Self Empowerment: Witnessed Around the World. In her presentation, Debra Cole will offer information on deaf women as a marginalized group around the world, especially in developing countries. She will present statistical information on the differences between deaf women and the rest of the world’s population in terms of capital, employment, health, and education. She will then identify successful deaf women who have overcome such obstacles in various fields around the world. Also included will be a discussion of her experience as a deaf woman with Usher’s Syndrome in the competitive field of international development. She will relate it to all deaf American women in their search for serenity, equality, and self-fulfillment. |
| Debra Cole is a recent Fulbright Fellow who has taught and consulted on the education of deaf students in Italy, China, Turkey, and the United States. She is now actively involved with teams in Siena (Italy) and Hong Kong in English education research and curricular development of classes for deaf students in English as a foreign language. Currently completing her EdD at Teachers College, Columbia University as a major in International Educational Development, her study interests are language and literacy education, language policy, immigration, and foreign language education. She is also an associate editor for the student online professional journal Current Issues in Comparative Education. In her free time, she gives tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, experiments with ethnic dishes at home, and collects jigsaw puzzles. |
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So What Do You Do, Exactly? Being a Deaf woman establishing a business in a challenging market isn't easy, but it is possible! Participants will experience a fun, interactive workshop discussing the dos and don'ts of establishing a small business. Topics include getting all the paperwork done, building an identity, marketing, networking with both the deaf and hearing communities, and much more. Also shared will be unexpected lessons Trudy learned, some hilarious and some somber. Even if you aren't planning to establish a business, this workshop will be lively and give you a behind-the-scene glimpse of what it's like being a female business owner. |
| Trudy Suggs is the owner of T.S. Writing Services, LLC (www.tswriting.com), serving over 350 clients to date. She has long been involved with many organizations, and is currently the vice president of Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens and a board member with National Deaf Business Institute. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University and a master’s degree in public administration from University of Illinois-Chicago, and has worked as an administrator, educator and writer. In between presentations across the nation and teaching online writing courses, Trudy and her husband make their home outside of Faribault, MN. |
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Sound and Sign: Life in a Deaf Family. Due to a deaf family's unique composition and communication styles, are the children culturally different than their hearing peers? After consulting with a genetic counselor, Maureen needed to create a new life vision for her dream of parenthood. She would not be a deaf mother to deaf children as she expected but a deaf mother to two hearing children. She discloses her journey in raising a hearing son and daughter who are bilingual in American Sign Language and English. She also shares the power of knowledge one can get from genetic counseling. |
| Maureen O’Grady Hynes is an assistant professor of American Sign Language (ASL) in the psychology department at Anne Arundel Community College. She received her M.S. from McDaniel College in 1991. She has co-authored several articles about sign language structure and has conducted ethnographic studies about communication and psychosocial interaction between deaf babies and deaf mothers. She was a research assistant to a world-renowned linguist, Dr. Ursual Bellugi, at the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Studies at the Salk Institute, where she studied ASL as a natural language in deaf children of deaf parents. In the summer of 2006, she just completed developing a college textbook, Understanding the Language of the Deaf World, published by Pearson. |
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Cellular Nutrition. Medical research is discovering that the root of degenerative disease is oxidative stress. We are actually rusting inside. The prevention and treatment of corrosive diseases primarily involves providing your body with the proper nutrients to bring the oxidative stress back to balance. Nutritional supplements - vitamins and minerals - provide the best hope of turning the tide against degenerative diseases and combating the very aging process itself. Here you'll learn why RDA levels of supplements are archaic. You will learn how you can add quality to your years, not just years to your life. You may even possibly learn how to regain your health after it has deteriorated. This workshop will help you win the war against generative diseases and premature aging. The cell is the fundamental unit of life, and proper cellular function is the essence of health. Nutrition gives you the ammunition to win the war within. This is not alternate medicine; it's mainstream preventive health care. |
| Nancy Jo Shook (Leon) is one of four deaf children of deaf parents and was raised in Phoenix, AZ. Nancy Jo graduated from Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind in Tucson, AZ and attended Gallaudet College for 1 1/2 years. After her stint as a dormitory counselor at the New Mexico and North Carolina Schools for the Deaf, she attended a modeling school in Washington, D.C. for one year. Nancy Jo is an active associate of USANA Health Science - training her group members, give presentations on nutritional supplements, and sponsoring booths at various locations around the nation. Currently she resides with her husband, Wayne, in Old Orchard Beach, ME. |
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Time Management: Friend or Foe? Time management is an important skill, whether you work at home or in a corporate, education, or social service environment. In this age of corporate downsizing and staff reductions across the board in the public and non-profit sectors, American workloads are rapidly increasing. Learn some tools to ensure that you have time for multiple priorities yet have enough balance for you and your family. |
