Welcome to The Vorden Initiative!

We strive to make allyship for the blind the norm by empowering sighted individuals to become confident allies.

We are a charity for the sighted, in service of the blind.

There are many incredible organizations working to support blind individuals directly—but we saw a powerful opportunity to create change from the other side. We believe that when sighted people are equipped to be confident allies, our communities become more inclusive, accessible, and connected.

Jungyeon and Kristie pose with their medals in front of a marathon finish line.

From Friendship to Movement

Our story began at Harvard, where the co-founders Kristie and Jungyeon met as college students. Over time, they became best friends, bonding through a shared love of adventure and the outdoors. Kristie is blind, so Jungyeon learned to guide Kristie in their shared hobbies of running and snowboarding.

But through these experiences, they realized how few resources exist to help sighted individuals learn to guide, support, or simply show up as allies for the blind. What started as a search for tools in adaptive sports became a broader recognition of this gap in everyday life.

Together, they created The Vorden Initiative to change that—to make blind allyship a part of how we all move through the world.

Follow our journey.

Kristie looks back at the camera in an outdoorsy hat in front of the Grand Canyon.
Kristie, Jungyeon, and Chris hold up their marathon medals in front of a finish line.
Kristie and Jungyeon smile at the camera while hugging, with each of them on their snowboard.
Jungyeon guides Kristie down a ski mountain towards the terrain park jump.
The gear for the marathon (including hat, shirts, shorts, shoes, bibs, ...)is laid out on a white bed sheet.
Kristie is running, following a guide on a bike.
Jungyeon and Kristie are on a ski lift, both smiling. Jungyeon seems to be explaining something with her hands.
Jungyeon and Kristie are wearing summery outfits smiling at the camera in a lavender field.
A sign that reads "BLIND" is being made using blue paper and a sharpie.
Kristie is doing a handstand in a gym area.
Kristie and Vorden (both wearing a life vest) are smiling at the camera on a paddleboard on a lake.
Kristie is wearing a "Visually Impaired Athlete" vest and running towards the finish line of a triathlon, and a friend is running alongside her.
Kristie and Jungyeon smile in a car with Vorden.
Kristie and Jungyeon pose in front of a Korean historical landmark palace, wearing Korean traditional dresses.
Jungyeon and Krisite smile at the camera on a lake.
Kristie and Jungyeon smile and pose in front of the marathon finish line.
Kristie warms up for a long run, stretching her quads.
Kristie is tandem biking with a "visually impaired athlete" vest.
Kristie and Jungyeon are in a ski gondola smiling, wearing ski outfits.
Kristie and Jungyeon stand with two other friends, wearing half marathon bibs and medals.
Kristie and Jungyeon pose with their snowboards, with Jungyeon wearing a high visibility vest.
Kristie and Jungyeon pose in front of full-bloom cherry blossom trees.