Mary Hartnett, Descriptive Transcript

[Descriptive transcript: video opens with a blue title card with the logo for the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing in center. Text on upper right corner: “40 years anniversary”. Video transitions to a black slide with white text: “The views and opinions expressed in this video are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent or the State of Minnesota.” Video transitions to a video of Darlene standing onstage next to a podium with the Commission’s logo on front. A balloon arch is visible behind her. Darlene signs.]

>> Darlene: All right. Our next presenter has made a lot or done a lot of wonderful - has accomplished a lot, excuse me, over the years. This is Mary Hartnett. 

[Mary Hartnett walks onstage behind Darlene and stands at the podium. Darlene walks off-stage. Mary speaks.]

>> Mary: Hi, I Oops - I am a - Oh, hi. I am a white woman wearing just like my compatriots, all black with a green and blue scarf symbolizing my Irishness. I am old and I - 

[Laughter. The CDI is visible on the left side signing for Mary.]

>> Mary: - and what an honor to be here tonight, especially alongside Jerry and Bob, two leaders whose vision and courage helped build this commission into the engine for change that it has become. Their belief in what was possible created the foundation all we all stand on today. So let's give them recognition again for their leadership.

[Mary handwaves while the audience cheers.]

>> Mary: Serving for 20 years was one of the greatest privileges of my career and my life. I was always clear about my role. I was an ally and a quarterback. The plans, priorities, and dreams came from the community. My job was to help carry those dreams across the finish line. Every achievement we celebrate tonight was shaped by board chairs, board members, partners, and most importantly, the community itself. All of you. 

I often begin strategy meetings with the proverb, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This saying fits the Commission perfectly. We made space for Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing community members, families and partners to move forward together. And because of that, we went farther than any of us could possibly have imagined. I stood on the shoulders of many strong leaders, prior executive directors including Curt Micka, Deputy Mike Cashman, Bonham Cross and Board chairs Marian Hausladen, Elise Knopf, Alan Parnes, rest his soul, Jason Valentine, Tom Anderson, and Michele Isham. along with every board member who brought their lived experience to the table. My role was to listen and help shape strategy and clear a path for the work to move forward. We were also supported by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division at the beginning, especially Bruce Hodek, and we collaborated closely with partners across community-led organizations, nonprofits and state agencies, and many of you are in the room today. 

At the center of everything we did was community engagement. Real change happens when the people most affected lead the effort to fix it. Our work was never about doing things for the community. It was about ensuring the community had the tools, access, and support to drive change themselves. We organized around voting and civic participation. We created online in-person training about voting and how to lobby at the legislature. Sometimes with legislators helping with the training. We helped people tell their stories in waves that moved decision makers. And every two years, lobby days brought hundreds of people to the capital and still do to show what happens when this community shows up. Great things happen. 

Over four decades, the community has proved that again and again and again. Together, we accomplished a transformational change. More than 80 bills passed during that time period. Here are just a few highlights. We passed the newborn hearing screening mandate and created the support families needed. The hearing aid loaner bank, Deaf mentors, parent guides, the advisory committee that keeps the spirit of the work alive and makes the Deaf and DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing child the center of the work and the early hearing detection and intervention coordinator. We secured a hearing aid insurance mandate for kids. We reduced state  college tuition for qualifying Deaf students. We also developed the statewide collaborative plan for children who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing, which continues today. For employment, we negotiated Executive Order 14-14, increasing the employment rate of people with disabilities in the state from 3.8% to up to 10%. We created a centralized accommodations reimbursement fund, removing one of the biggest barriers to hiring and retaining employees with disabilities, the fear that accommodations will be too costly for individual departments to manage. with technology and accessibility. We passed and established a statewide accessory stand - accessibility standards for the state and we required that all state websites, documents, videos, and audio content be accessible to the community. 

And 10 years later, we got legislation passed that required the legislature do the same thing. We built systems that didn't exist before. We changed laws that needed to be changed. And we shifted expectations about what is possible from the community. None of these victories belong to one person. They belong to the community. Parents, advocates, Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing people, leaders, interpreters, teachers, providers, and young people who showed up because they believed things could be better. Progress came from people who shared their lived experience and made their needs impossible to ignore. 

Now we enter a new era, one unlike anything we have ever seen. The federal department of education has been and is being dismantled. At the beginning of this year, there were 17 IDEA offices enforcing the rights of students with disabilities. Today, there is one. Medicaid cuts will harm many. Cuts to vocational rehabilitation will make employment harder at a time when disability employment should be expanding, not shrinking. And a civil rights division of the DOJ has been slashed. This is a challenging moment, but it is also a moment that calls us back to the principles that made the past 40 years successful. Stay connected. Stay informed. Stay engaged. Keep building the power of this incredible community and vote like your life depends on it. Everything we achieved, every protection, every improvement happened because people cared enough to show up and they cared about each other. The power is still here. It always has been.

I am grateful beyond words for the change, the chance to serve alongside you, for the trust you placed in me, the change we built together, and the change that still lies ahead. The work continues, but so does the strength, beauty, brilliance, and determination of this community. Thank you for letting me be part of this journey and thank you for everything you've done and will continue to do to shape a future where every Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Minnesota can not only thrive but lead the way. Thank you very much.

[Applause.]

[Video transitions to a black slide with white text: “With deep appreciation to all presenters, community members, and everyone who has been part of the Commission for the past forty years. Looking forward to many more years of advocacy, hard work, collaboration, and making a difference to the quality of life of Minnesota’s deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing community.”]

[Video ends.]