Pakistan

Introduction:

My name is Ali Akbar Noonari and I was born at Kandhkot city, Tehsil in Kashmore District, Sindh, Pakistan on the 24th of June, 1975. I passed my matriculation in May 1992. Since my birth, I had been facing many problems due to profound problem of hearing. But in spite of my hard hearing, I never gave up and continued doing my studies for the sake of completing my education up to M.A. Economics in November 1999 from the Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur. I got married at the age of 29 in 2004 and have 3 children.

Education:

My entire early education was a struggle and challenge. Continuing with my studies, I achieved many certificates in different programs and events following awards and qualifications. I completed my B.Com in Dec. 1998 and M.A. Economics in Nov. 1999 from Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur. 

Job:

When I was growing up, there was no concept of deaf schools or deaf education. I went to a hearing school, and had to teach myself. In 1999, I started my job at the Deaf Reach Training Centre being the first teacher. I only taught children in the afternoon until then in 2007 I started teaching both, children in the morning and adults in the afternoon. I became the Principal of DRS in 2010 and successfully became the manager by 2012. I also have opened 7 Deaf Reach Schools which are located in Rashidabad, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah and Lahore and recently, in Badin and Thatta, running successfully. Recently, I’ve been working on a PSL project along with my team to upload new sign language words for deaf people all across the world.

Travelling:

As an ambassador, I have been travelling to different parts of Pakistan, supplying PSL books to different deaf schools. I also have been travelling to foreign countries as a tourist and participant in many events including sports and conferences. My first foreign trip to Australia with the purpose of participating as the General Secretary in the 20th Summer Deaflympics, 2005, had been a very amazing and a thrilling experience. Following my trips to Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Canada, Turkey, USA, Germany and France, I visited Orebro, Sweden, to participate in documenting/ recording the dictionary of Pakistan Sign Language (PSL) at studio to be later added to “Spreadthesign.com”, inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Silvia in March 2009, which now running successfully around the world helping many deaf people learn sign languages from different countries.

New Zealand

James Anderson-Pole is passionate about Deaf learners achieving their full potential and for the Deaf community to have full and equal access to society. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems, and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary), both from the University of Auckland.

He is currently Team Leader for Deaf Aotearoa’s New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Translation service. He leads a team of Deaf professionals who translates information from English into NZSL. He works with other Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) and government agencies to ensure the disabled community has access to information.

His recent experience includes being a Teacher of the Deaf for Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education New Zealand from 2017 to 2022 where he was a classroom teacher for Deaf students between the ages of 5 to 13. He was also involved with developing resources for use in Deaf education. Prior to that, when he was a student, he was a student representative on the Board of Trustees for Kelston Deaf Education Centre from 2003 to 2005. Hence, he understands the many different perspectives of Deaf education as a student, Board member, resource developer and as a classroom teacher.

Pakistan

Aaron Awasen is a SODA working towards quality education, advocacy and accessibility alongside Pakistan's Deaf 

community for over 17 years.

At Deaf Reach, Aaron's responsibilities include:

• Oversight of 8 Deaf Reach schools in Pakistan

• Parent and teacher counselling and training

• Deaf job placement

• Pakistani Sign Language development

• Digital learning resources

• Researching best practices in Deaf education

• Deaf advocacy and policy development at provincial, federal and international levels

Aaron was the lead project manager for the Pakistani Sign Language (PSL) lexicon and is currently developing a digital platform that provides parent and educators with the tools required to educate Deaf children in the early years. Additionally, Aaron is the project lead developing a platform for a Deaf community-led PSL corpus.

www.deafreach.com

www.fesf.org.pk

United States

Michele Berke was raised bilingually in a Deaf family and has worked for over 30 years in programs within the Deaf community. Her experience includes management of a rest home for deaf and deaf-blind senior citizens, directing Gallaudet University's western regional office, coordinating a US Department of Education funded project to develop an ASL Assessment tool, and teaching college-level Linguistics of ASL courses. Berke currently works at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont as Principal in the Early Childhood Education Department. Her doctoral studies in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from the University of Colorado in Boulder focused on exploring the shared reading practices of Deaf and hearing mothers and their pre-school children. 

United States

Suzanne “Suzy” Best, a Deaf mentor of ASDB in Tucson, Arizona focuses on advocating for the home visit families with deaf children in learning about sign language, Deaf culture and Deaf history. Including preparing events for their entertainment, personal and communication development. Prior to this I was a teacher assistant for the deaf first graders and that is when got my attention in becoming a Deaf mentor. As to help the parents make their right decision for their deaf children’s future. I have worked for CSDR in Riverside, one on one with a special need student in assisting with learning skills along with other students in the classroom. I have worked for CoDIE (Center of Deafness of Inland Empire) in California as a Job Readiness Trainer for the Deaf international adults. To help prepare them for learning ASL, writing and reading in English and Math before they go to college or work. I have also worked with various special needs, including Deaf-Blind for 6 years in Seattle, Washington.

