Paul Lewis, Ed.D. started the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMCVI) in 1972 and successfully directed it until 1987. Florida was the fourth state in the nation to establish a formal instructional resource center (IRC). Florida was the first IRC to automate its inventory and ordering system in 1981. Since then FIMCVI has taken the lead in IRC automation and currently uses SyLNX's DataLNX-IRC management software.
Dr. Lewis left FIMCVI in 1987 to become Vice-President of worldwide sales and marketing for TeleSensory, Inc. (Mountain View, CA), the largest producer of assistive devices for the blind and visually impaired.
In 1993, he was appointed Bureau Chief for the Florida Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program and steered that organization through significant reforms and improvements.
He became President and owner of SyLNX, Inc. in 1998; a position he holds presently.
Additionally, Dr. Lewis started the Vision Board for SpecialNet for purposes of sharing materials among IRC organizations. He is a founder and past president of the Association of Instructional Resource Centers for the Visually Handicapped (AIRCVH). He provided the original conceptual design and impetus for the "Louis" textbook search and ordering system currently used by APH. He has been an adjunct professor at Florida State University since 1997.