Learn who will be recognized for their advocacy
5/12/2026 6:31:45 AM
The Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Community Awards. Be sure to join us, in person, on the Minnesota State Capitol Lawn to recognize these remarkable individuals and organizations.
We would like to thank the community at large for sending their nominations as well as the Awards Committee members: Mark Daly, Alex J. Lucier, Chandra Petersen, and Sammie Porter, as well as facilitator Kathy Manlapas, for their hard work and careful consideration.
Today, we are proud to announce the following awards:
Awarded to youth who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing who have demonstrated strong leadership skills.
Dov Nathanson began his advocacy for getting a Deaf Interpreter in his mainstreamed education setting during 3rd grade. He has met with his representatives and testified before legislative groups to get Deaf Interpreters recognized as educational interpreters, which was successfully was signed in law. He participated in two lawsuits, which set precedent for other young athletes to be ensured access during their recreational/sport participation. He has attended several international Deaf competitions for wrestling. He is pursuing a major in aerospace engineering at RIT.
Galvin Nathanson followed in his brother's footsteps and advocated for his ability to access Deaf Interpreters in his own educational setting. He began advocating for it during 6th grade. He testified twice before the legislative bodies. He will graduates this year and will be attending RIT this fall and major in Game Design and Development. He represented U.S. Deaf teams internationally in wrestling and judo. He teaches his peers to create long term goals, to work hard, and to persevere with optimism.
Awarded to individuals who have done exemplary work in advocating for and with deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Minnesotans.
Karen Erickson served as the vice president of the Minnesota Deaf Senior Citizens (MDSC) from November 2022 through November 2026. Most recently, she served as the temporary president for MDSC from 2025 through 2026. During Karen's time as vice president, she volunteered to recruit workshop presenters as an important resource to Deaf seniors. Dr. Wilson was the first ASL presenter and he shared information on dementia. Karen also found Sara Gerdts to present about strokes, diabetes, and eye diseases. All presenters shared accessible information and resources for Deaf seniors on health care. Karen has also served as chairperson for MDSC in the past and was also a member of the bylaws team.
Riss Leitzke is a community advocate and grant manager with Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing State Services. They are deeply connected to DeafBlind community work and community organizations, and recently earned a master’s degree in business administration. Riss is committed to building more accessible, supportive spaces and bringing people together through service and leadership.
Awarded to a person or an organization that has worked to increase the civic engagement of deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Minnesotans.
Diego Ozuna-Clark (they/he) is a proud native of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas and in Austin, Texas. They currently live in Saint Paul with their wife, Paula, and their child. Diego serves as the Co-Director of Strategic Support at the National Deaf Center (NDC) and is passionate about community-based projects and building meaningful connections through their work. Outside of work, Diego enjoys creating content across different mediums, supporting civic engagement, and exploring the vast unknowns of the world. If you want to know more about Diego, ask about their love for food, the outdoors, and spontaneous adventures.
Awarded to individuals who work in an education setting with deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing students.
Autumn Moder (she/her) is a deaf educator with seven years of experience as an early childhood deaf/hard of hearing teacher. She also serves as an adjunct instructor in the Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Program at the University of Minnesota, where she helps shape the next generation of D/HH educators. Autumn is deeply committed to the broader Deaf community, serving as an at-large board member for the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing and as a deaf mentor. Her work across these roles reflects a lifelong dedication to advocacy, access, and community.
Ntxhee Sua Vang, whose name means "water wave," is a St. Paul native of Hmong descent. Ntxhee Sua has worked as an educational assistant for three years at elementary school and has been a visual artist since she was young. In working with various students, she enjoys learning their home sign language and ASL. She also teaches them through writing, language, math, and reading, and is proud to see them build critical thinking and communication skills. She was a featured artist for a Walker Art Center sensory Sunday event for kids, teens, and adults with sensory processing differences, autism, or developmental disabilities.
Awarded to those who have done notable work in increasing the accessibility of services for and with deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Minnesotans. Examples of accessibility support include captioning, interpreting, public access, or accessible technology.
The team at Walker Art Center demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing accessibility for Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing audiences through a multi-layered, thoughtfully designed approach. Their work goes beyond baseline compliance by embedding access into the interpretive, spatial, and sensory design of the exhibition. This includes the integration of captioned media throughout the galleries, Braille text for catalogs and art interpretation ,the incorporation of ASL interpretation and CART in public programming, tactile interpretive tools in the galleries, and the use of multimodal storytelling strategies that do not rely solely on auditory information.
Nic Zapko is a Certified Deaf Interpreter, team leader of scheduler specificity at Keystone Interpreting Solutions, and a dedicated leader within Minnesota’s Deaf community. Since 2005, Nic has provided ASL mentoring, tutoring, workshops, and consulting services for organizations and theaters throughout the region. They have interpreted in numerous high-profile settings, including Governor Tim Walz’s press conferences and the Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 briefings.
Recognizes the work of a deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing person or organization in our community who are devoted to the welfare of humanity.
Deaf Equity is a community-centered , all-volunteer, non-profit organization that advances equity and access for diverse communities within the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing community through education, community engagement, empowerment and advocacy.
Migdalia Colon has been working in accounting for 30 years, She is also trained as a money mentor and a financial coach. She volunteers as the financial director for Deaf Equity. In addition, Migdalia is a deaf mentor, certified domestic violence advocate and certified community health worker. Currently, Migdalia works for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask theatre as an office coordinator/bookkeeper.
Awarded to those who have done distinctive work for and with deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Minnesotans that spans 20+ years of contributions.
Founded in 1983 at St. Mary's Junior College, the interpreting program started as a 2-year medical interpreting program. In 1986, St. Mary's merged with St. Kate's. The program was developed into a 4-year bachelor's program in 1999. In the past 43 years, the department has graduated 340 ASL/English interpreters and 58 ASL majors. The strength of the department has not just been the many wonderful faculty and staff, but also the alumni and the Deaf/DeafBlind/HoH community who continue to wrap St. Kate's students in support. Bridget Sabatke, MS, NIC-Master, QMHI, EIPA 4.0, is an alumna of St. Catherine University who graduated in 2005. She has held many roles over the years, including administrative assistant/interpreter, curriculum developer at the CATIE Center, faculty member, and, now, program director for the ASL & Interpreting department.
Herman has always been inspired by his deaf parents, Karen and Ralph Fuechtmann, to follow their generous service to deaf community. Herman has spent a lifetime of volunteer and selfless “from the heart” service to many non-profit deaf organizations. He has served as an executive board member at Charles Thompson Memorial Hall – St. Paul Deaf Club and as a member and board member with MinnePaul sports club. Herman founded and established several non-profit organizations such as US Deaf Curling, Deaf Athletes of Minnesota, and Deaf Can. Other organization he has been involved in includes USA Deaf Sports Federation, National Fraternal Society of the Deaf, Midwest Athletic Association of the Deaf, Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens. Herman has also coached youth and adult sports at Courage Center, Metro Deaf School, Indiana School for the Deaf, CSD of Minnesota programs, Mighty Ducks, and MinnePaul. He has worked with elite deaf athletes in many different sports, receiving both national and international award recognition. Herman worked and volunteered in providing mental health services and addiction or substance use recovery services for People Incorporated and Deaf Can and has often received employee of the month and employee of the year awards.
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