SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., Dec. 8, 2025—The New York State Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired has bestowed its Nat Seaman Recognition Award on Peter Klein, CulinArt’s director of culinary development.
The award is given to “someone who has made an outstanding contribution in work with people with visual impairments in New York State,” and was presented to Klein during the association’s annual conference earlier this month.
Klein was instrumental in creating a four-week job experience program at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in which four high school students worked five-hour shifts, three days a week, in a UN dining facility last summer. Click here to learn more about the students’ activities, the development of the program, and Klein’s commitment to creating employment opportunities for visually impaired students.
“Peter exemplifies every aspect of this award through his commitment to developing career opportunities in the culinary industry for individuals with visual impairments,” says Amanda Dias, an educator within the New York City Public Schools’ Educational Vision Services.
Klein accepted the NYSAER award remotely since, coincidental to the timing of the conference, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., he was conducting a tour at the UN for prospective students who might participate in the summer job program next year.
In the photo above, Klein (left) holds the award and is shown with Giovanka Brignoni (center), a supervisor with NYC EVS, and Dias.
The Nat Seaman Recognition Award is named after a New York attorney with a visual impairment who worked to educate the public and further the rights and benefits for the visually impaired community, specifically U.S. military veterans, during the 1970s and 1980s. The award was created in 1982 to continue his legacy and recognize those who make outstanding contributions to the community in New York State.