Virginia A. Jacko, President and Chief Executive Officer

As President and CEO of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc. and its two subsidiaries, Virginia Jacko is committed to ensuring that blind and visually impaired adults, low vision seniors, Florida's schoolchildren without resources for eyecare, and Miami's early learners and school-age youth have equitable access to vision rehabilitation, blindness prevention, and education.

She was a financial executive with Purdue University for 22 years, including 12 years directing financial affairs for the President and Provost. In her leadership role, she applies her acumen in financial and program development, governmental and donor relations, accreditation, and compliance arenas in overseeing Miami Lighthouse. Her expertise was enhanced by obtaining a certificate of completion in "Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management" from the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program.

During her twenty-year tenure as President and CEO at Miami Lighthouse the number of program participants has grown from fewer than 500 in 2004 to nearly 30,000 annually and she has grown the organization's assets from $12 million to nearly $80 million. Because of her grant and contract expertise with public and private funding, Miami Lighthouse, for example, in 2025 had approximately 20 government contracts and funding from approximately 50 private foundations.

Under her leadership the agency's national Charity Navigator rating moved from 2 to 4 stars, the highest rating possible and has attained 14 consecutive 4-star ratings. A 4-star rating indicates that Miami Lighthouse adheres to sector best practices, exceeds industry standards, and executes its mission in a financially efficient way. In addition, Miami Lighthouse successfully completed all four of the new Charity Navigator Encompass Beacons, which provide a comprehensive analysis of performance across four key domains with nearly perfect scores: Accountability and Finance 100%, Leadership and Adaptability 100%, Impact and Measurement 98%, and Culture and Community 100%.

President Jacko founded the Miami Lighthouse Academy, LLC, which includes pre-kindergarten through Fourth grades offered in partnership with Miami-Dade Public Schools. The Miami Lighthouse Academy is an Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment, which includes the first fully inclusive early learning prekindergarten for students ages one through four where visually impaired students learn along with their sighted peers pursuing the same curriculum, the HighScope Curriculum. The Miami Lighthouse prekindergarten program was featured in "Seeing Without Sight, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired Adopts the HighScope Curriculum" in The Active Learner, HighScope's International Journal for Early Educators, Spring 2019, © Betsy Evans.

Miami Lighthouse's Early Intervention Blind Babies Program was named by The Children's Trust Miami's 2016 Children's Program of the Year, and The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce awarded the Miami Lighthouse its coveted 2023 Nonprofit Business Innovative Excellence NOVO Award in recognition of its services to children especially as a leader in Cortical Visual Impairment.

With a grant from The Children's Trust, teams from the University of Miami research faculty and Miami Lighthouse have conducted collaborative published research on the Miami Lighthouse Academy, LLC inclusion program. The research shows that the inclusion model has demonstrated quantifiable benefits for students, teachers, and parents.

Concerned with the large number of visually impaired adults without a high school diploma (20%), she collaborated with Miami-Dade County Public School to provide an on-campus adult basic education, GED Program and English as a Second Language instruction enabling visually impaired adults to attend college and pursue a career.

Recognizing that Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is the number one cause of pediatric visual impairment in developed and developing countries and that unlike ocular vision impairment functional vision in children with CVI is expected to improve with early diagnosis, appropriate assessment, and intervention, in 2022 with funding from the Health Foundation and The Children's Trust she founded the Miami Lighthouse Cortical Visual Impairment Collaborative Center. In 2024, a private foundation awarded a two-year $2 million grant, for which she serves as Principal Investigator, with subcontracts to the UM-Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Nova Southeastern University and Nicklaus Children's Hospital with the goals of improving diagnosis, assessments, and rehabilitation of children with CVI.

Most recently, President Jacko launched a comprehensive blind soccer initiative, the first of its kind, for children from age one through high school.

President Jacko is the author of numerous peer-reviewed archival journal publications, four of which pertain to best practices for children that the Miami Lighthouse serves and is co-author of manuscripts currently under review titled, "A Scoping Review on Clinical and Molecular Diagnostic Approaches for Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI)," in Survey of Ophthalmology, "The Miami Lighthouse CVI Collaborative Center: A Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Initiative to Address Cortical Visual Impairment Challenges," and "Learning to Play, Playing to Learn: Peer Interactions and Executive Functioning in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms Serving Children with Visual Impairment" both manuscripts are pending publication in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. She co-authored "Leading and Managing Governance Change," Nonprofit World, May/June 2008, and was interviewed for a 2009 article in Nonprofit World entitled, "Building a Rock-Solid Board/CEO Partnership: Talking with CEO Virginia Jacko." She also has contributed chapters to scholarly books and is an ongoing contributing author to Exceptional Parent Magazine.

