Kimberly Martin has been a quiet force of strength and perseverance in the braille department at CIDI since her arrival in 2017. 

Through hard work and perseverance, she has risen in the ranks from Braille Media Specialist I all the way up to Braille Production Manager. 

One of her first leadership experiences at CIDI involved stepping up when called. 

“During those early days, I pursued two advanced braille certifications: to Literary and Nemeth Proof Reading Certifications,” says Martin. “Those are two very advanced certifications that are very hard to pass, but for us to be accepted as the National Library Service (NLS) contract, we had to have someone with those certifications on staff. Doing that was very pivotal for us.”

Martin is not only a high achiever herself, but she encourages her teammates to achieve as well. 

“I joined the braille formats committee, which is under the National Braille Association,” she said. “I also encourage my team to do so. Currently, Hollie is our board member for BANA, Jeremy is on the braille formats committee, and Mitch is on the computer committee.”

Looking toward the future and what strategies she wants to implement in her new leadership role, Martin sees the road to innovation through both new technologies and her teammates’ passions. 

“What can AI do for us?” Martin wonders. “It'll never be able to replace us, but how can we use it to expand what we're doing? How can we use AI to grow, to reach?” 

To her, innovation means nurturing her team’s talents and using the passion innate in the team to become the number one braille service provider.

“A year from now, I can see the team, the entire team, the media team, the production team, just thriving at the extreme best, just using it all to become the best version of the team possible,” says Martin.

“The team can innovate because they are nurtured daily and encouraged to be their best,” she concludes.