United States

Shane Blau is a hearing researcher who believes in engaged, applied research led by community members. He learned American Sign Language as a teenager, and has spent most of his adult life involved with D/deaf communities, as a classroom aide, teacher, interpreter, and researcher. Shane received his PhD from Gallaudet University (2023) where he studied how deaf babies acquire signed languages. He now teaches language acquisition and sign language linguistics, and works with the Family ASL Project, a collaboration between Gallaudet University, Hunter College, and the University of Connecticut. The project follows young deaf kids with hearing parents who have chosen to use sign language with their child. It aims to explore the impact of early sign language experience when parents are newer signers, and to see how this experience impacts acquisition of both signed and spoken languages. Shane is extremely thankful to the many wonderful D/deaf individuals who have welcomed him and shared their expertise. He hopes to find ways to support D/deaf leaders and researchers in their critical work to ensure that all deaf babies have access to language.

New Zealand

Natasha is proudly Deaf and dedicated to improving the opportunities for the next generation of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their families.

Natasha was one of the first Facilitators in the First Signs service when it was established in 2014. Since 2016 Natasha has held the position of First Signs Team Leader.

In just five years the First Signs service grew to a nationwide service currently working with 180 families to support them to incorporate NZSL and a Deaf way of life into their family home and daily interactions.

First Signs service has received an additional funding to reach 280 families per year by 2026.  –www.firstsigns.co.nz

New Zealand

Here Wayne Cloete, I went Family Centre Early invention (FCEI) congress 2022 with my wife (Natasha Cloete).  Since then, I have been inspired by how Deaf leadership from DLIA encourages including Deaf Adults professionals from anywhere worldwide in the early invention program to provide a role model.  I am a father of my Deaf son too. 

United States

Jodee Crace ‘hearts’ being an early intervention and family support provider, trainer and coach for over 30 years. Crace holds a M.A. in School Counseling with Deaf Students from Gallaudet University. In 1987 Jodee began her professional career as a staff therapist with a mental-health agency in Indianapolis, primarily serving families with deaf children. Several years later, Crace dived into the early intervention world, which was very new at that time, performing a variety of roles within counseling and education with families learning visual language and their well-being. Between 2010-2022, Crace taught some courses with Gallaudet University’s Infant Toddler and Families Interdisciplinary and Collaboration Certification Program (ITF; now ‘Early Intervention Specialist Program, Master’s Level’). Most noteworthy is that Crace was instrumental in ensuring that the JCIH (Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) Best Practice document (2013) incorporated a holistic approach fostering the family’s understanding of and honoring the infant and young child being deaf along with the confidence of learning and using visual language strategies within the family’s life. During Crace’s leadership with ASL Connect | Families at Gallaudet between 2018-2021, she formed a virtual live language mentoring program for birth to three families. Simultaneously, between 2014 to 2023, Jodee conducted SKI-HI Deaf Mentor training across the country. While in this capacity, Jodee created a training module on Mental Health and Self Care to ensure that the deaf babies and young children and the family members experience positive visual and auditory languaging experiences. Currently, Crace provides coaching services for newly-trained Deaf Mentors to grow their abilities and confidence in providing early intervention family-centered services. Being a native Hoosier, Crace continues to provide direct Deaf Mentoring services with the early intervention families in Indiana. In Crace’s free time, she enjoys reading, walking, hanging out with her family and going to the beach.

United States

Patrice Creamer is an ASL Specialist for the Hunter College consortium on a research project titled "Family ASL: Bimodal Bilingual Acquisition by Deaf Children of Hearing Parents," supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She works remotely across the nation with families who have deaf children aged 2 and 3. Patrice is aiming to include more families of color.

Patrice currently serves as the Vice President on the Board of Trustees at Lexington School for the Deaf. She has been active in the Deaf Community as a member of the National Black Deaf Advocates, where she serves as an officer at the national, regional, and local levels. Additionally, she is the Director of Artistic Sign Language for theaters.

India

I am from Kolkata, India. I am a PhD scholar in India and founder of Bondhu. 

Austria

Frank started learning sign language a few years ago. What was supposed to be just an excursion shortly turned into a longer journey as he is now married to a CODA and has a son who is Deaf.

