Keenan Gao

Keenan Gao immigrated from China to the USA at 18 months old. Although she passed her hearing screening at birth, her parents discovered that she was hard of hearing at age 4. She used bilateral hearing aids throughout her life until age 26, when she began using a cochlear implant in her right ear.  

Throughout her roles, she has leveraged a wide variety of accommodations within her career in the financial services industry. At U.S. Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, she used CART services to develop statistical and economic models that stress test the nation’s financial system. At the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, she used auto-captions during trading operations on the Agency MBS Trading Desk, and ASL interpreters when interacting with policymakers supporting U.S. monetary policy and interest rate setting decisions. 

Currently, Keenan is a data scientist at Wings Credit Union where she uses a combination of auto-transcription, ASL interpreters, and a set of Roger, Phonak, and Resound microphones that pair with her hearing devices. 

Due to growing up mainstream, Keenan had a late start on getting involved in Minnesota’s Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing communities. Beginning in 2019, she took ASL classes at St. Paul College for two years and has been excited to “catch up” ever since. Since then, she has found a passion for leading initiatives that help organizations expand their capabilities for accessibility in adult and youth programming. Initiatives that Keenan has led include:

• Driving Minneapolis to become the first city to have a theater that offered 100% open captions for all movies at St. Anthony Main Theater in 2022
• Establishing a rock-climbing summer camp for D/HH youth at Minneapolis Bouldering Project
• Serving as the Snowboarding Coordinator at Hyland Hills for the Midwest Ski Council’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing program
• Volunteering as an adaptive snowboarding instructor in Courage Kenny’s Adaptive Ski/Snowboard Program
• Representing inclusive diplomacy as part of the American delegation that co-hosted the 2024 International Deaf Education and Employment Summit in China

She has served as a Civic Engagement and Community Outreach specialist at the Minnesota Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing working on legislative items and expanding voting access as part of the ASL Hotline. 

Keenan is bilingually fluent in English and Chinese and continues to develop her fluency in ASL and Chinese Sign Language. She holds a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. in Financial Mathematics from University of Minnesota. 

During her free time, Keenan enjoys portrait photography, trying new recipes, and napping with her cat. 

“I believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, and we must push boundaries everywhere that we can.”  - Keenan Gao