Full Transcript: CBS New York’s John Elliott Visits Lighthouse Guild

TRANSCRIPT — PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION

Source: CBS New York — Reported by John Elliott
Location: Lighthouse Guild Technology Center, Manhattan
Published: March 7, 2026

Note: Transcript edited for clarity. Weather segments and broadcast crosstalk omitted. All Lighthouse Guild content retained.

CBS New York journalist John Elliott spent a morning at Lighthouse Guild’s Technology Center in Lincoln Square, speaking with staff, clients, and ambassadors about the programs and technology that empower people who are blind or have low vision. The following is an edited transcript of those conversations.

Segment 1: Lighthouse Guild: History, Mission & Adaptive Athletics

[John Elliott introduces Lighthouse Guild during his live broadcast, then sits down with President & CEO Thomas Panek and Kiana Glanton]

John Elliott, CBS New York:

We’re at the Lighthouse Guild — and more specifically, the Lighthouse Guild Technology Center this morning. We’re going to introduce you to this amazing organization that has been helping the blind and visually impaired for over 100 years in the city.

John Elliott:

I just met this beautiful young lady — Kiana Glanton. When did you lose your vision?

Kiana Glanton, Development Team, Lighthouse Guild:

I started losing my sight at age 16, almost 25 years ago, because I have an autoimmune condition called sarcoidosis that can impact the internal organs. For me, it was major problems with my eyes.

John Elliott:

And yet — wait till you hear more of her story. This blinged-out bat is because she won an award in 2023. When you play baseball, how many times do you strike out?

Kiana Glanton:

I don’t ever strike out. Ever.

John Elliott:

How many times do you hit the ball?

Kiana Glanton:

Every single time.

John Elliott:

How do you do that?

Kiana Glanton:

Because I’m amazing, and I had good training.

John Elliott:

Thomas Panek — President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild. First off — over 100 years. How many folks does the Lighthouse Guild help?

Thomas Panek, President & CEO, Lighthouse Guild:

Tens of thousands.

John Elliott:

And what is the mission?

Thomas Panek:

Our mission is to help people live independently and to be able to live life to their fullest — whether it’s healthcare or wellness or sport. We’re here to help anyone who has vision loss, a family member, a loved one, a friend. We’re the place people turn to when they’re losing their vision, or they’ve lost their vision, and they want to get those skills to be able to get back to work, to start work, or even in their 80s, to continue to have a community.

John Elliott:

You sent some video of you at a baseball game. Where were you playing?

Thomas Panek:

Lighthouse Lightning — I’m on the team, second base. Sport is a really important piece of living full lives. We all love sport. Blind people do play baseball. We run marathons, we bike, we do all the things that people love to do. We just do it a little bit differently.

Segment 2: Team Unstoppable: Five Boro Bike Tour, May 2026

[Thomas Panek and Kiana Glanton discuss Team Lighthouse Guild’s participation in the TD Five Boro Bike Tour]

John Elliott:

Come on over here — we’re standing in front of your bike. How are you going to ride a bike? What’s the event you want people to sign up for?

Thomas Panek:

The TD Five Boro Bike Tour. And our team — Team Lighthouse Guild — is going to participate in this tour around New York City on Sunday, May 3rd.

John Elliott:

For our community that is blind and low vision, how does that get done?

Thomas Panek:

It’s done on a tandem bike. The blind or person with low vision will be on the back — they’re called the stoker. On the front we have either a captain or a pilot. They are sighted support, and together we cycle through New York City for the tour. It’s an awesome event. It’s a great opportunity for people who once felt sidelined. We can do all the things — including cycle — with the proper training, which our team is going to offer. And it’s an opportunity to have community and really show what we can do when we have the right support behind us.

John Elliott:

What’s the website to sign up?

Thomas Panek:

Lighthouseguild.org. In our Events section you will see the TD Five Boro Bike Tour link, and you can join our team. This year’s theme is Unstoppable — which is what we are when we have proper support.

Kiana Glanton:

I’m a long-time client and I love being a part of this community. I know that this works. So we invite people — both sighted and low vision — to come out and be a part.

Segment 3: Assistive Technology: AI Glasses & Braille Innovation

[Shanell Matos and Lighthouse Guild Ambassador Fitz Martin demonstrate Meta AI glasses and the Monarch multiline braille display]

John Elliott:

Shanell Matos — I just met you a few minutes ago and I am so impressed. You want to show me your glasses? You want to talk about high technology? What are these glasses?

Shanell Matos, Assistive Technology Program Lead, Lighthouse Guild:

These are the Meta AI glasses. What’s super cool about these for me — as a visually impaired person, as a professional — is that I can actually access information that was never available to me before.

John Elliott:

You said this will help you pick out clothes?

Shanell Matos:

Yes. I actually picked out this outfit today based on the recommendation of these glasses. I took pictures of several different pieces and asked which pieces were the most professional and would look best on camera together.

John Elliott:

And it’s got some kind of earpiece?

Shanell Matos:

It’s in the arms of the glasses. It has a microphone and a camera.

John Elliott:

Fitz — this is the coolest cat. Fitz is a music producer. You want to talk about the Monarch?

Fitz Martin, Lighthouse Guild Ambassador:

This here is the Monarch. The Monarch is a multiline braille display that gives braille users context. Math, for instance, has always been an issue for braille users — when you get to college, it’s a problem. One line of math going across is an issue. With the Monarch, we are now able to see it just like we saw it back in school, line by line.