For Frank it is clear that only Deaf people know what Deaf children need, because they know and understand the situation best.

Frank has a parent group in Austria and advocates for parent-to-parent support.

During the day he works as a computer scientist in a software company.

Ghana

Richard Doku holds Bachelor degree in Special Education from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Ghana. Richard is Deaf. He is a mathematics teacher and also the sign language project officer with the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD).

Richard’s experience as a deaf teacher and many years of working with the GNAD led to his role as Research Assistant in a British Academy Global Challenges Research Funded research on Early education for young deaf children and their caregivers in Ghana which is a collaboration between the University of Leeds, UK and UEW.

His research interests are in early education for deaf children, inclusion for special needs individuals and sign language recognition in Ghana.

Richard is currently a final year Master of Philosophy in Special Education student. He hopes to build his research network with academics across the globe to support early education for deaf children in Ghana (particular).

New Zealand

Bridget is the General Manager of Children & Youth Services at Deaf Aotearoa. She has worked in the Deaf sector for 30 years, in a variety of roles including NZSL/English Interpreter, teacher of the Deaf, Advisor on Deaf Children for the Ministry of Education and currently as a senior leader in Deaf Aotearoa. In 2014 Bridget led the establishment of the First Signs service. Bridget is a staunch advocate for the rights of Deaf children and their families. She brings to her work not only the professional knowledge and experience but also personal knowledge and experience as she is a parent of three bimodal bilingual children two of whom are Deaf.

United States

Michele Friedner is an associate professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, USA. As a deaf medical anthropologist, she conducts research on deafness and disability more broadly. She has written two monographs: Valuing Deaf Worlds in urban India (Rutgers UP 2015) and Sensory Futures: Deafness and Cochlear Implant Infrastructures in India (Minnesota UP 2022) in addition to numerous journal articles and commentaries. Her goal is for deaf and hard of hearing children and families to have all the modal, sensory, and relational opportunities available to them.

United States

Elaine Gale is an assistant professor and coordinator of the deaf and hard of hearing teacher preparation program at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY).  She is currently the chair of the Deaf Leadership International Alliance (DLIA), an organization established to advocate deaf adults in diverse roles throughout early intervention programs from decision-making to service provision.  Her research experiences include joint attention, theory of mind, and sign language development.  At present, she is the Lead Investigator for the Hunter College consortium on a research project titled Family ASL: Bimodal Bilingual Acquisition by Deaf Children of Hearing Parents supported by the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

India

Debopriya graduated in Animation Film Design from the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad. She achieved the position of Senior Visualizer at Ogilvy & Mather in Kolkata, where she was awarded the esteemed Ogilvy Heroes Best Young Designer Award. Following this, she devoted five years of her career to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as a designer, earning recognition as the recipient of the Best Employee Award from the Government of West Bengal. Currently, she holds the role of Creative Controller at Ogilvy. She co-founded Bondhu with Sneha Das Gupta, helping young and adult deaf individuals achieve a better future and advocating for their rights. Additionally, she assists Anwesha Kolkata’s mothers in understanding and connecting with their children.

United States

Danelle is the Collaborative Plan Program Director with the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing. As the program director, Danelle manages the Collaborative Plan goals, responsibilities, and workflow established by the stakeholders. The Collaborative Plan is a network of agencies, schools, and organizations that work together to create positive, systemic changes to achieve better education and career outcomes for students who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing from birth to age 22. Previously, Danelle served as the Deaf Mentor Family Program Manager at Lifetrack, Inc. The Deaf Mentor Family Program (DMFP) is a statewide program that provides Deaf Mentors who are language role models to hearing families with deaf and hard of hearing children. Deaf Mentors and Teachers DHH have worked together in several instances to track their students' language milestone benchmarks.  Danelle has been working in the EHDI system for 18 years. Danelle is passionate about the collaborative work necessary to further advance EHDI for children and families. Danelle is also a National Certified Deaf Mentor Trainer with the SKI-HI Institute at Utah State University.  

United States

Dr. Patrick Graham is the Department Chair of the Master of Science in Secondary Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which is a teacher preparation program at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He obtained his PhD from the University of Georgia in 2014 in Educational Theory and Practice, with his dissertation study about body language and cultural habitus of deaf teachers in three countries, France, Japan and the United States. He is currently serving as a Young Leader for the French-American Foundation, which brings together French and US citizens to discuss global issues such as poverty, economy, culture, and education. He has participated in several projects in France, Japan, Ghana, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and the US. His research interests is in language deprivation, curriculum management, international education, and literacy.

