Founder of Chesapeake Bay Sight Foundation has a vision for its future

EASTON — Colleen Sheehan ran her accounting firm for 35 years. But this tax season was different.

Sheehan, who has a rare eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, struggled to read the tax documents of her customers. She decided to close the doors of the firm, Accounting & Management Associates, on July 1.

It’s allowed her to shift focus toward a new goal: taking her nonprofit, Chesapeake Bay Sight Foundation, to new heights.

“I believe it had to happen because it made me realize this is my purpose,” Sheehan said.

Diagnosed at 18 years old, Sheehan has seen every side of the degenerative disease that affects one in 4,000 people. Her mother, who went completely blind in 2000, suffered from it as well. She “never complained a day in her life,” Sheehan said.

“I look at it as a blessing because if I can help one person not go through what I do every day, I’ve accomplished my goal,” Sheehan said.

RIBBON-CUTTING

On June 14, the Chesapeake Bay Sight Foundation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for what will soon be its new office on Beach Avenue outside of Easton. Created in 2011, the foundation aims to fund eye disease research and raise awareness about blindness.

Known for its Dining in the Dark fundraiser, in which attendees eat dinner while blindfolded, the nonprofit is looking to extend its reach, Sheehan said. With more time on her hands and the help of marketing director Breanne Tsang, Sheehan is excited for the foundation’s future.

In addition to setting up and decorating the Beach Avenue office, the foundation is launching a Dine for Blind credit card, which will offer discounts at eight local restaurants for those who buy one.

In her day-to-day life, Sheehan isn’t bothered by the silly mistake, whether it’s wearing two different shoes or mistaking rubbing alcohol for powder. But back when the disease began to affect her, Sheehan’s mindset wasn’t as positive.

One day at church, Diana Mautz, the late mother of state Sen. Johnny Mautz, changed that outlook.

“One day she grabbed me and she goes, ‘You’ve got a gift,’” Sheehan recalled. “‘Your blindness is a gift. Go do something about it and help out other people.’”

“I start the foundation the next day,” Sheehan said. “So she is our initiator. It was in honor of my mom and dad, but she is the woman that made me start this.”

Now 13 years into existence, the foundation encourages not just eye disease research at a high level, but eye care and checkups for everyone.

“Knowing ahead of time can change everything,” Sheehan said.

CLINICAL TRIAL

Chesapeake Bay Sight Foundation raises funds for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Wilmer Eye Institute, which is home to the Singh Lab, run by Dr. Mandeep Singh.

Home to 17 researchers, the lab is working on finding cures to retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and other eye diseases.

The Wilmer Eye Institute received more than $20 million from the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health to conduct a clinical trial investigating treatment for retinitis pigmentosa.

Sheehan is hoping to participate in that clinical trial in early 2025. In September, she plans to have surgery to remove two cataracts.

No matter what the future holds, she’s excited to embark on a full-fledged commitment to her nonprofit.

“I’m going blind, and I’m proud that I am,” Sheehan said. “Because maybe I can make it useful and help other people.”

To learn more about the Chesapeake Bay Sight Foundation, visit chesapeakebaysightfoundation.org.