Mary Zabelski, senior vice president/educational services, is a national expert dedicated to bringing hope to parents of children with visual impairments. Zabelski oversees The Chicago Lighthouse’s Birth to Three Family Intervention Program and serves as principal of the organization’s Development Center for Blind, Multi-Disabled Children.

A passion sparked by her own daughter’s loss of vision, Zabelski soon felt a calling to council other parents experiencing the same worries. As the years progressed, her expertise on the capabilities of children with visual impairments continued to expand. Not only has she become a national advocate for children with visual impairments, Mary supports parents though one of the hardest times in their lives.

In addition to all of her efforts at The Chicago Lighthouse, Zabelski dedicates much of her time to making a difference in the policies and practices that govern these children. She is the immediate past president of National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) and one of the original founders of the Illinois Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (IPVI).  

Her current publications include a chapter in TEACHING SOCIAL SKILLS TO STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS (AFB Press),  chapters on “Early Intervention” and “Negotiation & Advocacy” in  A PARENTS’ GUIDE TO SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS (AFB Press), and a current article in the JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND BLINDNESS (MAY, 2009).

Zabelski has a Master’s Degree in special education and is nearly finished with her dissertation.

Mary is married to Richard Zabelski, immediate past president and current vice-president of IPVI, and a NAPVI affiliate. They have experienced first-hand the challenges of visual impairment through their late daughter, Cara Dunne Yates, who was totally blind from retinoblastoma. Cara attended public elementary and high school, graduating from Harvard College and UCLA law school. She married and had two beautiful children.  Blindness certainly did not prevent Cara from living a successful and productive life.