The Iris Network

We are thankful for the donation from the Yankee Chapter of the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses (ASORN)! Your generosity helps our programs and services all over the State of Maine.

May 21st marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day dedicated to getting everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people worldwide with disabilities.

The Iris Network works on accessibility every day, and we are proud to support global awareness.

Check out our Spring Newsletter!

Your Spring Newsletter is Here! Email from The Iris Network Discover the Latest Updates and Events at The Iris Network This Spring! The Iris Network Spring 2026 Newsletter The image above is the black and white version of The Iris

Congratulations, Reagan!

Reagan recently completed 8 months as a Social Media and Communications intern in our Development Department AND is graduating from the University of Southern Maine in May with a Bachelor's degree in Communication. She is seen here at the USM Internship Showcase talking about her experiences at our agency.

We all wish Reagan the very best in her future endeavors!

We wanted to share this film sponsored by the Maine Jewish Film Festival, thank you for presenting this inspiring story!

As we end Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Week we celebrate the incredible VRT's and CVRT's we are lucky to have on staff at The Iris Network! Here they are! We asked them a few questions!

Amber:

How long have you been a VRT? Going on 14 years.

What was your favorite place to visit? I don’t know that it is my favorite, but it is great being able to say I’ve been from Kittery to Fort Kent for my job.

What is your favorite device to introduce to clients? Glare shields. It is the moment they try on a pair and it will work for them, you hear and “oh!”

What is your favorite season? Summer

What do you like most about working at TIN: Meeting new people, whether coworkers or clients and learning their stories. For example, I just met a client about 90 years old, she has climbed to 18,000 feet in the Himalayas.



Aisha:

How long have you been a VRT? 14 years

What was your favorite place to visit? For work, Boothbay. For fun, Popham

What is your favorite device to introduce to clients? Portable Electronic Magnifier’s and glare shields (that was a tough question because I just love that moment where any tools provides a client with that light bulb moment of excitement!)

What is your favorite season? Fall

What do you like most about working at TIN? The Autonomy and flexibility to do what we love and meet people where they are at while introducing them to tools leading to success and independence!

Sara:

How long have you been a VRT? I’ve been practicing as a VRT since 2022, and every year since has been an incredible deep dive into the world of independence and accessibility.

What was your favorite place to visit? It’s hard to beat a "commute" that involves a boat! I absolutely love visiting clients on the islands of Casco Bay. There is something uniquely rewarding about crossing the water to provide essential services.

What is your favorite device to introduce to clients? I’m a huge advocate for the "hidden" power of smartphones. Introducing basic accessibility features that instantly transform how a person interacts with their device is always a "lightbulb moment" that I never get tired of experiencing.

What is your favorite season? Summer, without a doubt! There’s nothing like the Maine coast in the sunshine.

What do you like most about working at TIN? What stands out most is how The Iris Network keeps our mission at the heart of every single decision. We don't just talk about independence, we actively build it. Plus, my colleagues are the best. We manage to find a reason to laugh every day, which makes the hard work even more rewarding.

Laura:

I have been a VRT for 48 years.

My favorite territory to visit and see clients has been Aroostook County.

My favorite season if Fall.

What I like most about working for The Iris Network is the people, my co-workers; the people we serve – I’ve met so many interesting and amazing people in many different situations.

Samantha:

How long have you been a VRT?

31 years

What was your favorite place to visit?

Navajo Reservation, Northern Arizona

What is your favorite device to introduce to clients? The Talking Books Player

What is your favorite season?

Autumn

What do you like most about working at TIN?

The agency culture of enabling rather than disabling the population we serve.

Thanks to all of you for everything you do!!

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Ed Bilotti has joined our Board of Directors.

Dr. Bilotti has over 20 years of practice experience. He specializes in treating patients with mental health disorders and addictions. His particular clinical interests are in medication-assisted treatment of op**te use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and affective disorders. Dr. Bilotti is Clinical Asst. Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is Board-Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and is also Board Certified in Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Bilotti is a graduate of Tufts Medical School. He completed residency training in psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. In 1999, he launched Aroga Behavioral Health of Princeton (Aroga), which grew to become a multi-site, interdisciplinary group practice serving more than 3,000 patients.

He was one of the first to obtain a waiver and begin treating op**te use disorder patients with Suboxone, developing several op**te treatment programs within Aroga. In 2009, Dr. Bilotti founded the TMS Center of Princeton, becoming the first in New Jersey, and one of the first in the United States, to provide transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression.

In 2012, Dr. Bilotti left Aroga and the TMS Center of Princeton to relocate to Maine, his favorite place to vacation for many years. In Maine, Dr. Bilotti has served as the Medical Director of the Partial Hospital and Dual Diagnosis Intensive Outpatient programs at Maine Medical Center, Medical Director of Mercy Recovery Center. and, most recently, Medical Director of Psychiatric Services at Southern Maine Healthcare, where he oversaw clinical services for inpatient, consultation-liaison, psychiatric emergency department, and partial hospital/intensive outpatient programs.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Bilotti to our Board.

April is Women's Eye Health and Safety Month! Here is a great article by our colleagues at Prevent Blindness:

April is Women's Eye Health and Safety Month at Prevent Blindness, Aimed at Providing Women with Resources Needed to Help Save Vision /PRNewswire/ -- Prevent Blindness, the nation's leading patient advocacy organization dedicated to preventing blindness and preserving sight, has once again...

Save The Date! And thanks to Friends of Congress Square Park for allowing us to use the space! See you there!

Wow! What a HUGE success our First Annual Charles E. Prinn III Memorial Indoor Golf Tournament was!! A thousand thanks to all who came out to play, watch and support the event! Here are a few pictures, more photos and videos to follow!