| Damara Paris is currently employed as the Oregon Account Manager for Sprint Relay. Prior to her Sprint position, she was the manager of 3 telecommunications assistance programs. A descendent of Cherokee and Blackfoot ancestors, Damara was the president (2002-2006) of Intertribal Deaf Coucil, a national organization for Native Americans in the USA and Canada. She currently serves as the IDC Executive Director in addition to her Sprint role. Damara served on the National Deaf Women United board from 1997 to 2001. She was the Vice President of DWU during the last 2 years of her term. Damara is also the Chair of the 2009 DWU conference, which will be held in Portland, Oregon. |
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How to Identify the Warning Signs of Domestic Violence
In this experience-based workshop, Diane Poulin will focus on preventive measures and strategies for dealing with a wide range of severity of abuse, beginning with attempts by husbands or domestic partners to impose control. Participants will learn to identify the "red flags," the warning signs of coming abuse. The workshop will teach not only the knowledge needed to prevent abuse, but strategies for putting that knowledge into action. For people who have already encountered abuse, the emphasis will be on motivation to change, motivation to stop repeating behaviors that trap you in the cycle of abuse. Empowered with this new knowledge and trust in ability to develop new approaches, you can apply this information to other parts of your life, and feel more comfortable and secure about yourself. |
| Diane Poulin, deaf since birth, is divorced and a single mother. She has five brothers, including two who are deaf. She lives near Augusta, in Maine's capitol area, where she grew up. Diane studied photography for one year at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in 1981. She is now working to set up a statewide domestic violence program for deaf women in Maine. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Maine Division of Deafness. Diane is an abuse survivor.
Diane has attended training workshops on domestic violence and victimization, including the National Coalition Conference for Deaf Abused Women and Children Advocacy Service "Justice for Deaf Victims" in Texas in March 2003. In April, 2003, she took "Introduction to Mediation" with Jacqui Clark and Debbie Mattson. In the summer of 2003, she took a Criminal Justice course at the University of Maine at Augusta on "Violence in the Family." She later took a one-month course in "Domestic Abuse and Family Violence Prevention" at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, in January, 2004, and attended a weekend-long Deaf Victims Advocacy Service in Vermont with Keri Darling in June, 2004. |
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Herstory of Two Deaf Sisters in Maine. June Carrier and Jane Byron will look back on their lives as Deaf women who grew up in Maine. They will talk about surviving their public school years, the Depression, learning to listen to the radio, doing “man’s work” during World War II, accommodations (in the days before ADA was passed) and job advancement at the paper mill. They also remember celebrating VJ day with sailors, meeting their husbands, marriage, raising children, and attending Deaf club functions. Their experiences with discrimination within the Deaf community and overcoming these obstacles, and success with the Maine Deaf Seniors will be told. Finally they will discuss some of their current activities as active and proud Deaf senior citizens. |
| June Carrier and Jane Byron (nee Leighton)
These two hard-of-hearing, culturally Deaf sisters were born in the early 1920s and raised in Westbrook, Maine (a suburb of Portland). Their parents were also deaf. They have a younger deaf sister, Joy who lives in California. The sisters attended local public schools at their father’s insistence, and both married Deaf men. June has been married to John Carrier for 63 years and Jane, after her husband of 54 years died, married to William Byron 3 years ago. Between them, the sisters have 7 children, 26 grandchildren, and 9 great grand children! They both worked in the paper mills for most of their working lives. June was a co-founder of the Maine Deaf Seniors in 1992, and was for many years the president and treasurer of that organization. June and Jane are avid crafters and artists. Jane will display her quilts, and June will show her craftwork and paintings at their booth. |
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Entertainment:
Three Deaf entertainers are honored to perform the Menstruation Monologues! What better way to open the door to share and start an impact on society than through art! The performance is very colorful and visual. Awesome information will be communicated to you via pictures regarding the historical aspects of a women’s outlook on menstruation; along with ASL and energetic body movement in storytelling. Here is a glimpse of the entertainment: During the Dark Ages, women were totally oppressed by men, especially when they had their periods. They were not allowed to harvest food during that time; otherwise the food would be considered spoiled. They were also forbidden to remain at home until they were "clean" and men had the "right" to check them if they were clean before they could have their moment together. Again, imagine how these women could cleanse their period under thick layers of skirts even in a hot summer! Each monologue tells a different story of menstruation: from a woman's, a child's, or a teenager's perspective. |
| Loretta S. Roult was the Entertainment chairperson for the national Deaf Women United (DWU) conference in Maryland in 2005. Prior to that DWU Conference, she was a part-time house engineer. She used her spare time to research menstruation and then gave a performance based on the information obtained through that research. This changed her life, and she knew it was a great opportunity to help empower women and girls about their bodies. The play is a good representation and an eye opener for many women which will spark dialogue and better awareness of themselves. Furthermore, Ms. Roult is honored to present this performance in company with two most excellent actresses: Ms. Joette Paulone and Ms. Pauline Spanbauer. This will guarantee the audience an immersive and unique experience. |
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