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Inside Gallaudet - Gallaudet University
One-half of the individuals from across the nation who were selected by Purple Communications as trailblazers in the deaf community have something else in common besides helping improve the quality of life for deaf people in a number of areas—they are Gallaudet alumni.
Purple Communications, a Novato, Calif.-based provider of text and video relay and onsite interpreting services, announced on June 3 that it had selected 10 individuals from the deaf community who have made notable advances in the areas of art, business, civil rights, community, education, language, medicine, politics, and sports. Five of those individuals attended Gallaudet.
“We are pleased, and not surprised, that 50 percent of Purple Communications’ 2009 Dream Bigger Trailblazers are graduates of Gallaudet University,” said Brandon Arthur, vice president of Marketing Communications at Purple Communications. “Gallaudet’s rich history of providing higher education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students enables those students to realize their potential and to dream bigger.” Arthur added that alumni are also well-represented among the company’s staff.
Gallaudet alumni who made the list of outstanding achievers are: Dr. MJ Bienvenu, '74 & G-'83, Anita Buel, E-'74, Ella Mae Lentz, '76, Tate Tullier, '03, and Jeremias Valencia, '07. Bienvenu, an associate professor in Gallaudet’s Department of ASL and Deaf Studies, is a strong proponent of bilingual education for deaf students, as well as a passionate advocate for ASL. Buel, a cancer survivor, co-founded “Pink Deafies,” a support group for deaf cancer patients and survivors, and she has worked tirelessly for accessibility to healthcare and cancer education for the deaf community. Lentz, the co-author of a best-selling book and video on ASL and ASL poetry, is also a champion of the concept of Deafhood, a celebration of the deaf experience. Tullier, a photographer, is the founder of a successful photography business. Valencia, a former player for the American Basketball Association, is the founder of the Deaf Sports Academy of Riverside, Calif.
Also on the list of 2009 trailblazers are Ashley Fiolek, the only woman and the only deaf person to ride on a factory motocross racing team; Tayler Mayer, who founded DeafRead.com and DeafVIDEO.TV; Kevin Nolan, who served on the Northampton, Mass., City Council for two years, is the nation’s first born-deaf person to be elected to public office; Howard Rosenblum, a deaf civil rights attorney with Equip for Equality of Chicago, Ill., founded the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf; and Dr. Carolyn Stern, a family physician and lecturer from Rochester, N.Y., and a former physician with Gallaudet’s Student Health Service, also trains interpreters for interpreting in medical settings and works to ensure accessibility to medical care and medical education programs for deaf people.
Purple Communication’s 2009 Trailblazers is part of the company’s Dream Bigger initiative that “highlights, acknowledges, and celebrates Deaf culture and achievement in America,” according to a company press release. Each of these individuals will be honored separately at events in their own communities, and the Trailblazer of the Year, selected by vote from the deaf community, will be announced at a Dream Bigger Gala in October in Washington, D.C.
Each trailblazer has been awarded $1,000 from Purple Communications to be donated to a non-profit organization of their choice to help pave the way for the next generation of trailblazers in the deaf community. The recipient of the Trailblazer of the Year award will receive $10,000 to be donated to a non-profit organization of his or her choosing, as well as an all-expenses-paid vacation.
“Gallaudet strives to build future leaders in the deaf community through its curriculum, its emphasis on civic involvement, its internships, and its continuing education opportunities,” said Sam Sonnenstrahl, director of the Office of Alumni Relations and executive director of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association. “Having a significant number of our alumni honored as trailblazers is a testament to the value of a Gallaudet education.”
One-half of the individuals from across the nation who were selected by Purple Communications as trailblazers in the deaf community have something else in common besides helping improve the quality of life for deaf people in a number of areas—they are Gallaudet alumni.
Purple Communications, a Novato, Calif.-based provider of text and video relay and onsite interpreting services, announced on June 3 that it had selected 10 individuals from the deaf community who have made notable advances in the areas of art, business, civil rights, community, education, language, medicine, politics, and sports. Five of those individuals attended Gallaudet.
“We are pleased, and not surprised, that 50 percent of Purple Communications’ 2009 Dream Bigger Trailblazers are graduates of Gallaudet University,” said Brandon Arthur, vice president of Marketing Communications at Purple Communications. “Gallaudet’s rich history of providing higher education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students enables those students to realize their potential and to dream bigger.” Arthur added that alumni are also well-represented among the company’s staff.
Gallaudet alumni who made the list of outstanding achievers are: Dr. MJ Bienvenu, '74 & G-'83, Anita Buel, E-'74, Ella Mae Lentz, '76, Tate Tullier, '03, and Jeremias Valencia, '07. Bienvenu, an associate professor in Gallaudet’s Department of ASL and Deaf Studies, is a strong proponent of bilingual education for deaf students, as well as a passionate advocate for ASL. Buel, a cancer survivor, co-founded “Pink Deafies,” a support group for deaf cancer patients and survivors, and she has worked tirelessly for accessibility to healthcare and cancer education for the deaf community. Lentz, the co-author of a best-selling book and video on ASL and ASL poetry, is also a champion of the concept of Deafhood, a celebration of the deaf experience. Tullier, a photographer, is the founder of a successful photography business. Valencia, a former player for the American Basketball Association, is the founder of the Deaf Sports Academy of Riverside, Calif.
Also on the list of 2009 trailblazers are Ashley Fiolek, the only woman and the only deaf person to ride on a factory motocross racing team; Tayler Mayer, who founded DeafRead.com and DeafVIDEO.TV; Kevin Nolan, who served on the Northampton, Mass., City Council for two years, is the nation’s first born-deaf person to be elected to public office; Howard Rosenblum, a deaf civil rights attorney with Equip for Equality of Chicago, Ill., founded the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf; and Dr. Carolyn Stern, a family physician and lecturer from Rochester, N.Y., and a former physician with Gallaudet’s Student Health Service, also trains interpreters for interpreting in medical settings and works to ensure accessibility to medical care and medical education programs for deaf people.
Purple Communication’s 2009 Trailblazers is part of the company’s Dream Bigger initiative that “highlights, acknowledges, and celebrates Deaf culture and achievement in America,” according to a company press release. Each of these individuals will be honored separately at events in their own communities, and the Trailblazer of the Year, selected by vote from the deaf community, will be announced at a Dream Bigger Gala in October in Washington, D.C.
Each trailblazer has been awarded $1,000 from Purple Communications to be donated to a non-profit organization of their choice to help pave the way for the next generation of trailblazers in the deaf community. The recipient of the Trailblazer of the Year award will receive $10,000 to be donated to a non-profit organization of his or her choosing, as well as an all-expenses-paid vacation.
“Gallaudet strives to build future leaders in the deaf community through its curriculum, its emphasis on civic involvement, its internships, and its continuing education opportunities,” said Sam Sonnenstrahl, director of the Office of Alumni Relations and executive director of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association. “Having a significant number of our alumni honored as trailblazers is a testament to the value of a Gallaudet education.”