Jonathan Mosen

Jonathan Mosen MNZM
Born	Jonathan William Mosen 1969 (age 56–57)
🏳️ Nationality	New Zealander
💼 Occupation	Broadcaster, disability advocate, assistive technology executive
Known for	Founding ACB Radio and Mushroom FM; disability law reform in New Zealand

Jonathan William Mosen MNZM (born 1969) is a New Zealand broadcaster, disability advocate, and assistive technology executive. Blind from birth due to Norrie disease, he became known to radio audiences in Auckland from early childhood and later built an international career spanning broadcasting, disability law reform, and accessible technology.

In the assistive technology industry, Mosen held senior product management roles at HumanWare and Freedom Scientific, where he oversaw major product lines and created FSCast, Freedom Scientific’s podcast. He founded ACB Radio in 1999 on behalf of the American Council of the Blind, and later established Mushroom FM, an Internet radio station with listeners in 115 countries.

As an advocate, Mosen led campaigns that resulted in changes to New Zealand’s Copyright Act — a reform that informed the international Marrakesh Treaty — and successfully sought reform of New Zealand’s Juries Act to allow blind people to serve on juries. He served as Chief Executive of Workbridge, New Zealand’s largest employment agency for disabled people, from 2019 to 2024. In 2019, the New Zealand Government appointed him a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to the blind community. He later relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, to serve as Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence at the National Federation of the Blind.

Early life

Jonathan William Mosen was born in 1969. He has Norrie disease, an X-linked genetic disorder that causes blindness from birth and frequently results in progressive hearing loss. Mosen has spoken publicly about living with both blindness and hearing impairment.

Education

Mosen attended Homai School for the Blind in Auckland, and later attended mainstream intermediate and high schools with resource rooms.

Mosen earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Studies from the University of Auckland, during which time he began his commercial broadcasting career. He subsequently completed a Master of Public Policy degree at Victoria University of Wellington.

Mosen has spoken publicly about experiencing abuse at the school for the blind during his childhood. In 2022, he gave public testimony about this abuse to New Zealand’s Royal Commission on Abuse in Care (see § Royal Commission on Abuse in Care).

Radio career

Early radio appearances

Mosen’s involvement in broadcasting began before the age of five, when he began appearing on a talkback radio programme hosted by Geoff Sinclair on what was then Radio Pacific, and became a regular voice on the air. He also co-hosted a children’s Christmas programme, and his appearances continued annually until his mid-teens. A recording survives of one of these Christmas programmes, made when he was eight years old.

Starting his own station

While still in high school and determined to develop a professional radio career, Mosen established his own short-term radio station, Radio Enterprise, broadcasting to South Auckland. He set up the station to demonstrate that blind people could work professionally in radio.

Professional broadcasting

While completing his university degree, Mosen began his commercial broadcasting career at Counties Radio, which served the Counties/Manukau area. He went on to host a breakfast current affairs show on Auckland 1476, where he interviewed politicians and prominent newsmakers of the day. He also worked at Today FM, South City Radio, and Q96 FM, where he served as Programme Director.

Advocacy and public life

Foundation for the Blind and Blind Citizens NZ

In 1994, Mosen was appointed Manager, Government Relations at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (now known as Blind Low Vision NZ). In this role he managed the organisation’s government relations and led several legislative campaigns. He also served as President of the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand (Blind Citizens NZ), the consumer organisation for blind New Zealanders. He is notable for having held leadership positions in both the Foundation and the consumer movement, though not simultaneously. Mosen later chaired the Foundation’s Board of Directors. He oversaw a reform of the Foundation’s constitution that gave blind New Zealanders ultimate control over how its board was chosen.

Copyright reform and the Marrakesh Treaty

One of Mosen’s major legislative achievements was leading a successful campaign to amend New Zealand’s Copyright Act on behalf of blind people. This reform preceded and helped inform the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, an international agreement adopted in 2013 under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization. He also successfully sought reform of New Zealand’s Juries Act 1981 to clarify that blind people should not face a blanket ban on jury service.

Parliamentary candidacies

Mosen has said that he stood unsuccessfully for election to the New Zealand Parliament on two occasions. In the 1999 general election he was the New Zealand First candidate for the Wellington Central electorate, where he received 308 votes.

Royal Commission on Abuse in Care

In 2022, Mosen gave public testimony to New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care regarding the abuse he experienced as a child at the school for the blind. He told media that the Government’s formal acknowledgement of the abuse suffered by disabled people in state institutions was a meaningful first step, while emphasising that survivors were waiting for concrete detail on apology and redress. In 2023, the New Zealand Government appointed him to the board of the Survivor Experiences Service, an entity established to assist survivors of abuse in care.

In 2023, Mosen was elected Chairman of the New Zealand Disability Support Network, a body representing more than 200 providers of disability-related services in New Zealand. He held this role until shortly before he left New Zealand.

Internet radio

ACB Radio

In 1999, Mosen established ACB Radio, an Internet radio service for the blindness community, on behalf of the American Council of the Blind (ACB). He had been broadcasting on his own Internet radio station, MBSFM, since 1998, and had started a call-in programme on it called Blind Line, which he has described as the first global call-in show for the blind community.

Mosen was ACB Radio’s founding director. By the time of his departure in 2003, it had expanded to four concurrent broadcast streams, a volunteer staff of more than 70 people working across nine countries, and listeners in more than 70 countries.

