Nevada state treasurer employee prints business cards in Braille

When Erik Jimenez of the Nevada treasurer’s office hands you a business card, you can’t help but notice that it’s all lumpy.

That’s because, in addition to the usual name and number, his contact information is embossed into the card in Braille.

“I think I’m the first state employee to get Braille business cards,” he said.

Jimenez, senior policy director to state Treasurer Zach Conine, said he feels the blind community is too often cut off from easy access to government information.

“I do a lot of outreach to the blind community, which I would argue is one of the most underserved communities,” he said.

Whether it’s job postings or laws and regulations, they simply can’t access a lot of state government materials and information.

“I’m hopeful we have a conversation about how we make our materials and outreach accessible,” he said. “It’s a big step, at least with this community.”

Jimenez said the cards are designed to let visually impaired people know that someone is listening.

“If nothing else, they’ll at least be able to contact me if they have questions about government.”

The card includes not only the normal contact information but his name, cellphone number and email address in Braille.

“If we go and take the first step like we legitimately care, they’re more inclined to listen and ask for help.”

Jimenez said his boss, the governor and Legislature are pushing to make state agency websites accessible to the visually impaired. He pointed out that the last Interim Finance Committee approved four positions to begin the process of coding websites to be more accessible to the blind.

He said he has also been contacted by some lawmakers interested in how to make state materials accessible.

“Maybe some one has done this before but I’ve never heard of it,” he said. “It starts the conversation.”

Jimenez thought the Braille was so important, he paid for the cards himself.