Judy Castle Scott

2010 Inductee
Leadership

For Judy Castle Scott, almost lifelong blindness has never kept her from pursuing or achieving her goals—and she has made a lifetime objective of ensuring vision loss doesn’t deter anyone else.

Scott, blind since childhood, grew up on her family’s farm close to the tiny Northeast Texas community of Pickton. Strong family values and determination helped Scott develop a can-do attitude and helpful nature.

Scott attended East Texas State University, earning not only her bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology, but also a master’s degree in counseling and guidance/ aging. Along the way, Scott developed a deep passion for improving and expanding possibilities for people with vision loss.

Today, with more than 40 years’ experience helping people affected by aging and vision loss, Scott is the director of the American Foundation for the Blind Center on Vision Loss in Dallas, which she conceived and helped create. She is also involved in the Foundation’s Aging and Corporate Access programs.

Before joining the American Foundation for the Blind, Scott worked with the Texas Commission for the Blind, where she helped establish and then direct the first Independent Living Program for older visually impaired Texans, which became a national model. After joining the Foundation, Scott became a leader in launching the National Agenda on Aging and Vision Loss, and helped spearhead a national advocacy effort to increase federal funding for Independent Living Programs in every state for older adults with visual impairments.

Scott is a recognized leader and active advocate for full access to information and the environment for people who are blind or visually impaired. In 1996, she was appointed as a member of the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, and as the committee’s chair in 2007. Scott serves on more than 10 other committees and boards dedicated to full access, including the Elderly Services Committee of the World Blind Union. She is a graduate of Leadership Dallas, past chair of the Texas State Independent Living Council, and past president of the Texas Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Scott’s efforts have helped make many significant public structures—such as the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Terminal D, Cowboys Stadium and the American Airlines Center—more accessible for all people with disabilities.

Judy Castle Scott’s legacy—both within Texas and beyond our borders—is as an inspiration, motivation and leader for others to ensure access and opportunity for all people.