Anita became Chief Executive of the charity Auditory Verbal UK (www.avuk.org) in 2013 following a 20 year career working in the UK civil service. As a senior civil servant, she led communications on the government’s disability, employers, pensions and poverty agendas, working with a succession of cabinet ministers, business leaders and third sector organisations.

Anita is profoundly deaf, having lost her hearing progressively from childhood. She had cochlear implant surgery in 2006 and brings to her role at AVUK and the DLIA personal insight into hearing loss and a passion for improving outcomes and opportunities for DHH children and adults.

In 2014 Anita became the first CEO of a UK-based charity to be awarded the Macquarie David Clarke Social Innovation Fellowship and was nominated for the 2015 Rising CEO of the Year at the Third Sector Awards. In Dec 2016 Anita was awarded a Fellowship by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. Anita is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing; a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a former governor of a primary school in Buckinghamshire, England. 

United States

Karen Hopkins is the Executive Director at The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. Karen oversees early interven, the Bilingual Bimodal Preschool Program at MECDHH and school for the deaf site based programming. She serves on  the Percival Baxter Foundation, Hands & Voices HQ Board, the Maine Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Board and Maine's Commission for Deaf /Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened.  Karen has served on many committees and tasks forces through Maine and the US.  Karen holds educational degrees and certifications in the following:  Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education,  Special Education, Director of Special Education, Building Administrator, and Superintendent.  Karen has received degrees and certificates of advanced studies from Gallaudet University, University of Maine and University of New England.  Karen grew up in Northern Maine and is a Deaf adult who has three children one of whom is hard of hearing. 

Germany

Ege Karar works research assistant at the RWTH University of Aachen, Germany, and leads the project test procedures for the assessment of occupationally relevant competencies of Deaf and hard of hearing people. He led the project Deaf Train improving the transcultural social skills of Deaf persons, He is Deaf sign language interpreter in DGS, TID and International Signs.

New Zealand

Liz is a CODA, aswell as parent to 3 Deaf children. She has spent the last 20 years as a NZSL Interpreter but recently studied at the University of Canterbury a degree in Teaching and Learning. Liz is currently employed at Deaf Aotearoa as a Child and Youth Team Leader. She is passionate about bilingual pathways for Deaf tamariki so their language development can thrive. Liz supports the team of Child and Youth facilitators to provide a high quality service to create an environment for Deaf children to learn NZSL, grow and succeed.

Japan

Born and raised in Japan, Yutaka comes from a deaf family and grew up using Japanese Sign Language. Currently employed at Comekko, a non-profit organization in Osaka, he is dedicated to fostering sign language acquisition among deaf and hard-of-hearing children aged 0-6 and their families. His work at Comekko is supported by the Nippon Foundation and commissioned by the Osaka Prefecture. Yutaka has an aspiration to concentrate his research efforts on the intricate field of language acquisition. 

United States

Chris Kurz, PhD, is a Deaf professor for the Master of Science in Secondary Education program and director of the Mathematics and Science Language and Learning Lab at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, USA. 

While teaching courses in STEM (science, technology, enginering and  pedagogy and signed language acquisition and pedagogy, he directs international projects on deaf literacy using the World Around You (WAY) crowdsourcing platform which has an online library of free signed storybooks for Deaf young children in multiple sign languages and provides training in signed storybook development and translation. The projects support deaf community engagement and parent involvement in deaf younger children's formative years.

His research interests include signed and written content language and literacy in mathematics and science, Deaf experience with math and science learning, and international deaf literacy and sign language documentation.

 He earned a PhD in Foundations of Education from University of Kansas and a BS in Applied Mathematics 

United Kingdom

Tom Lichy is Head of Policy at the British Deaf Association, one of the world's oldest Deaf associations, founded in 1890. 

His core values are that deaf people should lead on all aspects of deaf-related and sign-related policy and implementation: policy creation; service design & delivery; management & evaluation; budget holding & budget allocation – on all issues that impact the lives of deaf people, as mandated by UNCRPD, Article 4.3. 

Previous roles include CEO at Merton Centre for Independent Living, a pan-disability centre run and controlled by Deaf and Disabled people; Founder & CEO of DeafLondon, delivering campaign and Parliamentary lobbying training for deaf people across London.

An experienced Trustee, Tom has fulfilled the roles of Interim Chair at deafPLUS, a UK national deaf services charity run by Deaf people; Governor / Trustee at Inclusion London, a tertiary Disabled-led organisation that supports 70 other Deaf and Disabled organisations across London; UK Council on Deafness; Royal Association for Deaf People; Heathlands School for Deaf Children, and Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children (both BSL-led schools run and managed by Deaf people).

