Barbara Allen, Ph.D, teaches political science and politics and media at Carleton College in Minnesota. She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Deaf-Community Health Work Project and was the primary investigator for a community-based participatory research project with Deaf seniors. She is the director/primary editor of the film.
Doug Bahl is one of the world’s leading authorities on Deaf history. He has dedicated his life to the movement of bringing Deaf history to the forefront of all agendas. Holding numerous executive positions within state, local and other organizations, an Historian, and International Professor of Deaf History at Saint Paul College (Minnesota),Doug brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to any discussion.
Mazen M. Basrawi is a 2001 graduate of the University of Virginia and a 2004 graduate of UC Berkeley Law School. After graduating from law school Mazen became an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley California where he initiated the landmark class action of National Federation of the Blind et al. v. Target Corp, a precedent-setting case establishing the American’s with Disabilities Act’s requirement that certain commercial websites must be accessible to blind persons using screen readers. In 2006, Mazen joined the law firm of Bingham McCutchen LLP in San Francisco where he litigated complex environmental, intellectual property and commercial cases. He had an award-winning pro bono practice and most notably he teamed-up with the Stanford Law School Youth and Education Law Project in representing an autistic deaf child who was denied services at the California School for the Deaf. Mazen’s efforts resulted in a case settlement which created a unique program to serve autistic and developmentally delayed deaf children. After working on President Obama’s historic 2008 campaign in Virginia, Mazen served as the Disability, Arab-American and Muslim-American Liaison for the 56th Presidential Inaugural Committee. In July 2009, the Attorney General appointed Mazen to serve as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
Jimmy Beldon, CDI, MA, has been a leader in the interpreting field and a mentor to other interpreters for many years. Jimmy is the owner of ASLFIRST, a consulting and interpreter referral business. Additionally, he teaches at the St. Catherine University in the Interpreter Training Program on the St. Paul campus. Jimmy is a native of Deaf culture and American Sign Language, as well as a trained and certified interpreter. He has gained prominence as a communication specialist and certified deaf interpreter throughout the court system. He also provides consulting on issues of deaf culture, communication needs, and working with deaf immigrants and/or refugees. Jimmy served on a national board for interpreters for eight years and continues to volunteer his time to the National Registry of Interpreters, (RID).
Arkady Belozovsky has an ASLTA Professional Certificate and is a Lecturer in American Sign Language/Deaf Studies at Brown University. He earned his M.S. in Linguistics and Interactive Multimedia Development from Rochester Institute of Technology. His teaching experience includes American Sign Language [ASL], Deaf Studies, and Russian Sign Language [RSL] at the university/college levels. His research interests include cultural history of USSR with particular attention to Deaf intellectual history, Deaf Russian-American Studies, curriculum development, second sign language acquisition, sign language pedagogy, cross- and intercultural communication, and comparative linguistics in RSL and ASL. He has given numerous workshops and lectures locally, nationally, and internationally. Before coming to Brown, he taught at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester as Senior Lecturer and Assistant Director, Sign Language Interpretation [SLI] Program. For over thirteen years, he has conducted freelance interpreting in a variety of settings and sign languages (i.e., RSL, ASL and Gestuno). Arkady Belozovsky is a member of the third Deaf generation in his family and is a native of Ukraine.
Beth S. Benedict, Ph.D., is a Gallaudet University professor and president of the American Society for Deaf Children. She has done numerous presentations at national and international conferences, schools and organizations, in addition to publishing articles and chapters related to family involvement, early childhood education, advocacy, early communication and partnerships between deaf and hearing professionals.
Jean Lindquist Bergey, as director of History Through Deaf Eyes, a project developed by Gallaudet University to share the history of deaf people with a wide audience, provided leadership for exhibition creation and presentation, website development, and production of an educational poster series. Jean is the University liaison to WETA, Washington's Public Television station, for the exhibition-inspired documentary film Through Deaf Eyes. She is also co-author of the film’s companion book: Through Deaf Eyes: A Photographic History of an American Community.
Jamie Berke has been a guide for deafness at About.com for over 12 years. In June 2009, she, together with co-presenter Robert Goodwin, launched Caption Action 2, a grassroots Facebook movement in support of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
Wayne Betts, Jr. Filmmaker, co-founded Mosdeux, a deaf-operated film production company. His director credits include Vital Signs (2006), A Permanent Grave (2007), and Caretaker (2008). He attended American School of the Deaf and his deaf parents, brother and wife Dana are among his biggest fans.
