Dennis Zehner Assumes Executive Director Role as Agency Looks to Advance its Mission

Dennis Zehner assumed the role as Executive Director of the Center for Vision Loss today as the agency began a new service year and initiated a critical effort to define how it will advance its mission.

Zehner had been the organization’s Director of Advancement since 2018 and earned the additional title of Associate Director in 2019. He was elected in January to succeed Douglas Yingling, who led the Center for Vision Loss for nine years until his retirement yesterday. Zehner is the eighth official leader in the agency’s 92-year history.

Zehner’s first day as Executive Director and the first day of the organization’s 2020-2021 year included a meeting to commence its next strategic planning process. The agency’s current strategic plan concludes in 2021 and the organization continues to respond to the more immediate and long-term effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“I undertake this new responsibility inspired and humbled by the impact that our organization makes on people’s lives with interventions that may appear small in scope but are enormous in significance,” Zehner said. “It is our charge to make today a pivotal moment from which we carry forward our progress while we remain faithful to the legacy of service that has shaped us for nearly a century.”

Zehner brings to his work as Executive Director 20 years of experience in the Lehigh Valley region’s nonprofit industry and an emotional connection with the organization’s mission because of obstacles encountered by his late paternal grandfather, who had been classified as legally blind throughout his life.

In his time with the Center for Vision Loss, Zehner has led creation of its 2018-2021 strategic plan, strengthened its Board of Directors, increased revenue in several categories, recreated its event portfolio, and fostered important new partnerships. In his prior work with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, the Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley, and the Da Vinci Science Center, Zehner specialized in communications, creative promotions, news media relations, marketing, multi-platform content production, and fundraising as he progressed into roles of increased responsibility.

The Center for Vision Loss empowers people with visual impairments to seize their independence and opportunity and champions healthy eyesight throughout its communities. With operations in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County, it combines a service tradition motivated by Helen Keller with contemporary practices and advanced technologies. The organization’s services for people with visual impairments promote the accomplishment of daily tasks, increased access to medical services and food supplies, enhanced personal wellness, and extended self-sufficiency. Its free vision screenings for children stimulate success in school and its community education programs advocate for eye health and safety. All agency services are provided at little or no cost, and 85% of its clients and patients with visual impairments are from low-income households.

The Center for Vision Loss is an independent member of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) and is affiliated with the VisionServe Alliance, a network of North American agencies that serve people with visual impairments.