Articles & Documents

This past Sunday, I was reflecting on the celebration of Mother’s Day. I know I would not be where I am today without my mother’s guidance. Unfortunately, I lost my father when I was a small child, so my mother raised my siblings and me.

Here at the Volta Bureau, I have been reflecting on all the positive changes that took place as we transitioned into a new season, with flowers blooming and the warmth of the spring breeze. Around us, students are finishing their school year, and you can feel the anticipation of people making their plans for the summer. My thoughts have turned, as they so often do, to the future for AG Bell and for each of us.

It has been a while since I have communicated with you. I have traveled quite a few miles with the purpose of continuing our mission to work globally to ensure that people who are deaf and hard of hearing can hear and talk. As you will read in my upcoming columns, our international and national work has never been more vital and necessary.

It was a pleasure to welcome so many of you to the 2018 AG Bell Global Gala. The Gala was a beautiful celebration of Alexander Graham Bell's legacy, and all that it has made possible. 

One of the best things I've learned serving the   Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing   is how precious communication is and how many different forms it can take. Although I've always had the benefit of being bilingual, I've now learned that there are multiple layers to communicating, and by being open to the wonder of words, we can discover so many new things not just in our world, but in ourselves.

During September, nearly all of us – at least in the U.S. – think back on our memories of the start of the school year. Returning to school is an exciting time and is no different for children with or without hearing loss. Once mainstreamed, they eagerly look forward to seeing their friends once again.

As I write this, I am saddened to hear of Inez Janger’s passing. She was a tremendous inspiration to those who had the pleasure of working with her, including to us here at AG Bell. Her extraordinary resume as a past president includes founding the AG Bell New York chapter, revolutionizing our membership as well as chapter operations, developing AG Bell’s Parent Advocacy Training (P.A.T.) program and managing the Auditory-Verbal international merger (known today as the AG Bell Academy for Liste...

AG Bell events bring the Listening and Spoken Language community together in a common dialogue. As a lover of history, I saw a historical parallel at the convention with hundreds of people flocking toward a southwestern state to discover the latest in listening and spoken language.

The 2018 AG Bell Convention ignited innovation in all of our attendees, presenters, awardees and advocates engaging industry experts, families and educators. Each day gave us the chance to create priceless memories, build on long-lasting relationships and continue our work to change lives.

We are in the final stages of preparing for the Convention. As you can see from the staff photo below of us at the conference table in the Volta Bureau, we are hard at work ensuring the Convention is informative for the whole family! I look forward to seeing you all there.