In 2003, Mosen also established an Internet radio station to protest the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Mushroom FM and other ventures

In 2010, Mosen founded Mushroom FM, an Internet radio station. The station grew to encompass more than 40 staff and attracted listeners in 115 countries.

In April 2022, Mosen produced We’re with U, an 11.5-hour benefit concert featuring blind musicians from around the world performing for blind Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The concert was broadcast on more than 20 Internet radio stations and raised more than USD $100,000.

Assistive technology career

HumanWare

In 2003, Mosen entered the assistive technology industry full-time when he became Blindness Products Manager at Pulse Data International, a New Zealand-based company later renamed HumanWare. In this role, Mosen led the redesign and launch of the BrailleNote mPower, a major update to the BrailleNote line of Braille personal digital assistants used by blind students and professionals. He also facilitated partnerships with other companies in the blindness technology sector, including Baum and Code Factory, to expand the product range.

Freedom Scientific

In 2006, Mosen joined Florida-based Freedom Scientific, the developer of the JAWS for Windows screen reader, as Vice President of Blindness Hardware Product Management. He was responsible for hardware products including the PAC Mate Accessible Pocket PC and the Focus line of Braille displays.

Mosen also devised and hosted FSCast, Freedom Scientific’s monthly podcast, which featured product demonstrations, interviews, and technology news. In 2013, he moved from the Vice President role to become Director of Blindness Communications, continuing to host FSCast and managing the company’s blog and social media, remaining in that capacity until 2018.

His move from HumanWare to Freedom Scientific attracted significant attention within the blindness community, as the two companies produced competing Braille PDA products. The American Foundation for the Blind’s journal AccessWorld published a feature on the community response to his appointment.

Mosen Consulting

In 2013, Mosen founded Mosen Consulting alongside his wife Bonnie. The consultancy provided assistive technology training, produced eBooks and audiobooks including the iOS Without the Eye series covering iPhone use by blind people, and offered accessibility consulting services to organisations wishing to make their websites and applications accessible. He continued to host FSCast and manage Freedom Scientific’s social media and blog during this period.

Aira

In October 2018, Mosen became Vice President, Australasia and Explorer Communications at Aira, a service using human visual interpreters and artificial intelligence to assist blind people in navigating their environment. During his six months in the role he oversaw the full rollout of Aira’s service in Australia and New Zealand, produced audio training material, and established the company’s podcast. He left the role in 2019 to become Chief Executive of Workbridge.

Workbridge

From 2019 to 2024, Mosen served as Chief Executive of Workbridge, New Zealand’s largest employment agency for disabled people, with 22 offices and approximately 120 staff across the country. During his tenure he oversaw a structural transformation of the organisation toward a social enterprise model and worked to secure Workbridge’s government contract. On his resignation in June 2024, the Board Chair described his leadership as having had a strong positive impact on the disability sector and on the lives of disabled people.

On his departure from New Zealand, Mosen stated publicly that he regarded New Zealand as among the worst countries in the western world in which to be blind, citing the absence of disabled Members of Parliament and the lack of blind leadership at the country’s main blindness organisation.

National Federation of the Blind

In September 2024, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of the United States announced that Mosen would join the organisation to work on technology-related projects. He and his wife Bonnie later relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where the NFB is headquartered, for him to take up the role of Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence.

In this role, Mosen works with the NFB’s Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility (CENA), established by the NFB in 2014, which works with businesses and institutions to advance nonvisual accessibility. CENA’s work includes training, accessibility advocacy to major technology providers, and oversight of the International Braille and Technology Center. Introducing Mosen at the NFB’s 2025 national convention, NFB President Mark Riccobono described his hiring as the first step in re-imagining the Federation’s role in technology. Mosen presented to the 2025 national convention on the activities of CENA and its future development, including a planned redesign of the International Braille and Technology Center. He also hosts Access On, the NFB’s technology podcast.

Podcasting

In addition to hosting FSCast for Freedom Scientific and Access On for the NFB, Mosen produced and hosted Mosen At Large (renamed Living Blindfully in 2023), an independently produced podcast covering technology, social and political issues affecting the blindness community, and current affairs. At the time of its closure in late 2024, the programme had listeners in 113 countries. In 2024, Living Blindfully received the NFB’s Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award.

Personal life

Mosen has four children from his first marriage. He has spoken openly about a serious episode of depression he experienced as a young adult, crediting his discovery of the online organised blind community through the CompuServe Information Service in 1986 with helping him through that period.

He is married to Bonnie Mosen, who co-founded Mosen Consulting with him. The couple relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. Mosen is a grandfather.

Mosen has described himself as an atheist. He has also discussed his Norrie disease-related progressive hearing impairment in public forums.

Honours and awards

• Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM), 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to the blind community.
• Vernon Henley Media Award, American Council of the Blind, 2001, for positive representation of blind people through the media.
• Beamish Memorial Medal, Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand, 2003, for services to the blind of New Zealand.
• Impact Award, New Zealand Attitude Awards, 2020.
• Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award, National Federation of the Blind, 2024, awarded to Living Blindfully podcast.
• Robert S. Bray Award, American Council of the Blind, 2024.

See also

• Norrie disease
• ACB Radio
• Freedom Scientific
• HumanWare
• Marrakesh Treaty
• National Federation of the Blind
• Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
• Blind Low Vision NZ

External links

• Official website
• NFB Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility
• National Federation of the Blind
• Mushroom FM
• In the Arena audio biography
• Access On podcast

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