Naomi Bilodeau is an Engineering Program Manager at Google, where she specializes in accessibility and internationalization feature development. Naomi helped to launch the auto-captions feature on YouTube and manages the effort to ensure that captions get added to Google and YouTube's corporate videos. She also educates online video owners about the potential to reach a wider audience through captioning. She's worked at Google since 2006. Naomi has an M.Sc. from York University and is passionate about the intersection of communication and culture. She speaks several languages and has just begun learning ASL.
Dale H. Boam Esq., CI, is a professor of Deaf Studies at Utah Valley University (Orem, Utah), and attorney advocating for persons who are Deaf. A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law in Boston (2003), Dale authored and co-authored many books and papers on the rights of Deaf persons.
Gail Bober has been the director of the Center for Community and Professional Services (CCPS) at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf since the Center opened in 1989. Prior to that, she was a social worker and Coordinator of the Community Affairs Office at the school. Gail, who has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and an undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing, has worked in the field of Deafness for 30 years. As CCPS director, she is responsible for array of programs and services for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and hearing people interested in some aspect of hearing loss. Some of the programs and services include: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Job Center; Deaf Adult Literacy; HIV/AIDS Prevention Education and Outreach; and Deaf Awareness Programs.
Ed Bosson has blogged on telecommunications issues at edsalerts.com since 2006. In 2008 he retired after 19 years with the Texas Public Utility Commission as administrator of Texas’s statewide TTY relay service. He pioneered video relay services, for which he received a honorary doctorate from Gallaudet University.
Philip W. Bravin has been in the technology field for over 40 years, starting with his 24-year career at IBM, then undertaking a stint as President/CEO of the National Captioning Institute and finally with CSD in South Dakota where he spearheaded the development of the first video relay service in the United States. Phil is currently a consultant with CSDVRS providing a website of VRS resource information and developing educational programs on VRS. He was the first President of the Gallaudet Board of Trustees. He currently serves as a Trustee on the Lexington and Vermont Schools for the Deaf.
Seth Bravin joined IBM in 2003 and does financial planning for the Global Public Sector which includes the government, education, and healthcare industries. He graduated from Gallaudet University in 1996 and received his MBA from Cornell University in 2003. Seth was selected as the Employee of the Year by Careers and the Disabled Magazine and teaches a course offered by Gallaudet Leadership Institute. He currently serves on the board of Maryland Association of the Deaf.
Jim Brune is the Executive Director of DCARA and has worked at the agency for 8 years, including as the Director of Client Support Services and Deputy Director. He is a New Jersey native and graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in Social Work.
William J. Bowman is currently serving as a Public Affairs Specialist with the Office of Communications at the Social Security Administration’s Headquarters in Baltimore. He has served in various capacities within the agency for 30 years. William is a graduate of Gallaudet University, and is married with two grown boys.
Dr. Gerry Buckley is the former President of the Lexington Board of Trustees He has 30 years of professional experience in Deaf Education and previously work for the Gallaudet University Regional Center. He has held a number of leadership positions at NTID and is currently the Assistant Vice President of NTID.
Jenny Buechner graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in 1998 and from Gallaudet University in 2002. She currently works with Hamilton Relay. Jenny is the president of the Wisconsin Association of the Deaf, a member of various local organizations as well as the NAD.
Anita Buel, CHW, was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer at the age of 31. At that time, she did not know the meaning of the word “mammogram”. Now 26-years later, her story has a central place in the film, “Signing On: Stories of the Pink Deafies”. As co-producer and breast cancer advocate her contributions are invaluable.
Michael Canale, CI and CT, NAD IV is a working interpreter in the New York City metro area, where he is the District Manager of the Eastern Region for Sorenson Communications. Prior to joining Sorenson, Mr. Canale was the Program Director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services at Teachers College, Columbia University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Signed Language Interpretation from the University of New Mexico, a Master of Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Graduate Certificate in Chemical Dependency Rehabilitation for Deaf or Hard of Hearing Clients from the University of Minnesota. Michael participated in the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Preparation of Educational Interpreters grant as a workshop developer and presenter. He has served on the Certification Council for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf for the past six years, where he worked with the National Interpreter Certification (NIC) and the transition of the NIC to the RID National Testing System. Mr. Canale is currently serving RID and its members as Chair of the NIC review Task Force.
Li Ye Chen has been a project manager on GE’s New Media Technology team since August 2009. He currently leads several technology projects in data visualization, machine learning, and human computer interface. Li was a graduate of GE’s Information Management Leadership Program, a fast-track rotation-based leadership program. He also has a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Cornell University in 2006 and an Masters of Engineering degree in Engineering Management also from Cornell University in 2007. He currently resides in Connecticut.
Sara Collins is an Associate Analyst at Abt Associates, Inc., a research and consulting firm. Since her tenure at Abt, she has worked on behavioral health projects including the National Center for Trauma Informed Care (NCTIC) bringing evidence-based practices on trauma into mental health and substance abuse service delivery.
