Jenny Buechner

she/hers/her

President - 2022-2024

Jenny hails from Madison, Wisconsin, who works as a deaf interpreter. She graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in 1998 and from Gallaudet University in 2002 with a degree in Social Work. Jenny spends her time serving in leadership roles with various organizations, including the role of conference chair for the 2009 biennial conference and president for four years with the Wisconsin Association of the Deaf (WAD) from 2009 through 2013. Jenny served as the board president for two years with Deaf Unity, the only agency serving deaf people who experience domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes, prior to leading the agency as its executive director for one and a half years, in her tenure she expanded its programs and services, raised awareness of social justice issues within the deaf community as well as the hearing community. Jenny has served on the NAD Board since 2013. Jenny enjoys speaking to the community about social justice issues that directly relate to the deaf community.

James “Dino” Christianson Jr.

he/him/his

Region IV - 2020-2024

Dino was raised in San Luis Obispo county in California and graduated at California School for the Deaf in Fremont. He obtained his degree in Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Dino currently resides in the northwestern corner of Washington State with his wife, Maria, and their two beloved daughters. He has been a Client Advocate at Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center in Bellingham, Washington State since 2004. Dino was involved in Deaf Teen Leadership Camp in Randle, Washington in various roles and currently is one of the co-directors. Between 2007 and 2017, he has served as a board member for different organizations: Washington State Association of the Deaf as president and treasurer and Northwest Washington Community of the Deaf in various executive and committee roles. Dino has been a board member of Salish Sea Deaf School located in Burlington, Washington since 2015. Being involved in these organizations have brought Dino’s passion into politics as one of his main interests.

Michelle Cline

she/hers/her

Treasurer - 2022-2024

Michelle has a versatile skill set of experiences in counseling; policy work; and advocacy. Michelle has served as the NAD Treasurer since 2018. When Michelle served as President of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf, she advocated for Language Acquisition for all Deaf Kids and many other important topics. Michelle obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Rochester Institute of Technology and Master’s in Social Work from Syracuse University. After several different job stints, she has made Massachusetts her home. Michelle continues to volunteer her time to different organizations through advocacy. She has won several awards through her mantra of continuing to make a difference. Michelle is married to William and has three beautiful children together and is experiencing a nest that is almost empty. She enjoys spending time with her family and the little critters, Nevaeh, Stripey and Lilo.

Linsay Darnall, Jr.

he/him/his

Region II - 2020-2024

Linsay Jr. was born to deaf parents and, along with his brother, attended his parents’ alma mater, the Nebraska School for the Deaf where he graduated in 1988. He then studied government at Gallaudet University. Linsay Jr. has served local and state-level organizations in various capacities. He has served as the Region II board member of the National Association of the Deaf in the 2006-2008 term and was reelected to the same position in 2016. Linsay Jr. co-founded and is the board member of the Nebraska Deaf Heritage Museum and Cultural Center dedicated to preserving Nebraska Deaf heritage and ASL for posterity. Linsay Jr. has performed, coached, wrote scripts, and directed plays in various places and has starred in several video productions. Linsay Jr. is the film director of The Book of Job, which was produced by the Deaf Missions. He was also the director of ASL for the film The Silent Natural. He is currently involved in other movie projects. Linsay Jr. served as a chair of Deaf Education Taskforce subcommittee with the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He was the chair of the Nebraska Early Hearing Detection and Intervention advisory committee. He is an advisor to the Jr. NAD Nebraska/Iowa Chapter and has been volunteering at the Youth Leadership Camp since 2006. Linsay Jr. has received The James Sowell Appreciation Award from the Nebraska Association of the Deaf, The Spirit of NAD Award from the National Association of the Deaf, and Admiralship from the Governor of Nebraska. His work with deaf youth and theatre was featured in the Omaha World-Herald. Linsay Jr. founded Darnall Consulting LLC to work with various entities in education, advocacy, historical preservation and training. He is committed to developing training tools in leadership development across the nation.

Michael Deuel

Region III - 2022-2026

Michael is currently President of the Alabama Association of the Deaf. He works as an Outreach Coordinator and serves 12 states in the Southeast region with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) Special Projects located in Decatur, Alabama. He has worked as a Case Manager for the Deaf since 2015 with AIDB’s Regional Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Michael is a native Alabamian and alumni of the Alabama School for the Deaf 1996. He received a BA in Recreation Leadership from Jacksonville State University with a focus in community organization and leadership and pursued his Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Auburn University in 2019.

Stephanie Hakulin

she/hers/her

Vice President - 2022-2024

Stephanie works as a Deaf Interpreter and is currently the President of the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf. Stephanie was an Appointed NAD Board member in the previous term to focus on dismantling racism within the organization. She has been involved in advocacy organizations such as Deaf Women of Massachusetts, National Deaf People of Color Conference (as Co-Chair), Massachusetts Commission on the Deaf (as an Advisory Board Member) and more.  She has two lovely kids and loves sports!