He has co-written a Private Members Bill on Deafness that was debated in Parliament; organised a pan-sector conference under Chatham House rules that became the basis for the UK's BSL Act 2022; worked in policy and legislation on genetic engineering and disability, developed an alternative perspective now covered as a standard case study in genetics ethics textbooks globally that many Deaf parents are pleased to have deaf babies and do not see them as disabled or requiring genetic modification; and worked in a United Nations working group that created a model regulatory framework for national Deaf and Disabled telecommunications relay services worldwide.

Belgium

Vanessa Lopes Ferreira Abreu works as an early interventionist at the Flemish Service for Home Guidance Thuisbegeleidingsdienst Woluwe in Brussels. She boasts over 20 years of experience working at the first Flemish bilingual-bicultural Deaf school, Kasterlinden, in Brussels. In addition to her roles as a teacher of the deaf and a student counselor in both deaf and mainstream schools, Vanessa held the position of vice-chairman at 't Signaal, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting bilingual-bicultural education for deaf children. As a result, she co-developed a project which incorporates deaf role models in early intervention, implements a curriculum of visual communication for parents, and lobbies for a sustainable solution to offer these programs. In 2021, Vanessa, who is deaf herself, decided to pursue a career change to focus on early intervention. Her resilience is evident in her academic achievements, having studied applied linguistics and earned a Master's degree in Translation. She pursued a Teacher ’s degree and several coaching trainings. She trained and coached teachers of the deaf for years. Now, she dedicates herself to coaching parents and other professionals.   Vanessa strongly believes in setting high expectations for parents and encouraging deaf children to perceive the sky as the limit. 

South Africa

Lucas Magongwa is a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa and the coordinator of Deaf education within the Centre for Deaf Studies, Wits School of Education. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the field of deaf education, teaching sign language, deaf pedagogy and deaf culture across various schooling, ranging from primary through secondary to university level. Prior to working at the university, he managed North West Secondary School for the Deaf from 2000 to 2001. His research interests are South African Sign Language (SASL) curriculum, early intervention, language policy and social justice. He is the former National chairperson of the Deaf Federation of South Africa and served on the World Federation of the Deaf Education committee.  Lucas recently is completed his PhD in Deaf Studies, in which he investigated the experiences of teachers during the introduction of SASL Curriculum in schools for the Deaf.

United Kingdom

After 25 years in Fundraising, Rebecca was appointed to the role of Chief Executive at the British Deaf Association (BDA). The BDA is the only national representative organisation of British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL) in the UK through their membership with the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and European Union of the Deaf (EUD). Through these organisations the BDA represents the UK at the United Nations, the European Disability Forum, the Council of Europe and other regional and global alliances.

The BDA was founded by Deaf people in 1890 following a devastating resolution at an 1880 global Conference on Deaf Education to ban deaf children from using sign language at school. Decisions made by those educators a century and a half ago still shape Deaf people’s lives in Britain today.

Rebecca is passionate about social justice and Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Rebecca is an elected Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) and has served as a Trustee on several charity boards. Rebecca is a Trustee observer on the CIOF’s EDI governance committee.

United States

Dr. Amber J. Martin is a deaf developmental psychologist whose research examines the relations between language and cognition across development. She studies how early language learning experiences of deaf and hearing children shape their developing cognition. She is particularly interested in the consequences of early language deprivation during critical language learning years.

 At the Department of Psychology at Hunter College of the City University of New York, Dr. Martin directs the Cognition Language and Sign Laboratory (CLAS Lab) and mentors emerging researchers in the field. She teaches undergraduate psychology courses in child development, experimental methods, cognition, and language.

Australia

For many years, Kristen Mason has been a passionate advocate for the Deaf community, even before joining Deaf Connect in 2014. As a Deaf individual with a cochlear implant, fluent in ASL (American Sign Language), Auslan (Australian Sign Language), and spoken language, she brings a unique perspective and deep personal commitment to her work.

Starting as a Team Leader in Lifestyle Support Services, Kristen quickly made her mark by leading transformative changes, especially during the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). By 2015, she was promoted to Manager/General Manager, where she continued to enhance operational efficiency, improve service quality, and expand support services.

In her role as General Manager of Therapy and Family Services, Kristen leads a diverse team of over 30 professionals, including speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, teachers of the Deaf, allied health assistants, a psychologist, a social worker, and family support specialists. She is dedicated to creating a holistic support system for children and families, ensuring everyone receives personalized and effective care and support.