Glenna Cooper is currently President of the Oklahoma Association for the Deaf, serves as Division Director for CSD in Tulsa, and is also the national coordinator for Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) workshops across the country.
Robert J. Cooper, BA, is currently the State Director at CSD of Ohio, a branch of CSD and he also serves as Advocacy Coordinator for statewide Deaf Mental Health Advocacy Program in Ohio. Previously, Robert served as CEO/Executive Director of Deaf Service Center in Worthington OH and Minnesota Foundation for Better Hearing and Speech/DOORWAYS in St. Paul MN. Robert’s early years included Missouri Commission for the Deaf in Fulton MO, Interpreter Training Program at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park KS, and The Whole Person, Inc., a Center for Independent Living in Kansas City MO. Robert worked as a Licensed Banker at JPMorgan Chase Bank where for six years he helped customers with various banking needs, lending resources, investment and retirement planning before returning to the deaf-related field at CSD in 2008.
Rosaline Crawford is the Director of the Law and Advocacy Center of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). As Director of the NAD Law and Advocacy Center, she is responsible for all education, advocacy, and litigation activities of the NAD Law and Advocacy Center, including its coalition, legislative, and regulatory advocacy efforts, particularly in the areas of technology and telecommunications access. She also serves on the steering committee of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), a coalition of over 300 national, state, and community-based organizations that works to make sure that people with disabilities will not be left behind as our telecommunications systems move to Internet Protocol or other innovative technologies. Prior to joining the NAD as a staff attorney in 2002, she was a paralegal in the Office of General Counsel at The Catholic University of America (CUA). She received her J.D. from the CUA Columbus School of Law.
Jennifer Croft has successfully navigated her way through multiple career paths. First, working her way through college as a freelancing sign language interpreter, then in 1995 transitioning her career by joining the Federal Government managing an interpreting services program. By leveraging her transferable skills as an interpreter and interpreter coordinator, she was able to broaden her career horizons into wider disability communities. At the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, MD, she held several roles including Staff Sign Language Interpreter, Civil Rights Specialist, Diversity Trainer, and Section 508 Coordinator. Applying for jobs via www.USAjobs.gov [1], she then became the Departmental Disability Policy Advisor for the Department of Commerce, working in downtown Washington D.C. This last year, she accepted an transfer opportunity to work closer to home in one of the Commerce agencies, in a more hands-on role as a Disability Program Manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Maryland. As a Federal Disability Program Manager, her areas of expertise are in policy development, program management, and providing briefings/trainings around equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities, including people who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Jeffrey Dallos is the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Communication Team Leader for the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP), providing equal access, assistive technology solutions and employment opportunities for Federal employees with disabilities. Jeffrey is active in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government and the Federal Disability Working Consortium.
Chriz Dally, formerly Deaf Employment Training Program Coordinator at DCARA, has provided services to Deaf children, youth, adults, and their families within school settings, community-based agencies and mental health agencies for over 16 years. She also provides consulting services, including grant-writing and program development, to organizations serving Deaf people.
Dean DeRusso is the Deaf Systems Advocate for the Regional Center for Independent Living [RCIL]. Focusing on improving integration, inclusion, and civil rights, he has successfully built a network of people to focus on improving many systematic issues in the Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing communities.
Kathy Dollinger-Meyer is an Employment Advisor at NTID for Deaf/HH college students in Business Studies and Liberal Arts. She has 25 years experience as a work experience coordinator for high school students, job coach and Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf. She has a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling for the Deaf from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Nazareth College.
Dave Dougall is the Accessibility Program Manager at Research In Motion (RIM), a leading designer, manufacturer, Dand marketer of innovative wireless data solutions, including the BlackBerry family of products and services. In his role, Dave is responsible for BlackBerry accessibility and all other aspects of RIM's Accessibility Program. He has been involved in the Alliance for Telecommunications Solutions Incubator on Hearing Aid Compatibility, as well as US TEITAC Subcommittees providing recommendations for updates on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and guidelines under Section 255 of the US Telecommunications Act. Dave participates in industry trade association Accessibility Working Groups for ITI, TIA, CTIA and ITAC.
John Egbert was born deaf and raised orally with no Deaf friends or knowledge of sign language till age of 19. He learned ASL at Gallaudet and started his Deaf journey with his Deaf wife and two Deaf children. John realized the Deaf Education system is flawed and became an advocate for the appropriate education/language for all Deaf babies and children.
