Join us in congratulating Dana Van Dussen and Karl Schaeffler as The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc’s 2020 employees of the year!

Dana Van Dussen

Senior Director of Human Resources

2020 Indirect Employee of the Year Award Recipient

Dana finds inspiration in her everyday interactions with employees at the Lighthouse. “Even though I have a progressive eye disease, and I could lose my vision, life continues on. That really means a lot to me,” she noted. “I think had I not worked here at the Lighthouse I would have been more lost. Hearing and seeing other people’s stories and knowing how well they achieve and how successful they are. To me it’s inspirational. It’s motivating. It’s more helpful than I think I can put words to.” Dana is a fierce advocate and ambassador for the Lighthouse. She is constantly working to promote the organization and bring people in for tours. Bringing awareness of blindness is critical. The best way to accomplish that is to bring people to the Lighthouse to see how people who are blind and DeafBlind work despite their visual impairments.

Karl Schaeffler

Set-Up Specialist

2020 Raymond W. Haman Direct Employee of the Year Award Recipient

“I was already independent before coming here, but the Lighthouse made me more independent on doing jobs that I haven’t done before,” Karl said. He began as a Production Worker working on the easel line, then supporting the production of the first lines of SKILCRAFT/Quartet-branded wallboards the Lighthouse had just began manufacturing in Spokane. He was eventually promoted to Senior Production Worker, and then to Senior Machinist, and he works today as a Set-Up Specialist in the easel department, helping prepare the various assembly stations for teams ranging from four to ten employees. “What I learned at the Lighthouse is that by working in certain jobs, it gives you a [confident] feeling to be productive in things that you haven’t done before. It makes me feel good to come to work.”

Read More

See all nominees for the 2020 Employees of the Year >>

Read about 2019 Indirect Labor Employee of the Year, Deng Kong >>

Read about 2019 Direct Labor Employee of the Year, John Koigi >>