Kelsey Woodward hails from Warroad, Minnesota. She was born Deaf, her hearing loss was identified when Kelsey was around a year old. Her parents immediately started learning sign language to communicate with their daughter. She mainstreamed in the local public school until the sixth grade. Upon entering seventh grade, Kelsey transferred to Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD), in Faribault, MN. She remained at MSAD for the rest of her education and graduated from high school at MSAD. She currently lives north of the Twin Cities along with her two CODA children and her significant other.
In 2019, Kelsey started working at Minnesota Hands & Voices as a Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Guide. She also became an ASTra Guide as well. Kelsey connects with families who have DHH child/ren, sharing firsthand experiences growing up as a Deaf individual. She also helps families learn how to advocate for themselves and their child in a wide variety of situations (school IEP, 504 Plan, etc.) so the child can get the proper services they need to excel in the school settings. She is also on the Metro Advisory Committee. Kelsey shares that she wants to “Help improve better accessibility for the Deaf Community and beyond.”
Kelsey hopes to go back to school where she plans to major in Family Studies along with Mental Health, as she has recognized there is a greater need for DHH children to have better access and receive more support in those two areas. “It is important to be able to communicate through their preferred communication choice, where they can understand in their own language, that of ASL.”
She is currently a Member at Large on the board for Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens (MADC). “We focus on helping improve the Minnesota Deaf community with better access to what they need, like making sure captioning is available in all public places, mental health and wellness resources, just a few to name. We also partner with other organizations to work together to improve the needs for the Deaf citizens.”
Kelsey shares the following advice, “Be persistent. Keep on advocating for yourself and others. It may be exhausting, yet so rewarding when that barrier is gone. If you don’t speak up, it won’t change by itself. Be the change and it will change.”
Outside of work, Kelsey enjoys spending time with her family, exploring new places when she has the chance to do so. She also enjoys watching cooking competition shows and history fiction/non fiction shows in her down time.
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!