Alicia Epstein is a Disability Policy Manager at NISH, a designated national nonprofit agency to provide support to local nonprofits that participate in the AbilityOne Program. Alicia has over ten years of experience in public policy at the federal, state and local level. She is a member of NAD and a former president of the Maryland Association of the Deaf. Alicia received a B.S. in Professional Technical Communications from Rochester Institute of Technology and MPA from American University.
Sheri Farinha is the CEO of the NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and a well known leader locally and nationally in various arenas.
Steven A. Florio, M.S. is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (RICDHH). He and his colleagues are working to establish a national nonprofit organization, National Association of State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, to strengthen resources to support State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Prior to moving to Rhode Island, Steve was appointed twice by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge to serve on Pennsylvania's Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He assumed the chairmanship of the advisory council for the last two years. He was the NAD Fulton III chairperson. (2004-2006).
Lawrence H. Forestal is currently president of the American Sign Language Teachers Association. He is also the task force chair for strategies for preserving ASL and deaf history under the NAD Library Friends Section. While Larry was NAD president in 1984-1986, the NAD approved an official position to advocate for deaf and hard of hearing people’s human right to appreciate learning and using both languages: ASL and English in the United States and its territories.
Dr. Gertrude S. Galloway, Ph.D. is a retired superintendent of Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf and past president of the National Association of the Deaf, Conference of Educational Administrators of the Schools and Programs for the Deaf and Deaf Seniors of America. She presently serves as the Chair of Sorenson Consumer Policy Board.
Christine Gannon, MS.ED., is the Professional Development Manager at Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Coordinator for the HIV Project at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. She is a child of Deaf adults (CODA) and has been doing sexuality-related education and training within the Deaf community since 1996.
Jack R. Gannon served as Curator of “History Through Deaf Eyes,” a nationally touring social history exhibition developed by Gallaudet University. He was also an advisor for WETA’s documentary film Through Deaf Eyes, first broadcast in 2007. He is the author of Deaf Heritage, A Narrative History of Deaf America. His second book, The Week the World Heard Gallaudet, records the "Deaf President Now" revolution on the Gallaudet campus in 1988. Jack co-authored Through Deaf Eyes: A Photographic History of an American Community. A graduate of Gallaudet University, where he also received an honorary doctorate, Jack served as Special Assistant for Advocacy to the President of Gallaudet University, 1989-1996.
Lillian Garcia Peterkin was born to Puerto Rican parents in Connecticut and graduated from the American School for the Deaf. She is the Project Coordinator of the National Interpreter Education Center, and instrumental in developing the DAT Curriculum. Lillian received a Bachelor's degree in English/ASL Interpreting from Northeastern University and is a Certified Deaf Interpreter.
Gina Gonzalez, Texas BEI Level IV and Texas BEI Trilingual Master,has over 10 years of VRS experience. Gina has presented at the Texas Society for Interpreters for the Deaf and RID Region IV Conference. For two consecutive years, Gina has served as an instructor for the Trilingual Interpreter Training in Big Spring, Texas.
Robert Goodwin has made presentations on various subjects and has been working with Jamie Berke on Caption Action 2 since its inception.
Dr. Johnette Hartnett is the Director of Research and Strategic Partnership Development for the National Disability Institute (NDI). She is also a senior researcher with the Burton Blatt Institute at the University of Syracuse. Johnette provides national leadership in the development of traditional and non-traditional partnerships across Federal agencies, foundations, and the private and non-profit sector on a variety of public policy issues relative to the employment, asset development, and long-term service and support needs of Americans with disabilities.
Ken Harrenstein joined Google in 2003 as a Software Engineer and is the lead developer responsible for the implementation of captions in Google's video infrastructure, including YouTube. Ken was heavily involved in early Arpanet/Internet development and has worked in various capacities at Transmeta, Oracle, and SRI International; in the latter incarnation he was instrumental in their projects related to telecommunications for the deaf, notably DEAFNET. Ken became totally deaf at age 5 and was held captive by oralists until graduating from MIT with a BS in computer science. Since then he has managed to learn enough ASL to get by.
Melissa Draganac-Hawk, a first-generation American of deaf immigrant Peruvian parents, received a master’s degree in Linguistics and two bachelor’s degrees in production/performance and American Sign Language from Gallaudet University. Currently she is an American Sign Language Specialist at Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Involved in the deaf community, Melissa is president of the National Council of Hispano Deaf and Hard of Hearing, is a consultant to the Tri-State Latino Deaf Association, and was executive director of Deaf Women United. Melissa has been involved with the NAD throughout her life in various capacities. As a youth, she participated in the Junior NAD and the Youth Leadership Camp, and as an adult she directed the Miss Deaf America Finals in 2002 and 2008. She has been an NAD member since 1988, focusing on issues affecting youth and diversity because of the difference NAD has made in her life and the lives of others. In her free time, she enjoys being with her husband, Sam, and son, Etzio.
