Entrepreneur and Former Client Paul Miller Elected Sights for Hope Board President

Paul Miller was elected President of the Sights for Hope Board of Directors last week during its Annual Meeting.

Miller will succeed Kate Raymond, whose term as Board President ends on June 30. Also elected to terms starting July 1 were Devin Darby, OTR-L, as Board Vice President; Daniel Lombardo as Board Treasurer; and Nicole Williams, O.D., as Board Secretary. All officer terms are for two years.

Miller has been Board Vice President since November 2022 and brings decades of leadership, entrepreneurship, and lived experience to its mission. Living with blindness caused by progressive retinal disease, Miller was a client of Sights for Hope when it was known as the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI).

Raised in the projects of Reading, PA, Miller has worked as a professional chef in Amsterdam and the United States and has started several businesses. His most successful venture is as Founder and CEO of Active Learning Centers and Lehigh Valley Martial Arts – two thriving businesses that reflect his lifelong passion for personal growth, self-confidence, and empowerment.

With more than 45 years of martial arts experience and a fifth-degree black belt in karate, Miller has trained more than 1,000 black belts and used martial arts as a foundation for teaching confidence, discipline, and life skills. Lehigh Valley Martial Arts opened in 1997, followed by Active Learning Centers in 2002, which integrates martial arts principles into early childhood education. Today, his businesses employ more than 150 people across five locations.

Miller is a tireless Sights for Hope advocate who says its people were the first who treated him like his full loss of sight at age 35 “wasn’t the end of the world.” He served on its board originally from 2004-2007 and joined the board again in 2022. He and his wife, Susan, are among Sights for Hope’s most generous individual donors. In recognition of Miller’s extraordinary dedication and impact, Sights for Hope honored him in 2024 with its Titan of Hope Award.

Raymond will serve as an at-large member of the board’s Executive Committee. As Board President since November 2022, she has guided the organization’s strategic initiatives, influenced professionalism, and supported the growth of its programs.

“We are exceedingly grateful that Paul Miller will serve as our organization’s next Board President,” said Dennis Zehner, Sights for Hope’s Executive Director and CEO. “His enthusiasm, bold perspectives, and example of someone who conquers vision loss every day make him singularly qualified and prepared to build upon the progress we have made with Kate Raymond’s leadership.”

Devin Darby is an Occupational Therapist in Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network’s vision rehabilitation group. She has been a board member since 2019 and its Secretary since 2021. Daniel Lombardo is the Lehigh Valley Branch Manager for Richard B. Ryon Insurance. He has been a board member since 2021 and Treasurer since 2023. Lombardo will also serve a second term as Governor of Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K, starting July 1. Nicole Williams is an Optometrist for Valley Health Partners and has been a board member since 2023.

Sights for Hope’s Board of Directors represents the American people as stewards of the organization. It holds fiduciary responsibility and provides strategic direction to ensure the fulfillment of its mission and vision.

Image: An older man smiling, wearing a white martial arts uniform with red trim and a “Lehigh Valley Martial Arts” logo, against a blue background. Generated with artificial intelligence.