Touch & Positive Access for Learners who are DeafBlind
Touch & Positive Access for Learners who are DeafBlind Part 1 — 1 hour 38 minutes
Presentation slides 760 Kb
Touch & Positive Access for Learners who are DeafBlind Part 2 — 1 hour 31 minutes
Image Description: Heather is standing facing the camera, smiling, with a light green background. Her hair is long and curly and she is wearing a dark green short-sleeved shirt.
Heather Withrow, Mother & DeafBlind Advocate
Certified Orientation & Mobility Instructor
Heather Withrow, also known as Hex, is a mother of three children, one of who is DeafBlind, one of who is Deaf, and one of who is a KODA (KODA: Hearing Kid of Deaf Adults). In addition to serving as an advocate for Deaf and DeafBlind Texans, she has received a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from Gallaudet University and a Master of Education in Special Education from Texas Tech University. With a concentration in Orientation and Mobility and receiving a graduate certificate in Deafblindness, Hex is now a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS). She has also taught art and has coached volleyball and track and field.
Heather has served on various committees and boards that are to increase better learning and communication access for people who are DeafBlind. In one of her roles she serves on the development team for one of the modules in the Open Hands, Open Access modules on intervener training. Heather is also a member of the Texas Association for the Deaf (TAD), a lifetime member of National Family Association of DeafBlind (NFADB), a lifetime member of DeafBlind Multihandicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT) and a member of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). As a mother who is Deaf and a native signer, Hex brings a very unique perspective to the learning and world of access to her son and to others who are DeafBlind.
Image Description: Orion “chillin'” on the swing. Young white boy with short white hair laying on his back on a turquoise colored mesh swing with a smile on his face.
Becoming @BlindishLatina: Intersectionality, Disability Pride and Advocating
Becoming @BlindishLatina: Intersectionality, Disability Pride and Advocating 1 hour 24 minutes
Presentation slides 6 MB
Catarina Rivera MSEd, MPH, CPACC
[Image: Light-skinned female smiling at the camera in a tan coat and black shirt with a tan zig zag pattern. She has long brown hair. The photo is taken outside on a street with a blurred background.]
Catarina is a disability public speaker and DEI* consultant who works with companies to improve disability awareness, inclusion, and accessibility. She has worked with over 35+ clients since launching her company and has been featured in Nasdaq, Authority Magazine, and as one of the top 21 DEI influencers of 2021. Past clients have included HarperCollins Publishers, LinkedIn, Hachette Book Group, Whole30, Grant Thornton, and BCG Digital Ventures.
In the webinar, disabled public speaker, DEI* consultant, and content creator Catarina Rivera, MSEd, MPH, CPACC discussed her personal disability journey with Usher Syndrome as well as intersectionality and why it’s important. She will share her experience advocating for disability awareness and inclusion as a speaker and content creator.
*Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Back to School: Increasing Environmental & Tactile Access
Back to School: Increasing Environmental & Tactile Access 1 hour 24 minutes
Photo of Rhonda Voight-Campbell, a white middle-aged female with short, wavy brown hair, smiling at the camera. She is layered with a dark plaid shirt and a navy blue vest and is seated indoors in a restaurant.
Rhonda Voight-Campbell (white; she/her/hers)
Rhonda is adjunct faculty at the Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf in the ASL and Interpreting Education Department. Specifically, she teaches undergraduate students the necessary skills to work effectively with DeafBlind people. Rhonda also has extensive training in protactile communication strategies and provides consultation on the topic throughout the DeafBlind community and other parties.
She is also the on-going contributing author to the “Tapping Thoughts” series sponsored by NYDBC.
Black/white photo of Hayley, a white middle-aged female with long hair and wearing glasses.
Hayley Broadway (white; she/her/hers/they)
Hayley is known as the Community Nudger as her love of community work and teaching brings her happiness. She enjoys spending time with her teen boys and spouse, exploring ideas with friends and colleagues and poetry. Creating opportunities for DeafBlind teachers and DeafBlind students and sharing that experience for more nurturing growth of Protactile language is one of her biggest joys.
With expertise in educational services, her continued work in the protactile-related field, she has founded a company, called Touch Seeds, in order to provide support and resources to DeafBlind children and their families.