Cheryl Heppner has been the Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons for 19 years. She serves on the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees and is Vice Chair of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network where she represents the Association of Late-Deafened Adults. In 2002 she received the NAD Meritorious Service Excellence Award and in 1991 the Golden Hand Award. She co-chairs the Disability Working Group of the Federal Communications Commission's Consumer Advisory Council and has been serving on its technical working group on digital television issues with closed captioning and video description.
Gregory J. Hlibok, Esq. works a senior attorney with the Disabilities Rights Office at the Federal Communications Commission [FCC]. Greg, a native New Yorker, serves as the board president of his alma mater, Lexington School for the Deaf. He is best known for his role a spokesperson for the Deaf President Now movement in 1998, which led to the selection of the university’s first Deaf president. At the FCC, he has taken a lead on several key rulemaking proceedings on telecommunications access for people with disabilities, including new initiatives on the National Broadband Plan. Greg lives in Ellicott City, MD with his wife, Charmaine Jacobs and four children.
Stephen Hlibok is the Vice President of Global Private Client Group and a Certified Financial Manager. He has more than 22 years of experience providing financial and wealth management advice and has been in the forefront of awareness of the deaf investor’s needs in the brokerage field. Stephen specializes in the development and implementation of long term planning. He received his MA from New York University and a BS in business administration from Gallaudet University. Throughout his professional career, he has held a variety of leadership positions, and he has presented at local, national and international conferences on finances. Articles about him have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fortune, Business Week and numerous publications and on “Sunday Today” (NBC), ABC World news Tonight and French Television. A proud father of four children, Stephen currently resides in Columbia, Maryland.
Prior to Inclusion Solutions, Patrick Hughes founded the non-profit “Natural Ties”. That organization was dedicated to fostering relationships and friendships between people with disabilities and those without. He later founded Inclusion Solutions, which is dedicated to finding affordable, common-sense ways for people with disabilities to gain access to restaurants, businesses, shopping areas, polling places and more.
Tabitha Jacques graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in Art History and from Georgetown University with a Master’s degree in Art History and Museum Studies. She is a Special Projects Manager at the National Postal Museum and is a volunteer gallery presenter. She has curated two exhibits at Gallaudet University.
Cecilia Y. James is a Tax Analyst in Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication of the Wage and Investment (W&I) Division of the internal Revenue Service at Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. James began her career with the Internal Revenue Service in August 2009 and was hired under the special hiring authority called Schedule A appointment, which allows people with disabilities to be considered for employment of federal jobs. Prior to her current employer, Ms. James worked for Xerox Corporation for over fifteen years in various positions before becoming a Project Manager and earning an MBA degree in Business/Marketing.
Sacha Klein is an Associate at Virginia-based technology & strategy management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Sacha has been designing and providing management strategy consulting to a wide spectrum of industries for over ten years. He has also been involved with a variety of initiatives geared towards a greater understanding and acceptance of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), which opened the doors for people with disabilities to contribute to the U.S. economy in ways no one imagined before. In synergy with the National Business Disabilities Council (NBDC), what was once a one-firm network offering summer internship opportunities for student with disabilities in 2001, has today become a network of a dozen organizations, including several Fortune 500's companies and which Sacha has helped develop and grow.
Miriam Nathan Lerner, CSC, has been a professional sign language interpreter since 1983. She currently works as a staff interpreter on the Liberal Arts Core Team at NTID/RIT. Miriam was present during many of the performances that comprised the explosion of ASL poetry experimentation in Rochester during the '80s, and decided that this time period needed to be documented.
Jeffrey Mansfield obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Princeton University (2008) and Master of Architecture candidate (2013). He has been collaborative partner with Parker Warburton (Dunedin, New Zealand), HHF Architekten (Basel, Switzerland), and Ai Weiwei (Beijing, China). Jeffrey is currently employed in Boston, Massachuetts and serves on the board of Boston Access Advocates for the Deaf (BAAD).
Elisa Maroney holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of New Mexico. While working at Gallaudet University for six years, Elisa obtained her Masters of Arts degree in Linguistics from Gallaudet. She has been employed at Western Oregon University since 1993. Elisa also holds CI/CT certification from RID.
Robert Mather has been a civil rights attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice since 1984, and is currently a Trial Attorney in the Disability Rights Section. He was a member of the legal team that developed the regulations for titles II and III of the ADA. He received his Bachelor's of Science in Social Work from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and his Juris Doctorate from the DePaul University School of Law.
