On August 4, 2022, the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH) hosted a panel discussion with the following individuals who are hard of hearing. 

• Sophia Barr, a graduate student studying rehabilitation counseling and also works two jobs; one at MN Hands & Voices and one at Arch.
• Jen Edwards, an individual who has worked for U.S. Bank in Public Finance for the past 28 years.
• Monique Hammond, a registered pharmacist, a public speaker and educator, and an advocate for hearing loops, telecoils, and other assistive technologies.
• Shaun Riffe, a veteran who continues to serve veterans as a development officer at MACV, which works on ending veteran homelessness.
• Mark Zangara, a licensed professional counselor and American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Prior Lake High School.

The panel was moderated by Andrea Riffe, hard of hearing specialist, and Keenan Gao, outreach & civic engagement specialist. 

The Commission thanks the panelists and moderators for their participation in this recording. We also thank the interpreters and CART provider for their work. Last, but not least, we thank the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division (DHHSD) for sharing information about the services they provide at the beginning of the panel.

Authentic diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) includes hard of hearing individuals.

Access the recording!

Access the descriptive transcript