From Bindery to Braille Leader:
Rickie Johnson’s Story of Dedication and Impact
Lauren Lee, MPH | September 23, 2025 – Atlanta, GA
“We get the hard stuff, because our customers know we can do it.”
That’s Rickie Johnson, CIDI’s newly appointed Braille Production Manager, who now oversees production side of the braille unit as of September 1, 2025.
Rickie has worked in commercial printing for over twenty years. He came to CIDI in 2017 as a bindery worker, and his hard work and perfectionism quickly had him rising the ranks.
“When I started, I didn’t know a thing about braille,” says Johnson. “But everyone here is a perfectionist, including me, so I learned what I needed to quickly. We all want the vision-impaired reader to have the same access as everyone else.”
To him, the work done for people with low or no vision is also a personal connection.
“My sister, who passed away, lost her vision from diabetes,” says Johnson. “Everything else she could smile about, but when she lost that, I saw her aura start to change. It’s close to my heart. That’s part of what drives me to make sure people with low or no vision have the best of the best.”
And when Rickie has his hands on it? They definitely get the best of the best. Through decades of experience, he and the production team always send out high quality work.
His vision for the team includes perfecting what they already do well, and planning for a future where more people know about braille.
“In the short term, we’re going to continue to perfect what we do, all the day-to-day processes. Within seven months, we went from over 100 books in the queue to 15, and that’s through the hard work of the team and perfecting the processes,” says Johnson. “Whenever a client sets a deadline, it’s always my goal to beat it.”
And the future is outreach. “Workshops, nursing homes, the VA… Braille outreach might be the solution for people who are losing their vision to still have that quality of life, to help them before they get to that point.”
At the end of the day, we’re a service center,” concludes Johnson. “Our goal is to be good stewards, to help people. We’re adding to the world and to the human condition with the work we do here.”
