Lily Esquer-Horta
Lily grew up in San Diego, California, a diverse hometown that had a strong influence of Mexican culture. She grew up attending mainstreamed schools while enjoying sunny weather every day! You were guaranteed to find her at the beach; she is a true Californian at heart. After high school, Lily wanted to learn about deaf culture, and decided to attend Gallaudet University where she grew personally and discovered her deaf identity. This year’s summer internship focused on Education Policy which made Lily realize her passion is in deaf education. Lily graduated from Gallaudet University in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. She is proud to be the first in her family, as a Deaf Mexican American, with a B.A. degree. For her internship, Lily worked closely with Tawny on various projects to study the needs of diverse students and their families. Some of her responsibilities included social media posts and policy projects related to the language and communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing mainstreamed students. Lily is constantly overwhelmed as she continues to learn about the rich histories of the deaf community, including the history and purpose of the NAD.
Adele “Idy” Fass
Idy is a city girl at heart, born and raised in New York City. Idy is going into her senior year at Gallaudet University, majoring in American Sign Language (ASL) with a minor in Linguistics. Idy aims to promote education with sign language for deaf children and their future. For her internship, Idy worked closely with Tawny Holmes, the NAD Education Policy Counsel, to create a virtual Deaf Education Advocacy Training channel on YouTube. Adele enjoys playing sports, traveling, and meeting new people, creating new opportunities!
Dakota Kalis
Dakota was born and raised in Florida, the Sunshine State! Dakota is currently a senior at Gallaudet University, majoring in Government with a specialization in Pre-Law. He loves to play basketball and tennis and is entering his third year as a member of the Men’s Basketball team at Gallaudet University. For his internship, Dakota focused on education policy and legal intake. His experience with the NAD was astounding; his internship gave him a crystal clear understanding of what it is like to work for a non-profit organization. Dakota is looking forward to expanding his skills and contributing back to the community.
Rachel Levit-Ardes
Rachel is from California and received her B.A. from Carleton College. She then spent one year interning at the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut. After her internship, she spent a year working as a paraprofessional in the public school system in Arizona. Rachel is a Ph.D. student in Philosophy at Arizona State University (ASU). Rachel studies bioethics and (dis)ability, and is interested in the interaction between technological innovation and culture. For her internship, she had the opportunity to work with and learn more about education advocacy and the NAD Language Deprivation Taskforce. Thanks to her internship at the NAD, it provided an excellent introduction to the world of medical ethics and policy as well as a window into how philosophical reasoning can function in the real world. She hopes to continue to do work that creates a culture of empowerment and access for everyone.
Ashura Michael
Ashura is from Kenya and was one of the Mandela Washington Fellows 2016. Ashura recently received her diploma in Law at the Inoorero University in Nairobi, Kenya. Ashura is currently a student at the University of Nairobi, studying for her Bachelor of Arts in Gender and Africa Development. She is looking forward to completing her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) to become the first deaf lawyer in Kenya! Ashura is very passionate in advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities in Kenya. Ashura has served on several international and national organizations. She is a member of Young Voice, a Leonard Cheshire Disability project that supports young people with disabilities (PWDs) to campaign for disability rights and equal access. Ashura is also a former co-chair for the Global Partnership on Children with Disabilities Youth Council, and serves as the Secretary General of the Kenya National Association of the Deaf (KNAD). She is an ambassador for International Deaf Education, Advocacy and Leadership, and a Gender and Social Inclusion Officer for the Peace Ambassadors Integration Organization. Additionally, she is also a Special Interests Representative for Youth Synergy Kenya.
Thinaja Nadarajah
Thinaja was born in the world’s most diverse city, Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Thinaja is currently a senior at Gallaudet University, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Deaf Studies. As an intern at the NAD, Thinaja was able to apply her Psychology knowledge and skills to real life. It has been a learning experience for her. Tawny ensured that Thinaja seized every opportunity to work with different people so Thinaja could get a better picture of the responsibilities of the Education Policy Counsel at the NAD. As a volunteer at the 53rd Biennial NAD Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, it was a surreal experience for Thinaja to meet many new faces. She was thrilled to see many people with years of experience continue to be involved as successful advocates in the deaf community. She believes they are our daily reminders that we all can do anything. Thinaja thanks the NAD for this excellent opportunity to grow her interpersonal skills. It also helped Thinaja to define her career plan. She is looking forward to shining as a beacon, demonstrating her skills and talents for the community!