Flipping the Switch

In 1982, Cheryl Volkman was the director of a Minneapolis preschool for children with cerebral palsy—and wondered how she could help the kids with disabilities to flip light switches, plug in electrical cords, and otherwise physically interact with their surroundings. As she considered a solution, Honeywell chemist Lee Hallgren happened to call the school, volunteering to build adaptive devices for her charges.

Volkman and Hallgren devised oversized switches to help the children operate battery-operated toys and turn small electrical appliances, such as TVs and radios, on and off with the touch of just a foot or finger. The kids soon were connecting with the world in ways they hadn’t before—and Volkman saw the potential for enhancing learning and communication. In 1985, she, Hallgren, and communication disorder specialist Jackie Levin launched AbleNet as a nonprofit to market assistive devices for children with physical and cognitive disabilities and provide training for educators. Over the next five years, its sales, primarily to U.S. schools, grew from $20,000 to $900,000. In 1990, AbleNet became a for-profit business.

Now headquartered in Roseville and owned by its 35 employees, AbleNet is a multimillion-dollar company that provides not only switch-technology products for disabled people of all ages, but also educational curricula and software. Under the direction of Jennifer Thalhuber, hired as vice president of sales and marketing in 2006 and named to president and CEO a year later, the company has experienced strong growth, particularly internationally.

“Cheryl saw that we needed a new approach to growth, and I had that background,” says Thalhuber, whose experience includes several high-level positions, such as CEO of Minneapolis-based Atka Software and executive management with Eden Prairie technology firm Kroll Ontrack.

Since taking the helm from Volkman, who now directs AbleNet’s efforts in seeking research on the company’s products and services, Thalhuber has overseen 30 percent growth in AbleNet’s revenue. Her strategy combines several new initiatives, including accelerating product development and expanding into the global market. (AbleNet now has 500 distributors in 62 countries.) She also has pursued the acquisition of similar businesses. In January, AbleNet bought Omaha-based SofTouch, picking up more than 40 titles of software dedicated to teaching students with disabilities.