Keynote Speakers
Roberta J. Cordano |
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![]() Cordano brings to the Office of the President experience and skills built in both traditional and non-traditional settings. Prior to Gallaudet, Cordano was the vice president of programs for the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In that role, she was responsible for direct community-based programs to nearly 9,500 people in the areas of early childhood, community mental health, family supportive housing, aging and caregiver services, school reform, and food access. Her accomplishments range from managing and sustaining programs in a highly volatile revenue environment, providing community leadership, fostering innovation, strengthening and supporting diversity within the workforce, and structuring services for optimal alignment and collaboration. Prior to her position at the Wilder Foundation, Cordano held several leadership roles in the health care industry. She served as interim president for the Center of Heathcare Innovation at Allina Hospital Clinics (now known as Allina Health), and as president of the Park Nicollet Institute and vice president of Park Nicollet Health Services. In these roles, she led initiatives focusing on organizational change, innovation, community-based health initiatives, patient education, and research. Prior to her work in health care, Cordano held the position of assistant dean for the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota where she also served as the director of disability services in the Office of Multicultural and Academic Affairs (now known as the Office of Equity and Diversity). In those roles, she supported system-wide collaboration; navigated university budgeting processes; fostered innovation to strengthen access to higher education for people with disabilities, as well as people from different cultural and ethnic communities; and worked with faculty to structure and support academic and administrative initiatives. Cordano began her career as an assistant attorney general for the State of Minnesota, where she actively represented the people of Minnesota, as well as other states, through numerous multistate cases to prevent and cease consumer and charities fraud. She served as an expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. She was a frequent presenter on these issues, and helped lead a statewide training effort for all state agencies. During this time, she also served on the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Court Interpreters and was a key author of the statewide rule that assures access for all non-English language users in the courts. Cordano is a founding member of Metro Deaf School, a pre-k through eighth grade, a bilingual-bicultural charter school for deaf and hard of hearing children in St. Paul, and a founding board member of Minnesota North Star Academy, a bilingual-bicultural charter high school for deaf and hard of hearing students. Her 16 years of service to these schools culminated in the merger of both schools into one entity, with a significant building expansion for Metro Deaf School. In 2003, Ms. Cordano, along with Vice President Walter Mondale and former Minnesota Governor Elmer A. Anderson, was a recipient of the inaugural Public Leadership Award from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. In 2005, she received the Access Award from the Minnesota State Council on Disability. Cordano, who is deaf, is fluent in American Sign Language and English. Her parents are both Gallaudet alumni. Three generations of family have attended or are attending Gallaudet. |
Snigdha Sarkar |
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![]() Snighda has a Bachelor Degree in Law and has a qualification as a Special Educator for children who are deaf.
Snighda is a Parent of a deaf youth and started the parent support group “Anwesha Kolkata” in 2004 and is currently working as its President. She has played a pivotal role in creating a state level federation of network of parents and has also worked as the Secretary of the Disability Activists Forum, a cross disability platform in West Bengal from 2009 to 2015.
Snighda is a member of the Expert Committee on guidelines for conducting written competitive examinations for persons with disabilities, which was constituted by the Govt. of India and is a member of the committee for curriculum adaptation for students with special needs in West Bengal.
Snighda also has key leadership internationally, as she is a member of the core committee of GPODHH – The Global Coalition of Parents Of children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
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Christie Yoshinaga-Itano |
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![]() Over the last 20 years, she has focused on the impact of early-identification and early intervention on the developmental outcomes of children with significant hearing loss. Professor Yoshinaga-Itano was the first to demonstrate that when infants with hearing loss are identified in the first few months of life and provided with appropriate intervention services, that 80% these infants/children with significant hearing loss and no additional disabilities are able to maintain age-appropriate language development and intelligible speech in the first five years of life. As a result of this research, universal newborn hearing screening programs were implemented in the United States. The only other newborn screening mandated in the United States is screening for phenyketonuria (PKU). Professor Yoshinaga-Itano’s research demonstrated that it was critical that identification of hearing loss and early intervention must occur within the first six months of life in order for the majority of children with congenital hearing loss to maintain language development commensurate with their normal hearing peers, indicating that there is a sensitive period of communication development that requires access to language development early in life. She also studies the development of infants/toddlers and children with hearing disabilities in non-English speaking homes. The impact of early identification and intervention on successful outcomes of children with hearing loss was found irrespective of the socio-economic status of the families, the method of communication, the race/ethnicity of the family/child, or the gender of the child. As a direct result of her research studies, universal newborn hearing screening programs have now been implemented in all 50 states and also in many countries throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, Poland, and Brazil. |
Emily Vargas-Barón, Ph.D. |
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Claudine Storbeck |
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![]() She is the founder and director of the HI HOPES programme, the 1st home-based family-centered early intervention programme for families of deaf infants in Africa and has been working in partnership with the SKI-HI Institute at Utah State University, USA to develop a South Africanized version of the curriculum. Claudine has been named a world specialist in Deaf Education by the World Federation of the Deaf and has been involved in issues surrounding deaf education, teacher training and the education and support of young children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families for almost 2 decades. She is a fluent user of South African Sign Language (which has included interpreting for the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela). |