President Jacko was a board officer and accreditation reviewer for the National Accreditation Council for Blind and Low Vision Services, named Distinguished Alumni by the College of Health and Human Sciences and the HHS Alumni Association, Purdue University, and chosen as one of Purdue's elite "Old Masters." President Jacko was a recipient of the Henry Viscardi International Achievement Award and served on the Viscardi Global Selection Committee.

As a national expert in website and distance learning accessibility for people with vision impairment, President Jacko has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Forbes, and the Chronicle of Higher Education and featured on NPR. In 2023, she also was featured in The New York Times in "Women and Leadership: 7 Women Discuss their Journeys-Virginia Jacko, Accessibility and Education." Her advocacy for accessible digital information in the workplace, which has resulted in successfully placing clients in mainstream, competitive employment in the Greater Miami area, has been featured in national publications such as The Saturday Evening Post and New York Magazine. In the April 9, 2025, issue of Authority Magazine featured President Jacko in their Unstoppable series, "How Virginia Jacko Has Redefined Success While Navigating Society as a Blind CEO." In September 2024 Florida Trend recognized her as one of Florida's "Icons."

In February 2026, Virginia was awarded Florida's Impact Advocate Award by Children's Week Florida, recognizing her extraordinary leadership in inclusive education and healthcare, advocating for public policy changes and programs that significantly improve the lives of children, teens, and families. Learn more here.

Virginia received a Master of Science from the College of Health and Human Sciences of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, and a Batchelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance and a minor in Accounting from Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois.

Click here to view President Jacko's Awards, Publications, Webinars, Presentations and Professional and Community Service.

Richard Fernandez, CPA, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Richard Fernandez joined Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc. in September 2014 and serves as Chief Financial Officer for Miami Lighthouse and its' subsidiaries.

Mr. Fernandez has served as a Vice President of Finance and Senior Corporate Accountant for several major Florida-based corporations, including Banyan Health Systems, a major non-profit comprehensive behavioral healthcare provider, where he directed and oversaw the agency's financial planning and administration, including its accounting system. Most recently he served as President of Diligent Accounting Services, a full service accounting firm.

In addition to holding Certification as a Public Accountant for the State of Florida, Mr. Fernandez holds a Bachelor of Accounting and Master of Science in Taxation from Florida International University.

Carol Brady-Simmons, COMS, Chief Program Officer

Carol Brady-Simmons has been with Miami Lighthouse for more than 35 years and brings vibrant energy and creativity to the many projects she undertakes. She has served in many capacities during her tenure at Miami Lighthouse, including Chair of Orientation and Mobility; Interim Director of Adult Services, Director of Children's Services and the Low Vision Program and has served as Chief Program Officer for the last 10 years.

Ms. Brady-Simmons received her Associate of Arts in Elementary Education from Miami-Dade College, a Bachelor of Science in Visual Disabilities, Orientation and Mobility, a Bachelor of Science in Leisure Services and Studies, and a minor in Gerontology from Florida State University.

In May 2026, Carol was awarded the Cathy Holden Excellence in Managerial Leadership Award by the VisionServe Alliance, for her nearly four decades of work with the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, and her contributions to the rehabilitation of individuals living with low vision and blindness. Learn more, here.

Mara Gonzalez, Director of Miami Lighthouse Academy

Mara Gonzalez brings over 29 years of experience in the education field. She spent 12 years as a classroom teacher and has since served in various leadership roles. Mara holds a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and an MBA. She is highly trained in Conscious Discipline, holds DCF Director Credentials, and is a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), along with completing numerous other professional development trainings. A strong advocate for helping all students, especially those with exceptionalities, reach their fullest potential, Mara is also the founding principal of two educational institutions.

Ariel Sanchez, Director of Facilities & Transportation

Ariel Sanchez serves as the Director of Facilities and Transportation at Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, bringing with him a wealth of academic and professional experience, as well as, a remarkable personal journey marked by perseverance and dedication. Ariel began his career at Miami Lighthouse in 2016 demonstrating unwavering commitment, humility, and an impeccable standard of work that earned him successive promotions over the years. His dedication and leadership have led him to his current role, where he oversees a broad portfolio of critical operational services. These include, client transportation, building maintenance, janitorial services, in-house catering, disaster preparedness, and building compliance all aimed at ensuring a safe, clean, and secure environment for clients, staff, and visitors.

Ariel holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology (IT) from Miami Dade College and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Universidad San Marcos, an internationally accredited institution. His strong foundation in both business and technology equips him with the skills and strategic insight necessary to manage complex operations and deliver exceptional service within a mission-driven organization.

Bilingual in Spanish and English, Ariel's multicultural background and strong work ethic have shaped a career defined by steady advancement and excellence.