MAB Community Services Announces the Election of Paul Saner to its Board of Directors

Saner was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) at the unusually young age of four and declared legally blind at thirty-six. Now totally blind, his lived experience, extensive leadership, and successful advocacy make him a uniquely qualified ambassador for Commonwealth residents with blindness and visual disabilities.

Saner has spent his career in leadership roles for organizations including The Foundation Fighting Blindness, The Carroll Center for the Blind, Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library Consumer Advisory Board, and MCB’s Rehabilitation Council. He also was the founding board chair of the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum and served as a trustee of the Brookline Community Foundation. He is a Brookline Town Meeting Member and is a co-chair of Brookline’s Economic Development Advisory Board. Before his work with the Mass Commission for the Blind, Paul was a managing director with BankBoston (now Bank of America) and a principal of First Winthrop Corporation.

Born and raised in Northampton, MA, Saner earned a BA from Trinity College and an MBA in Finance from the University of Rochester.

“It’s an honor to join MAB’s Board of Directors,” said Paul. “MAB supports people with a range of disabilities throughout their lives. Dedicated staff offers a variety of opportunities and programs so that clients can lead full and satisfying lives. I’m excited to support MAB’s vision, mission, and growth.”

“Paul is an outstanding leader and an invaluable asset to MAB’s Board,” said Barbara Salisbury, CEO of MAB Community Services. “He has already jumped in to support our statewide expansion of access technology training. Paul is committed to ensuring that thousands more people with blindness, visual, and other disabilities have the resources they need to live the lives they want.”

MAB Community Services (MAB) specializes in creating opportunities and transforming the lives of individuals with a range of disabilities by providing the support necessary so everyone can live a full and satisfying life. Since 1903, MAB has provided an array of services that enable individuals, regardless of their disabilities, to be active participants in their communities and their own lives. The organization’s three divisions are the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Ivy Street School, and MAB Adult Disability Services. They approach this work with a commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible environment for all staff and participants.