Kristen holds an Advanced Diploma in Community Sector Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, which help her understand the complex dynamics of community and advocacy work. Outside of her professional life, she is committed to personal growth, continual learning, and exploring different cultures through travel. Her values of inclusivity and equal access drive her both at work and in her personal life, inspiring those around her and fostering a supportive and collaborative environment.

Iran & Canada

Guita Movalali is synonymous with making meaningful impacts. She is a dedicated advocate and leader in the field of support for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, whether it be in her role as a tenured Faculty Member in one of the leading institutions and, founder of Parvaneha Association for Iranian Parents with DHH Children in the Middle East, or in her role as an advocate for Deaf children and their parents to advance their inclusion in mainstream society on a greater scale, now in Canada. 

Her contributions span over 30+ years globally where she created Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI) programs that addressed integration into the mainstream society for Deaf families, was the progenitor for Persian Cued Speech, and cultivating Deaf Leadership. Her efforts culminated in her being a recipient of the 2016 Educator Award for Excellence and Innovative Leadership from the National Cued Speech Association. Guita continually strives to bridge the cultural gap and has edited and translated 17 children’s narratives and 33 books about Deaf children and adults from English to Persian language as part of her numerous accolades.

She has advocated and implemented change on a macro scale and initiated FCEI & DLIA (Deaf Leadership International Alliance) movements within Iran in various roles relating to early intervention for the Deaf community. 

Moving to Canada In 2021, Guita came on board as Early Years Director in Voice for deaf & hard of hearing children organization, Toronto, Canada and became its Program and Development Manager in 2023, continuing her mission of empowering the Deaf community through initiatives like Annual Conference, Teen/Young adults mentorships, Hearing Heroes Hangouts, Parents Meet Ups, and various advocacy activities.

Norway

Sonja Myhre Holten serves as a senior adviser at the Language Council of Norway, specializing in Sign Language Planning.

Experiencing profound deafness at the age of 18 after a gradual hearing loss since late childhood, Ms.Holten underwent cochlear implant surgery in 2012. Fluent in Italian, Norwegian, and English since early childhood, she embraced Norwegian Sign Language upon joining the deaf community, becoming fully integrated.

Ms. Holten is a teacher with a comprehensive background in special education and holds a full Master of Philosophy in languages, specializing in general linguistics and sign language linguistics. In her master's program, she also delved into areas such as multilingualism, language acquisition and sociolinguistics, broadening her expertise in language planning.

She is currently serving as a Senior Advisor at the Language Council of Norway, the state’s administrative body for language issues. Her role at the Language Council, acting as a coordinating force, she facilitates cross-sector partnerships between public entities. This also involves promoting and protecting Norwegian Sign Language. She plays a pivotal role in the implementation of the Language Act, dedicated to informing about and implementing Norwegian public language policy.

Ms. Holten brings extensive experience to the table, having served as the head of the Norwegian Association of the Deaf and actively participated in numerous deaf and political organizations for over three decades. Her significant contributions to the community include her involvement in the "See My Language" project, which offers a parent program providing free Norwegian Sign Language learning resources for parents of children aged 0-16 years, promoting the cultural legacy of Norwegian Sign Language.

United States

Dr. Robert Nutt graduated from Dartmouth College with a dual major in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Comparative Religious Studies. He received his doctorate of medicine degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He then moved to Rochester, New York, where he worked in the International Center for Deaf Health Research and taught deaf and hard of hearing students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He completed his pediatric residency training at the University of Rochester Medical Center (Golisano Children’s Hospital) in New York, followed by clinical fellowship training in both Academic General Pediatrics and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Dr. Nutt was a Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) fellow (2014-2015) and received his Master’s in Public Health degree from the University of Rochester (2016).

Dr. Nutt has served on numerous task forces and advisory committees, including the American Academy of Pediatrics Leadership Team on Early Hearing Detection and Intervention and the North Carolina Council on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He has been invited to present at regional, national, and international conferences on the importance of early identification of hearing loss, the importance of bilingualism (English and ASL) on the development of deaf and hard of hearing children, and the complexity of deafness and developmental disabilities, especially that of deafness and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Nutt believes strongly in the inclusion of parents and siblings in the care of a child with special needs. He currently practices at the Clinic for Special Children in Wilmington, North Carolina where he brings his dedication to the whole child and this wealth of clinical, educational, and research experience to an exceptional and thriving Tier 3 Advanced Medical Home for children with complex developmental and behavioral conditions and their families.

Africa

Peggie is an experienced and passionate educator specializing in teaching deaf children, with over a decade of experience in the field of deaf education. She has dedicated her career to enhancing educational opportunities for early years deaf children through the power of Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) and visual storytelling. Her work focuses on providing engaging, accessible learning experiences that foster language acquisition and cognitive development for young deaf learners.

