs of transportation specialists, urban planners, geographers, and
civil engineers. Out of this collaboration, COMET staff leveraged a grant-related visit
from Robert, to co-design an interdisciplinary training summit in partnership with TREC
entitled Mobility Matters, which was hosted on March 9, 2018. At the summit,
representatives from city, state, and federal transportation planning participated in
learning and dialogue regarding O&M, acoustics and intersection design for people,
including young adults who are visually impaired or deafblind.
Later in the one day agenda, design work from the transportation and urban design
fields were shared with O&M Specialists, many of whom are supporting students
served by the COMET preparation grant. Individuals who have visual impairments or
deafblindness, not only attended but participated at community round tables at
Mobility Matters. From this shared event which was attended by 125 people from
diverse disciplines, further conversation regarding curriculum development,
professional learning events, and research projects have emerged. Interdisciplinary
interest in transportation, access and O&M have provided support for a Mobility
Matters 2019 in Portland (Mobility Matters, 2019).
To prepare for our first cane course, Robert continued to work with me and a
small group of largely regional O&M colleagues to develop a well-founded structure for
preparing our students on the streets of Portland and Seattle. What was interesting