Neil McDevitt is the Program Director for the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network for TDI and is a fierce advocate for collaborative efforts between deaf people and emergency responders.
Josh Mendelsohn has been an attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice since 1995, investigating allegations of disability-related discrimination. He also prides himself on being a geek, and has been keeping up with advances in technology and the Internet. He received his BA in Economics from California State University Northridge and his Juris Doctorate from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law.
SB Morgaine is a nationally certified interpreter (NIC-Adv) with a BS degree in ASL Interpretation. SB has been working as a staff, freelance, VRI and VRS interpreter in the Washington DC metro area.
Dr. Harold Mowl is the Superintendent of the Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) and former President of Conference of Educational Administrators Serving the Deaf (CEASD). RSD has a model relationship with state legislators and Harold works actively with leaders in the Rochester Community to insure that RSD's support remains strong.
Dr. Joseph J. Murray has been involved with international human rights work for over 15 years, in his work as a Board Member of the World Federation of the Deaf. Joseph is the Chair of the NAD International Subcommittee. An Assistant Professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University, he has given workshops on five continents.
Melanie C. Nakaji is Deaf and attended both CSUN and Gallaudet University before graduating with her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Later she received her MA and MS from San Diego State University and Ph.D. in Human Rehabilitation from the University of Northern Colorado in December of 2007. As the project coordinator for the RID Oncology Program at the University of California San Diego, she’s collaborating with other ASL linguists to create signs for medical terms.
Alex Jackson Nelson has over twelve years of experience working professionally for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning Intersex (GLBTQI) community. Alex attended the St Paul College Interpreting/Transliterating Program and is a certified interpreter. He provides consulting and training to service providers around the country on GLBTQI issues and best practices in working with marginalized populations.
Tamar Jackson Nelson graduated from Gallaudet University with an MA in Interpretation. She has presented numerous workshops and has worked as a certified community interpreter, mentor, ER on-call manager and interpreter, VRI, and VRS interpreter and is an adjunct professor at St. Paul College. Tamar has national interpreting experience.
Aileen “Aily” Panzer, MSW, CDI, has 30 years of experience providing mental health, crisis intervention counseling (eight years working with Deaf and HoH students in Residential Treatment settings) and Domestic and Sexual Violence counseling in Rochester, N.Y., Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia P.A. She is a Certified Deaf Interpreter in Philadelphia.
Debra Patkin is a staff attorney with the Law and Advocacy Center of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). She is responsible for litigating civil rights cases, handling consumer inquiries regarding legal issues, and providing education and outreach. Prior to joining the NAD, she worked as a litigation attorney at the Disability Rights Legal Center in Los Angeles, California. Debra received her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law. She also has an M.A. in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and a B.S. in Psychology from R.I.T.
Tara Potterveld, RID CT/CI, SC:L, holds a B.A. in ASL Linguistics and an M.A. from CSUN. Tara teaches legal interpreting and completed Interpreting in the American Legal System. Tara authored articles about Criminal Justice, Deaf people and Interpreters. Tara works with the FBI, courts, police, Deaf suspects, victims, and witnesses.
Kirsten Poston is a native of Philadelphia, PA. She majored in social work at the Rochester Institute of Technology and later attended Gallaudet University, where she received a bachelor's degree in communications arts. She currently works in Washington, DC, for the U.S. Department of Transportation as a Disability Policy Analyst. Kirsten has been actively involved in the coordination of many educational and outreach activities aimed towards the deaf and disability communities. She co-chaired and coordinated the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government (DHHIG) 2008 Employment and Technology Forum and was previously a board member at large and vice executive director of the DHHIG. She is a member of the National Black Deaf Advocates and an associate member of the D.C. Chapter of the National Alliance of Black Interpreters, Inc. She also is the president of an employee organization that supports deaf employees at the U.S. Department of Transportation, DEAF/DOT. Kirsten remains committed to the principles of leadership empowerment, and is a lifelong advocate of the deaf community. She and her husband live in Maryland with their three daughters and one son.
Barbara Raimondo is a long-time advocate for the rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their families. She has worked as a government relations liaison, director of advocacy, parent consultant, NAD staff attorney, and trainer. Barbara has presented and written about numerous topics including early hearing detection and intervention, education, test equity, civil rights, family support, deaf-hearing partnerships, parent and deaf community involvement, and others and she has testified before Congress. She has served on the boards of the American Society for Deaf Children and the Maryland School for the Deaf, including as president. She and her husband are the parents of two deaf children. She received her law degree from George Mason University.
Julie Rems-Smario is the Executive Director of Deaf Hope, a community based domestic violence prevention and advocacy agency.