A highly skilled sign language teacher, Peggie has contributed significantly to the development of digital educational resources. She has collaborated with eKitabu, an organization dedicated to digital storytelling, where she has been instrumental in creating and adapting stories in Kenyan Sign Language for deaf children. These resources are crucial for promoting literacy and making educational content accessible to deaf students in Kenya.

In addition, Peggie has been deeply involved in the technical aspects of sign language education and training. She has played a key role in Kenya Sign Language training initiatives, offered through the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) in partnership with the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE). Peggie’s expertise in the use of first language (Kenyan Sign Language) in teaching early years deaf children has also led her to collaborate with organizations such as Deaf Child Worldwide and Sense International Kenya. Through these partnerships, she has monitored and supported the implementation of first language use in teaching deaf children in various schools for the Deaf across Kenya.

Currently, Peggie is pursuing doctoral studies at the Universität Hamburg in Germany, where she is researching aspects of sign language education and development. She is also an Associate Researcher with the SemaSign Project, at the universität Hamburg. Her research aims to further enhance the quality of education KSL documentation and preservation and communication for deaf children, particularly in the African context. Peggie is committed to promoting inclusion, advocacy, and the right to education for deaf children in Kenya and beyond, with a strong focus on the use of sign language as a bridge to literacy and learning.

Peggie holds a MA degree in Deaf Education with a focus on Early Childhood Education from Gallaudet University, Washington DC United States and BA degree in Special Education from Kenyatta University.

United States

Bettie is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. She is working with Dr. Lillo-Martin in the Sign Linguistics and Language Acquisition Lab and on the Family ASL Project. She got her M.Ed. from Utah State University in Deaf Education Early Intervention while raising her two children. She then worked for the New Mexico School for the Deaf in Santa Fe where she served families with d/hh children from birth to six years old for 15 years. She feels very passionately about the quality of early intervention provided to families and decided she needed a Ph.D. in order to impact early intervention training and research. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Linguistics from the University of New Mexico. Her current research focuses on how hearing parents' understanding of deafness is socially constructed through their early intervention experience. She has seen first-hand the impact that meeting Deaf adults has on parents' understanding of what is possible for their d/hh children. She hopes to act as an ally by illuminating how society's view of deafness and early intervention practices perpetuate ableism/audism and that we each have a part to play in breaking down these stereotypes/stigmas.

United States

Dr. Julie Rems-Smario is deeply committed to advocating for early language acquisition and education programs. She currently serves as the Deaf Education Programs Consultant within the Deaf Education unit of the California Department of Education's State Special Schools and Services Division. Additionally, she plays a vital role in California’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs, where she serves as one of the statewide coordinators for LEAD-K Family Services.

In her capacity at the California Department of Education, Dr. Rems-Smario has made significant contributions. She directed California's Newborn Hearing Screening Project as the Principal Investigator (PI) before it became LEAD-K Family Services. She also supervised data collection for SB 210 (California's LEAD-K law), developed resources for families of Deaf children, provided training for Early Start teachers, and offered crucial technical assistance to K-12 Deaf education teachers. In addition to her professional work, Dr. Rems-Smario volunteers as the PR Director for the National LEAD-K Campaign, which has successfully passed language milestone laws for Deaf infants and young children in 22 states.

Dr. Rems-Smario earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Social Justice from California State University, East Bay in 2021. She also holds a BA and MA from California State University, Northridge, and an MS from San Francisco State University. Additionally, she shares her expertise as an adjunct faculty member at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Residing in the Bay Area with her spouse and three chihuahuas, Dr. Rems-Smario finds great joy in spending time with her three grandchildren.

United Kingdom

Dr Katherine Rogers is a Senior Lecturer / National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK. She co-leads the Social Research with Deaf people (SORD) group at the University of Manchester. She completed a Doctoral Research Fellowship in 2013, funded by the NIHR. Her research interests primarily involve issues pertaining to Deaf communities and their families, especially those which promote more positive outcomes. Examples of research projects that she has been involved with include Deaf role models, the mental well-being of d/Deaf people, evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of BSL IAPT, the validation of standardised psychometric instruments with d/Deaf populations, and a longitudinal study of deaf young people in the UK. Her research page can be found at: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/katherine.rogers.html

Canada

Kristin Snoddon is a deaf applied linguist and Associate Professor with the School of Early Childhood Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. Her research and professional experience include collaborative work with deaf communities in developing sign language and early literacy programming for young deaf children and their parents. Her longstanding program of research has focused on developing a parent American Sign Language curriculum that is aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Additionally, she analyzes policy issues related to inclusive education, sign language rights, and acquisition planning for ASL. 

