“I support team-building to encourage creativity, candor, and fresh ideas that ensure my team’s success, translating to keeping the Lighthouse’s electricity on and paying our hard-working employees,” says Dennis Tay, Accounts Receivable Supervisor at the Lighthouse.
Dennis was born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a hereditary and progressive eye condition. Growing up in Malaysia, Dennis struggled finding resources to continue his education with his on-going vision loss. In 1993, Dennis moved to the United States and later graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Business Administration, focusing in Accounting.
Dennis began his career at the Lighthouse in 2010 working as an Accounts Receivable Specialist. Over the past eight years, he has moved into leadership roles with more responsibility. As his vision has worsened, Dennis continues to learn new ways of doing his job to ensure cash is accounted for and makes it to the bank. He says when acknowledging challenges faced by him with Excel and his narrowing field of vision, “I’ve learned accessibility tricks such as keyboard shortcuts that allow me to navigate through muscle memory, rather than visualizing where my cursor needs to be.”
A team player, Dennis not only supports those he directly works with on a daily basis but desires to strengthen relationships with other colleagues by keeping a supply of treats at his desk as an enticer. Treats or not, it’s Dennis’ hard work that’s earned him the title of Lighthouse’s 2017 Indirect Employee of the Year. He will compete for the Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement Award for indirect employees at the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) conference later this year.
“My goal is to be a Lighthouse employee until I retire.”
