Ever Lee Hairston serves on the Board of Directors for the National Federation of the Blind. The third of seven children, she is a product the segregated South. After her failing eyesight kept her from realizing her dream of becoming a nurse, she began working as a teacher. At age of twenty-nine, facing total blindness, with a failed marriage, a child to raise alone, and uncertainty about future employment, Ever changed her attitude and changed her life. After attending the Louisiana Center for the Blind, the North Carolina Central University graduate began integrating blindness skills into her everyday life. A resident California, she continues to devote tireless hours mentoring a advocating for the blind.