About Fred Craver, Ph.D.

Fred Craver, Ph.D., is a partially sighted person who is now developing his fourth career, as a professional speaker and author. He refined his speaking skills as a college professor, storyteller, Toastmaster, member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), and one of its local chapters, NSA New England.

Fred began his professional life as a college teacher of physics at St. John Fisher College, near Rochester, New York, where he taught courses at all levels. When his declining vision made teaching difficult, he became a human services director and social worker. He ran a summer vacation program for blind adults sponsored by the Massachusetts Association for the Blind; then, he held the position of director and social worker for the Ellis Memorial Center's Adult Day Health Program in Boston. When developing technologies made it possible for partially sighted people to work with computers, he became a programmer at the Army Research Laboratory in Watertown.

Fred received his bachelor's degree in physics from Cornell University and his master's and doctoral degrees in the same subject from the University of Rochester. When he left teaching to enter the human services field, he earned a master's degree in counseling from Northeastern University. With his persistence and determination, colored by his keen sense of humor, Fred sets an example that inspires others to deal more successfully with their own challenges. [more]