National Association of the Deaf

Submitted by Bobbie Beth.Scoggins on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 22:56

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is pleased to announce a banner year in advocacy and operations for fiscal year 2010-2011, which ends on March 31, 2011. The NAD starts fiscal year 2011-2012 on April 1, 2011 in strong financial health with exciting prospects for growth.

The NAD exceeded its own expectations with its prudent financial management; and revenues from donations, sponsorships, and programs. The organization also witnessed a surge in volunteerism which allowed the NAD to "do more with less." This achievement was also aided by a ambitious online and social media presence with vlogs, blogs, Twitter and Facebook which brought new and renewed support for the NAD.

Further, this fiscal year was an outstanding year for NAD advocacy headlined by the passage of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, signed into law by President Obama in October 2010. The 21st Century Act is the most significant accessibility law passed since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The NAD invested a significant amount of resources and capital towards the passage of this monumental bill through its involvement as a founder and steering member of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT). The NAD is now leading the way in implementing the provisions of the 21st Century Act through its work with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The NAD called for swift action by International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) to formally reject resolutions passed at its 1880 Milan Congress and call for global recognition and usage of sign language as a human right, in the education of the deaf. The ICED agreed to this historic milestone was achieved on July 19, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

The NAD pushed for U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD), an important human rights treaty which states that sign language is a human right and that education includes full acquisition of language, academic, practical and social knowledge. The CPRD now waits for ratification from the U.S. Senate.

In addition to numerous policy issues, including proactive working relationships with Federal agencies under the Obama administration, the NAD defended the rights of deaf and hard of hearing professionals and consumers in several court cases - pharmacists can now conduct work-related relay calls in Alabama (patient orders by phone), spectators can now access information during university sporting events in Ohio (captioned public address systems), and attorneys can now access the Kentucky court system (interpreting services and other forms of effective communication).

The NAD also strengthened its corporate ties with companies such as Google and the National Football League (NFL) leading to voluntary captioning of content not covered by federal law.

The 50th Biennial NAD Conference in Philadelphia was hailed by many as one of the finest ever. The stage has been set this year for an even larger and more successful 51st Biennial NAD Conference, July 3-7, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. The NAD will partner with a number of organizations for the 2012 NAD Conference including DeaFestival-Kentucky, a delightful one-day event displaying artwork and performances by deaf artists that will be a feast for our visual senses.

This remarkable turnaround was the direct result of the vision of and transformational leadership by departing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nancy J. Bloch and especially Shane H. Feldman, Chief Operating Officer (COO). The NAD Board thanks them for their dedication to raising the NAD to a higher level of advocacy, efficiency, and accountability.

Our fight is long from over. Our community is still discriminated against and we have yet to fulfill the promise of exercising our civil, human and linguistic rights. Our deaf schools are still under threat of diminished funding or closure, our right to American Sign Language is not fully recognized throughout the country, and our access rights are still denied in public places and the workplace. Bloch and Feldman have set the stage for the arrival of incoming CEO Howard Rosenblum whom the Board is confident will raise the funds necessary to continue to grow the capacity and resources of the NAD. We fully expect him to fulfill the pursuit of the NAD mission and Vision 2020 strategic plan.

The NAD Board of Directors selected Howard Rosenblum to succeed Nancy J. Bloch as NAD CEO during the 50th Biennial NAD Conference in Philadelphia, PA on July 10, 2010. He begins the first day of his job on April 1, 2011. The NAD will officially welcome Rosenblum's new era of leadership at the NAD Spring Benefit Gala in Berkeley, CA on May 14, 2011. For details about the Gala, please visit http://www.nad.org/gala.

"It is remarkable how much we achieved with a skeletal staff while weathering the economic turmoil of these past several years. I want to thank our donors, members, supporters, volunteers, current and former staff, corporate and organizational partners, and our allies for making this a special year for the NAD" said NAD Chief Executive Officer Nancy J. Bloch. "Without your passion, we wouldn't have achieved this milestone. I now look forward to supporting NAD and its leadership in ensuring a better and brighter future for our community."

(Vlog coming soon)