Drew Robarge is a contractor at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. He graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in History and French and earned a Master's degree in Museum Studies from The George Washington University. His internship and volunteer work include Conner Prairie, Deaf Culture Centre in Toronto, and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.
Robert A. Robinson is an attorney with Disability Rights New Jersey. He handles mostly special education matters on behalf of students with disabilities. He has represented disabled students at mediation and due process hearings.
Growing up with Usher Syndrome, Christine 'Coco' Roschaert attended a Deaf boarding school in Ontario and had a hard time accepting her blindness. However, today at 30, a Gallaudet University alumna, Coco is an international advocate for Deaf and Deafblind human rights and has worked as a volunteer in Nigeria, West Africa for nearly two years. Coco has given over 40 lectures and has travelled around the world as an advocate and in search of her own Deafblindhood. Born Deaf to hearing parents who could sign well, Christine 'Coco' Roschaert went on to attend a Deaf residential school for fifteen years. Her Deafhood continued when Coco attended Gallaudet University and immersed herself even more in a 24-7 signing environment. The only slight difference she had from many of her Deaf friends and colleagues was that Coco has Usher Syndrome, a condition that continues to take away her sight bit by bit. At 30, Coco is an internationally well-known advocate for disability basic human, social and educational rights, most especially bringing awareness to thousands of people about Deafblindhood - her own and the experience of other Deafblind people around the world. Almost fully blind, dependent on tactile with sign language for communication and using a blind cane to support her independent lifestyle, Coco travels the world seeking out stories of Deafblind life, system changes, barriers and community unity/division.
Dr. Roz Rosen is the director of the National Center on Deafness at California State University, Northridge. Roz has served as an educational leader, trainer, advocate, and elected official in many different capacities, on the regional, national and international levels regarding human rights and women’s issues.
Roberto Sandoval is currently studying ASL Linguistics and Interpreting in the Interpreter Preparation Program at Austin Community College. Roberto has over 200 hours of deaf interpreting experience and is in the process of obtaining his CDI certification. Currently Roberto is the RID Deaf Caucus Region IV Representative and the President-Elect of Austin Interpreters for the Deaf.
Daniel J. Schreiner served as Leader for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Council (DHHC) from 2006-2008 and is currently serving as a member. He has initiated and still participating in improving the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
Jenifer Simpson is the Senior Director for Government Affairs at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), a national membership organization in Washington, D.C., advocating for the independence of people with disabilities. She coordinates several policy areas and heads the Telecommunications & Technology Policy Initiative at AAPD that focuses on ensuring that all technology – products and services – is designed with disability users in mind. She co-founded and co-chairs the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), a coalition of over 300 national and community-based organizations that advocates for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet Protocol communication technologies. Previously, at the Federal Communications Commission, she implemented disability accessibility mandates in the Communications Act after working as an Employment Advisor at the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Ms. Simpson has a M.B.A. from Trinity University and a B.A. in Art is from the University of Massachusetts. She parents a 25 year old young man with cerebral palsy.
Amber Smock is the Director of Advocacy for Access Living (AL), the Center for Independent Living in Chicago. She coordinates the legal, policy and organizing work for AL’s cross-disability campaigns, both locally and statewide. Amber also organizes nationally with the grassroots group ADAPT, coordinating the National ADAPT Media Committee.
Lizzie Sorkin is currently the Outreach Director for Global Reach Out (GRO) and has been a supportive GRO member since its birth in 2006. She grew up in California, graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and now lives in Washington, DC working as a Digital Video Specialist at Gallaudet University. She has participated in several GRO trips (the Philippines when GRO was doing a pilot program, Thailand as a team leader, and India as the program coordinator). She enjoys stamping the pages of her passport with countries she has been to, but more importantly, enjoys meeting people and investing in social change wherever she goes.
