June 6, 2019 - Katy Kelley-Rademacher uses she/her/hers pronouns. She is a Minnesota native, born and raised, and is the only Deaf person in her family. Katy graduated from Metro State University with a degree in Family and Community Development. She then went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Rehab Counseling.
Currently, Katy is the office manager for MNCDHH. She provides general support for all the staff regarding logistics, bill payment and receiving, and coordinating accommodations. She also helps the staff in whatever way they need and supports the board by setting up board meetings, making the agenda, and making reservations for rooms and food, etc.
One thing she likes about her job at MNCDHH is that there is a lot of flexibility in her job, and the workplace is more open-minded, not single-minded, and considerate of others opinions and thoughts. A barrier that she faces is that if a hearing person comes in, she needs to write back and forth or find an interpreter or someone who knows voice and sign.
A barrier she faced at her previous job was that she couldn’t do last minute meetings because she needed time to get an interpreter set-up. Another barrier was that federal work wasn’t allowing her to provide as high quality work and service as she wanted to for her clients.
Katy’s advice to others is to ‘stand strong on your beliefs. Keep fighting for your rights, keep persisting until you reach your dreams.’
The #CanDoAnything campaign showcases people who are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing at work, giving them an opportunity to share what they do at their jobs and explain how communication access works for them. This campaign shows what our community can do, which is anything!