Laura Kim

she/hers/her

Region IV - 2022-2026

Laura, a Korean-American Deaf female, originally from Chicago, Illinois, has worked as a K-12 Deaf Educator for over 13 years working closely with Deaf students, professional staff, deaf and hard of hearing families and the Deaf community. She graduated from Gallaudet University with two BA degrees in Communications and Graphic Design before enrolling at the University of California at San Diego to complete her Master’s in ASL-English Bilingual Education Teaching Credential Program. While a Teacher of the Deaf at San Diego Unified School District, Laura also served as a former ASL teacher for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, partnering with the Parent Link under the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Deaf Project for two years (2013-2015). Her role was to help deaf and hard of hearing families with ASL skills necessary to successfully communicate with their deaf and hard of hearing child. She is currently in her sixth year teaching middle school and absolutely loves working with this age group. She is dedicated to promoting positive reinforcement and restorative justice within the classroom. Her side work includes volunteering for the Southern California Asian Deaf Association (SCADA) organization as a local San Diego Country representative since 2019. Laura has been inspired by the organization’s positive engagement in building collaborative and active networking events. She has been involved in various activities promoting an appreciation for multicultural identity to recognize Deaf and Asian cultural values and ethnic identity. Laura has been serving as a Board Member for Region IV during the 2020-2022. Also, she is a Board Liaison for the Education Section and the Past Board Member section. Laura loves hiking, surfing, and exploring beaches.

Jacob Leffler

he/him/his

Region I - 2020-2024

Jacob currently works for the Federal Government and lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He is originally from Buffalo, New York. He is a graduate of the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University, BA in Government and Masters in Public Administration. He was involved with different organizations including the Maryland Association of the Deaf, Baltimore City Association of the Deaf, and Deaf in Government in various capacities. He was involved with Jr. NAD when he was a student at the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf. Jacob also enjoys cruising and traveling around the world.

Milmaglyn Morales

she/hers/ella

Secretary - 2022-2024

Milmaglyn, a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, is a certified K-12 Educator. She graduated from the University of Hartford with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Central Connecticut State University with a master’s degree in Special Education. Currently, Milmaglyn is a Director of the Early Childhood Center at the Learning Center for the Deaf and serves on the Connecticut Association of the Deaf Legislative committee. She also serves as Chair of Interpreters Qualifications Subcommittee of the CAD Legislative Committee. From 2005-2017, Milmaglyn was heavily involved in Council de Manos, a nonprofit organization seeking to gain awareness for the Deaf Latinx community and make international strides for the minority. While she no longer serves on the Board of Council de Manos, her heart always remains with them and their cause. Her passion to end injustice amongst members of Deaf Latinx community and her desire to ensure equal accessibility will forever reside as an underlying goal in future assignments and practices.

Lisa Rose

she/hers/her

Region III - 2020-2024

Lisa currently works as a Virtual American Sign Language (ASL) teacher with 6-12th grade students for the Pasco County School District and Lisa also is a Deaf Culture and ASL adjunct instructor with St. Petersburg College. Lisa became involved with the NAD since she was a middle school student starting from Pee Wee NAD, Jr. NAD and the NAD. She also worked at Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) during the summers of 1990-1994 as a camp counselor and Business Manager. She is a Past President of Florida Association of the Deaf (2017-2019). Lisa received her Master’s Degree in Deaf Education: Secondary Education in Social Studies and Bachelor’s degree in Government and Secondary Education from Gallaudet University. Lisa is a hardcore fan of the Baltimore Ravens football team.

Howard A. Rosenblum

he/him/his

Ex Officio Member - Chief Executive Officer

Officer of the NAD in April 2011 and also serves as an ex officio member of the NAD Board of Directors. Howard comes to the NAD after 22 years as a lawyer, focusing his practice on disability rights and special education law. For nine years, he was a Senior Attorney at Equip for Equality, the Protection & Advocacy entity for Illinois. The previous 10 years, he worked as an associate at Monahan & Cohen, and briefly as a legal counsel at Access Living, the center for independent living in Chicago. In 1997, he founded the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf, and served as Board Chair until 2011. In 2010 and again in 2014, President Barack Obama appointed Howard to serve on the United States Access Board. Howard has a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law. Born and raised in Chicago, he is a diehard fan of Chicago sports teams. Howard also enjoys traveling the world to meet deaf people in other countries and learning their sign languages.

Kevin Ryan

he/him/his

Region II - 2022-2026

Kevin was born in Chicago and grew up in Wisconsin. He is from a four-generation deaf family (on his mother’s side). After graduating from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf, he went to NTID to earn his AAS degree in Data Processing. After college, Kevin worked in Naperville, Illinois at Lucent, formerly known as the AT&T Bell labs for 11 years. He is now the owner of CR Construction Inc., a successful business for 20 years. Kevin loves serving the Deaf community; he’s been involved in many activities as an officer of the National Softball Association of the Deaf and served on the Illinois Association of the Deaf Board. Kevin is now serving as the Region II Board member, second term. Kevin and his wife have four wonderful children and during his free time, he co-leads his son’s boy scout troop.

Kimberly Thornsberry

she/hers/her

Appointed Board - 2022-2024

Kim joins the Board as an appointed member to focus on the Deaf Youth Well Being priority.  She is currently a School Counselor with the Utah Schools of the Deaf in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah.  Prior to working for USDB, Kim was employed as a Regional 1 Mental Health Therapist for the Deaf with the Alabama Department of Mental Health Office of Deaf Services in Huntsville, Alabama during 2014-2022. Kim also worked as a case manager at the Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville, Utah during 2007-2014.  Kim graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumers Studies: Child Development at Gallaudet University in 2003 and pursued a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with the Deaf at the Western Oregon University in 2006. She completed a graduate certification in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Counseling program at Troy University in 2021.  She has been married to Brian since 2000 and have two children, Stormi and Ty, along with two Goldendoodles, Snickers and Blitzen.

Tyese Wright

she/hers/her

Affiliate Board Member - 2020-2024