Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alison Clougherty. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Alison , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When my son was born completely blind 6 years ago in Nashville, TN, I went through an immense amount of grief before not only accepting, but embracing my son for exactly who he is. The next thing I did was to take on my new role of his advocate. I immediately sought out services to help support my baby in his early development. I was led to early intervention services, but soon learned that professionals specifically trained to help infants with visual impairments were not easily accessible. Unbeknownst to me, there was another mother here in Nashville with a very similar story who was encountering the same roadblock. After researching law and the specific providers that are available for families like ours in other states, we began advocating and were lucky enough to secure a Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (CTVI) from our state School for the Blind who worked with both of our families and who introduced me to my co-founder, Stacy Cornwall. We quickly became united in the mission to advocate for and support other families like ours as we knew that we were truly the lucky ones and that so many other families across the state were going without crucial services they needed for their own visually impaired children. We came together and created a nonprofit aimed at make high-quality, individualized, ongoing services readily available for those who might be in similar shoes or who would follow in our footsteps. I also quit my Marketing career and went back to school to become a CTVI myself. In 2020, Stacy and I founded Blind Early Services TN (BEST) with one goal in mind — to ensure all families in Tennessee with blind or visually impaired young children have a place to go for support and are equipped with the specialized service, resources and information they need to support their children in achieving their BEST start in life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a wife and a parent to our 6 year old son and 4 year old daughter. I am a co-Executive Director of a 501c3 nonprofit organization. I am a certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (CTVI). These are the people and roles that make me most proud and that fill my cup.

At BEST, I am so proud of our team and how we have made an impact on the lives of hundreds of families across Tennessee, and have done so in only 3 years.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I’ve had to make in my life was when I became a mother. I had read all the baby books, prepared all the things and thought I knew exactly what motherhood would look like and what I wanted it to be. When my son was born with a disability, all of that was flipped upside down. There was no baby book to prepare me. No friends to look to for guidance. I had no idea how to parent, and I felt completely ill-equipped to parent a child who was blind. My perceptions of blindness were what needed fixing — not me or my son. Once I made that pivot to understanding the image I had of motherhood was different — not worse, not better, just different, everything changed for the better.

How’d you meet your business partner?

See previous page — Stacy and I met through a shared provider for our sons, a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. Beyond the impact of changing my career and our collaboration on BEST, having someone who is going through something similar and especially someone local that you can connect with in person was invaluable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blindearlyservices.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/blindearlyservices
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/blindearlyservices
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blind-early-services-tn-best