Employee Spotlight: Rosanne Hoffmann

APH employees make a difference every day, and we want to take the time to recognize some of the wonderful individuals who make this company what it is! Rosanne Hoffman is a product manager who specifically develops science products for older students who are blind or low vision. Rosanne’s steady presence at APH has left a lasting impact on the company as well as the students her products reach. 

Rosanne was born in Queens, New York, but spent most of her childhood growing up on Long Island. At a young age, Rosanne fell in love with all things science. She enjoyed everything from physics to chemistry, but her favorite subject was biology. Her love for biology continued to grow in college as well as graduate school. Eventually, she would move to Louisville, KY and teach biology part time at the University of Louisville. 

In 2002, Rosanne landed a job at APH as a research assistant where she learned more about blindness and assistive technology. Rosanne spent eight years in research before moving to her current role as a product manager. The knowledge she gained from being a research assistant, her extensive background in science, combined with a need for someone working on science products for older students made Rosanne the perfect candidate for the position. Now, with over a decade of experience in her role, Rosanne loves what she does more than ever. Being a product manager gives her the ability to be innovative with the products she works on. “My favorite part of my job is getting to design new products,” she explains. “I love being able to use my creativity.” Rosanne gets to see her ideas go from dreams to becoming a reality. 

As a product manager, Rosanne gets to work with a plethora of departments across APH. “It is a delight to work here,” she says. “It’s so fulfilling to work with all of the parts of APH to design a product that will help students who are blind or low vision.” Whether seeing what is going on in the Model Shop or talking about the verbiage of a product description with Dot 6, Rosanne gets to spend her time working collaboratively in multiple different areas of the company.   

Rosanne has relationships with science teachers across the nation. She gets to hear first-hand how different products at APH are aiding students, as well as get feedback on any issues or needs that arise. At the end of the day, Rosanne says she is grateful to work for APH because of its mission and what it accomplishes. Everything APH does is meant to make the world a more inclusive and accessible place. There are real students impacted by the work done by each employee. “When you really think about what you are doing, and you tell people what you get to do for work− it makes you realize how amazing our work really is!” 

Outside of work, Rosanne likes to prioritize spending time with her family. She has two daughters, one of whom recently had a baby. As a new grandmother, Rosanne strives to see them as much as possible. She also visits her own mother as often as she can throughout the year. When she isn’t traveling, Rosanne likes to spend time going to different performances. Her mother is a ballet teacher, so she enjoys going to the ballet whenever she can—especially if she is up in Long Island. During the summers, Rosanne enjoys going to Shakespeare in the Park, and always tries to make time to go see a live opera in the comfort of a Louisville theater.  

Rosanne’s steadfast presence at APH has made a lasting impact on the company as well as students across the nation. Her attention to detail and vast knowledge in multiple different areas make her a fantastic employee, but her passion for the mission and the students makes her an irreplaceable part of the APH family.