New Zealand

Cheryl is a Children & Youth Team Leader at Deaf Aotearoa.

Cheryl is passionate about her work, supporting families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children to develop New Zealand Sign Language and to connect with the Deaf community.

Cheryl wants to inspire strong and positive aspirations for Deaf youth in Aotearoa.

United Kingdom

Ruth Swanwick is Professor of Deaf Education at Leeds University in the School of Education where she leads the deaf education research and teaches on the MA in Deaf Education/Teacher of the Deaf Programme. Ruth researches childhood deafness, language, and learning, inclusive and bilingual education,  and teacher development. Her area of specialism is deaf children’s multilingual communication and language learning, and the development of pedagogies and practitioner understanding. Recent projects 

have focused on the linguistic and cultural experiences of deaf children of Roma families in the UK and deaf children’s multilingualism, and the daily life interactions between deaf and hearing people. She led the recently funded British Academy Global Challenges Research Funded project that examined early education for young deaf children and their caregivers in Ghana. The outcomes of this project are captured in a collaborative book that will be published in August 2024 by Oxford University Press.

Austria

Sabine is a social carer  and work with toddlers, children and teenagers who are deaf and hard of hearing.  She also guides their parents and work in a team with speech therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists, where we have a great team spirit and good exchanges. 

Sabine's field of work is understanding and promoting (sign) language, communication between parents and their toddlers/children/adolescents, sign language classes for children and for parents, counselling of hearing and deaf parents, and strengthening identity,

Sabine has a deaf son who has a CI. He lives in two worlds and has also grown up with two languages.

United States

Dr. Christine Yoshinaga-Itano is a Professor Emeritus of the Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences and a Research Professor, in the Institute of Cognitive Science, Center for Neurosciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, adjunct faculty in the Department of Otolaryngology and Audiology at the University of Colorado, Denver and Board member emerita of Hands & Voices..  She is a visiting professor at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, Centre for Deaf Studies and an international doctoral faculty member at the

University of Verona, Italy, Psychology.  She developed the Marion Downs Center in 1996 and received funding from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Maternal & Child Health, the Office of Special Education, and the Office of Education since the early 1980s. Dr. Yoshinaga-Itano has assisted state departments of public health and education, schools for the deaf, and early intervention programs throughout the United States and its territories. In addition, she has served as a consultant for many countries who have developed early hearing detection and intervention programs. A major focus of Dr. Yoshinaga-Itano’s work in universal newborn hearing screening/early hearing detection and intervention since 1996 has been the infusion of D/deaf/hard of hearing leadership infusion and parent leadership in EHDI system development evident in the JCIH (Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) 2007, 2013 Early intervention Supplement and 2019.  She was the recipient of the 2020 ASHA Honors of the Association, 2017 Woman of the Year Lifetime Award, Boulder Business and Professional Women, 2016 AG Bell Association Volta Award, 2016 Fred Berg Educational Audiology Association Career Award, 2015 Libby Harricks Oration (Sydney, Australia):  Towards a new model for deaf infusion of leadership in early hearing detection and intervention services,

2015 Colorado Academy of Audiology Lifetime Career Award, the 2014 Antonio Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence, 2013 Academy of Audiology(AAA) Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology, the 2010 Robert Ruben Award for Research from the Society for Ear Nose and Throat Advances for Children, the 2010 Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Communicative Disabilities and Deafness Award, and the 2001AAA Research Achievement Award.

www.mdcresearch.net 

China

Xuan Zheng is a professor in the Department of Special Education at Beijing Normal University. She is also a visiting professor and director of the Research Center for Chinese Sign Language and deaf education at Chongqing Normal University. Dr. Zheng is the first Deaf person to receive a PhD in Chinese sign language linguistics from Fudan University in China. She is fluent in Chinese Sign Language, spoken and written Chinese and English, and learning American Sign Language. Dr. Zheng was awarded the George H.W. Bush Fellow Award 2017-2018 and is conducting research on a comparative analysis of deaf education between the U.S. and China. She has been conducting qualitative research in the U.S. at six residential schools for the Deaf around the nation which includes analyzing services and outcomes for students who are deaf in a comparative analysis between China and the United States. As a Deaf scholar, she plays a distinctive and important role in not only academics and research, but in forging the path for developing Deaf education and employment serving as a leading expert on promoting the value of Deaf identify founded upon Chinese sign language as a cultural-social linguistic minority.