Dr. Walden remains active in her capacity as a Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine research Project Manager and Study Coordinator at the local Veterans Administration Medical Center, as well as an active supporter of the blind community as a Board Director and Committee Chair for the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SALBVI). As Vision Guide Dogs Board Vice Chair, Dr. Walden’s background provides a distinct and unique perspective on both the visual and blind community, as well as practical experience with a guide dog school, coupled with training in epidemiology to include project development, implementation, and management.

With both a Master’s and PhD in Public Health (both degrees attained while visually impaired due to a sporadic case of retinitis pigmentosa diagnosed in 1981), Dr. Gail Walden is a 20+ year active guide dog user, with her fourth young guide dog at her side. She has served multiple terms and roles, from Client Representative to Board Chair, as a Board member for another guide dog school, only recently resigning from their Advisory Board to better support the mission of Vision Guide Dogs, Inc.