Lucas Magongwa |
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![]() Lucas was head-hunted by the University of the Witwatersrand to lead the Deaf Education programme and he currently teaches and coordinates Deaf Education and South African Sign Language within the Wits School of Education. Lucas is currently busy with his PhD in Deaf Education and his research interests include South African Sign Language as a medium of teaching and learning, the Deaf community and culture and the implementation of the South African inclusive education policy. Lucas is active at both local and international level debates on issues of Deaf Education, Sign Languages and the Human Rights of Deaf learners. Lucas is a hugely respected member of the South African Deaf Community and currently serves as the Chairman of the Deaf Federation of South Africa and is a member of the World Federation of the Deaf Education Committee. Lucas has published chapters in books and most recently published his Masters disseration. |
Guy Mcilroy
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Lorna Jacklin
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![]() Her primary interests include children with a variety of developmental delays and disabilities including Autistic Spectrum disorder, visual impairments and child abuse. As such, she sits on Boards and Committees for various organisations as specialist consultant but at heart still loves working with infants and their families. |
Jackie Oduor |
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De Wet Swanepoel |
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Karen Putz |
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Karen Putz is a deaf mom to three deaf and hard of hearing children who are now young adults. Karen is the Co-Director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infusion for Hands & Voices. Karen is the owner of Ageless Passions, providing coaching to help others unwrap their passions. She is the author of ten books, including the "Parenting Journey", "Raising Deaf" and "Hard of Hearing Children". For fun, she walks on water as a competitive barefoot water skier. |
Talita le Roux |
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Bianca Birdsey
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Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen
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![]() She was elected as a WFD (World Federation of the Deaf) Board member (2007-2011) and has been the President of the organising committee for the XVI World Federation of the Deaf Congress in Durban 2011 (2007-2011). In 2011 she was voted as the Vice-President of the World Federation of the Deaf (2011-2015), the first Deaf African woman to serve in that position. Locally she was elected as the first women for two consecutive terms as the National Chairperson of the Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA) during 2004 to 2008 and 2008 to 2012. She then served as the National Vice Chairperson of DeafSA during 2012 to 2016. She is currently serving as board member on DeafSA Management and National executive committees. Wilma studied Social Work at Gallaudet University where she also completed both her BA degree and Masters in Social work. In 1992 when receiving her BA degree, she was also the commencement speaker. She then received her Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Gallaudet University in 2009. She is married to Bruno Druchen, National Director of DeafSA, and is the mother of two children, Antonio and Nicole. |
Marian Bailey |
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![]() Marian is the founder of RAISING READERS, which exists to empower parents & educators with knowledge, skills and tools to help them get their children ready for reading and to support their children as they learn to read & write. RAISING READERS offers talks, parent workshops, teacher training and learning packs to promote letter, word and number recognition. Please click here to view more information on Learning Kits available for purchase. |
Debra Clelland
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Jan van Dijk |
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![]() For a brief overview of his decades of work in the field, see his website: www.drjanvandijk.org/ |
Paula Pittman
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![]() She has the privilege of working with early intervention providers in the US and around the world to support them in providing effective early intervention services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing through training workshops and one-on-one support services. In addition to her administrative and training responsibilities, she also continues to serve families directly in early intervention services. |
Juan Bornman
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![]() For the past 25 years she has been actively involved in the disability field as trainer, researcher and activist for one of the most vulnerable groups within the disability spectrum: those who are unable to speak. Her training and research comprise a variety of topics within rehabilitation by exploring strategies that increase participation, have an evidence base and are sustainable with a long-term impact. She also focuses on rehabilitation as a human rights issue for individuals with disability and how to ensure equal access to justice for those with little or no speech. She has published more than 46 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters (some with a research focus and some with a clinical focus). Besides this new edition of the book Believe that all can Achieve (co-written with Jill Rose), which is about increasing classroom participation in learners with special needs in an inclusive setting, she has published two other books: Just the same on the inside, which is aimed at demystifying the ten most common types of disability in children; and Stop the violence against people with disabilities: An international resource with Dr Diane Bryen, which breaks new ground in ensuring access to the criminal justice system for those individuals who require and/or use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She has done numerous presentations in South Africa and internationally on the topic of AAC, and has frequently been invited as a research fellow to more than 15 international universities. She has also participated in a number of large-scale international research projects on issues related to participation, multilingual issues in AAC assessment and intervention, and human rights. At the 2016 International Society for AAC (ISAAC) conference in Toronto she received the prestigious ISAAC Fellowship Award for outstanding and distinguished achievement in the field of AAC. |
Alecia Samuels
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![]() Dr Samuels has presented her work at a number of national and international conferences. She is the programme manager of the master’s degree in ECI, a programme which has seen more than 200 health and education professionals graduate over the past 13 years. She is a member of the International Society on Early Intervention (ISEI). |