John Elliott:

And this can print too?

Fitz Martin:

Yes. We can actually save files on here, move it to another device, print out from here, and HDMI to a television.

John Elliott:

What would you say to somebody who’s facing a challenge like losing their vision?

Fitz Martin:

I would say: don’t stay in your head. Reach out and get some help. The Lighthouse Guild is here. And the first step is calling. They’ll listen to your goals and find a way to accommodate you.

Segment 4: Tech Pals: Peer-to-Peer Technology Mentorship

[Kevin and Lenise, participants in Lighthouse Guild’s Tech Pals program, speak with John Elliott about technology and independence]

John Elliott:

Kevin and Lenise — you’re in this thing called Tech Pals. How has technology helped your life?

Lenise, Tech Pals Participant:

Well, it’s made it normal. It has made it normal. There’s nothing worse than getting a letter in the mail and you have to ask someone else to read it for you — maybe you don’t want them to know your business. Even the little things: someone will say, ‘I sent you a text.’ Well, I might not see it. Or ‘I put something in the chat’ — I don’t know what it says.

John Elliott:

So you’re learning all these new tools of technology from this kid? He’s kind of your teacher?

Lenise:

He was my first mentor.

John Elliott:

Kevin — how important is technology in your life?

Kevin, Tech Pals Mentor:

Mainly just the aspect of independence. Like Lenise said, a lot of the time you don’t want to rely on other people to help you with different moments in your life. You want to rely on yourself. And it’s hard being visually impaired to do that. So technology has been really integral in my life in that aspect.

John Elliott:

What’s it like for you to be the teacher?

Kevin:

I think it’s very important to have someone with both a shared and lived experience, rather than someone who is technically a tech pro but doesn’t really have the lived experience of being visually impaired. Having that empathy for the people you’re going to be meeting with — I think that’s very integral.

John Elliott:

Last question: what would you say to somebody facing the challenge of possibly losing their vision?

Lenise:

That it’s not the end of your life. There are so many things now in place that can be done, that can be used — like this program here. It’s a brilliant idea to have young, tech-savvy people who can help you navigate through life, paired with a senior who has the same eye disease. And I can give him life lessons, so it’s good.

Segment 5: Independent Living & Career Development: Jeremy’s Story

[Jeremy Morak, a long-time Lighthouse Guild client, demonstrates low vision exam tools and discusses career development services]

John Elliott:

Jeremy Morak has been our guide here. You’re a patient here, right?

Jeremy Morak, Lighthouse Guild Client:

Yes. I first got a low vision exam here many years ago. I’ve actually gotten a lot of services here — the career development team here helped me get a job. I’ve gotten through a lot of different things. I’m on the blind baseball team here. I’ve done the bike tours that we learned about earlier. So I am fully engulfed in all things Lighthouse Guild.

John Elliott:

What is this that you’re holding?

Jeremy Morak:

This is something you wouldn’t normally see in a standard eye exam. We’re used to seeing the eye chart — but this is a chart specifically for contrast, so doctors can tell what your contrast level is. And this is a portable electronic magnifier. It can get really zoomed in, and you can change the contrast. In a standard eye exam, you’ll say things can be magnified. But in a low vision eye exam, they really go in depth and figure out how to maximize all the vision you have — whether that’s your contrast, your central vision, peripheral vision. All those things can be tested. I learned a lot about my vision getting a low vision exam about contrast and lighting.

John Elliott:

You’re a professional, you’re working. How vital to the mission is helping people find and keep work?

Jeremy Morak:

It’s extremely important. The blind and low vision community is unemployed and underemployed at higher rates than the general population. So we strive to have a lot of career development services. You can come here — we help you if you weren’t able to finish school, we can help you get your GED and diploma. We help you with career services so you can practice interview skills, learn how to ask for accommodations in the workplace, figure out how to get things magnified — to get that job, and then keep that job while you have it.

Segment 6: Independent Living: Shanell in the Training Kitchen

[Shanell Matos speaks with John Elliott in Lighthouse Guild’s training kitchen about her personal journey from vision loss to independence]

John Elliott:

Shanell — we’re in the training kitchen, and you learned how to reuse kitchen tools. You said you couldn’t even make a sandwich when you lost your vision?

Shanell Matos:

No, not at all. The really interesting thing is when you come here to Lighthouse Guild, it doesn’t matter where you are — they will meet you where you are and help you get where you want to go. So now I’m making meals for my entire family. And I’m the assistive technology program lead. So I went from not being able to do anything, not being able to make a sandwich, to having a fulfilling career and feeding my family.

Segment 7: Love Found at Lighthouse Guild: Fitz & Jasmine

[John Elliott discovers that Lighthouse Guild Ambassador Fitz Martin and his wife Jasmine met at Lighthouse Guild]

John Elliott:

We all know the cool cat Fitz — but this is Jasmine. I said, do you two know each other? And Jasmine said — what is your relationship to Fitz?

Jasmine Martin:

I’m his wife.

John Elliott:

How long have you crazy kids been married?

Jasmine Martin:

About a month and a half.

John Elliott:

How’s it going?

Jasmine Martin:

So far, so good.

John Elliott:

Where did you guys meet?

Jasmine Martin:

Right here, actually. Right here at the Lighthouse Guild.

John Elliott:

This is beautiful. Congratulations.