Matthew Starr is a Senior Instructor at the National Center for Deaf Health Research. For 18 years, Matt directed the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program, which provides services to Deaf/hard of hearing people. He received his Masters in Public Health from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Karen Peltz Strauss is the Deputy Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, where she oversees the Commission’s disability policies. For the past 25 years, Strauss has been at the forefront of telecommunications access issues, having spearheaded federal legislation on telecommunications relay services, closed captioning, and hearing aid compatibility. In 2007, she co-founded the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), a coalition that now has over 300 national, state and community-based organizations dedicated to ensuring disability access to emerging Internet-based and digital communications technologies in the 21st century. Strauss previously served as an attorney at the Gallaudet University National Center for Law and Deafness and at the National Association of the Deaf. In 2006, Strauss published A New Civil Right: Telecommunications Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans, an in-depth account of the history and scope of the telecommunications access movement by Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing. Strauss holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and an LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Claude L. Stout is Executive Director of Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI). He has served in this capacity since January 13, 1997. TDI is a national non-profit consumer advocacy organization that provides leadership in achieving equal access to telecommunications, media, and information technologies for the nation’s 37 million citizens that are deaf, late-deafened, hard-of-hearing, and deaf-blind. He also serves as Chair of Deaf & Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network, a national coalition of 20 organizations representing deaf and hard of hearing citizens in public policy and legislative issues relating to rights, quality of life, equal access and self-representation. He is a member of the Federal Communications Commission Consumer Advisory Committee. Prior to his current employment with TDI, Mr. Stout served for five years as Assistant Director for Community Affairs with N.C. Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing, a year and four months as Executive Director with Missouri Commission for the Deaf, ten years as Assistant Executive Director for Business Services with National Association of the Deaf, and a year as Instructor with the Department of Business Administration at Gallaudet University. He graduated in 1980 with a Master of Business Administration degree in Management from Gallaudet University, and in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Gallaudet. He is married to the former Judy Cummings, and they have two children, Abby and Ty.
Myra Taff-Watson, MA and CSC, was employed as the Director of the Interpreter Education Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1982-2006. She has, and is, the owner of an interpreting business for the past 24 years.
Liz Tannebaum is an Emmy Award-winning actress whose work is recognized all over the world. Liz has taught deaf acting technique in Milan and continues to speak at schools around America, encouraging children to consider careers in film and stage. Most recently, Liz was in What Women Want with Mel Gibson. Liz is also the Festival Director of the Festival of Cinema for the Deaf in Chicago.
Adrienne Thal is a Policy Advisor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the U.S. Department of Labor. In this position, she provides analysis on current public policy, policy priorities, policy development, and policy coordination of topic concerning the Workforce Systems and the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace.
Rebecca Tregerman is an Associate Analyst at Abt Associates, Inc. Ms. Tregerman was the project manager for the National Center for Trauma Informed Care (NCTIC), funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Cynthia A. Weitzel serves as Vice Chair, MADC History Committee and is the Deputy Director, Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing Minnesotans. After 20 years in the nonprofit field, Cynthia joined the staff of the Commission and MADC Board of Directors in 2007. She advocates for the study, preservation and dissemination of Deaf History as it plays a vital role in educating our legislators and in shaping effective policy.
Susan Williams, Ph.D., is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She received training in working with Deaf individuals during her internship and Fellowship at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Outpatient Program at Jackson Memorial Hospital [JMH-DHH]. She worked at Dade County Public Schools completing psychological evaluations for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. She returned to JMH-DHH as the Program Director during 2001. She has been involved with different community entities advocating and promoting improved services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals.
As a Deaf African-American woman, Toronja Williams received a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies with a concentration in Diplomacy from the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in May 2008. Before graduating from TCNJ, she participated in the International Scholar Laureate Program on Diplomacy and International Relations (ISLP) in China. She also interned at the Institute of International Education (IIE). Toronja will pursue a Master of Arts in International Security this fall. Toronja channels her diplomatic energy to writing proposal papers for global change at the Deaf Perspectives. She is involved in educating deaf and hard of hearing individuals about the importance of advancing international leadership in government and non-government programs and her favorite quote is “Be the change you want to see in the world!” by Mahatma Gandhi.
Darlene Goncz Zangara, ABD, LPC, is currently the CSD Senior Vice President for National Centers of Excellence. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Deaf Education, with a minor in Art Education from Bowling Green State University and her Master of Arts in Counseling for the Deaf from Gallaudet University. She is currently a doctoral student at Antioch University, PhD in Leadership and Change. Darlene is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Ohio. She has extensive experience in Leadership, System Advocacy, Human Services, Mental Health, Drug & Alcohol Services, Prevention, Resiliency Enhancement, Mental Health Interpreting, Non Profit Organization Management, Change Initiatives, Board Development, Program Development, Training, and Consultation. Aside from her work, she provides workshops and presentations nationally and internationally. She served on the National Association of the Deaf Fulton III committee; Financial and Development committees from 2003-2006 and served as the RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) Mediator. Darlene also served as the National President of Deaf Women United from 2001 to 2005.
George “Butch” Zein, a Deaf globe trotter who has lived in Tokyo for a year serving as ASL instructor/consultant with the Japan American Sign Language Society and went on a solo travel around the world for a year visiting Southeast Asia, India, Africa and Europe. His 15+ professional highlights began in California starting off as Linguistic Research Assistant at the famed Salk Institute studying how human brain acquires ASL and ended up working in upper management for in both non-profit organization and corporate environment. He currently works for ZVRS as National Account Executive specializing in Deaf non-profit organizations.
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