ASL version

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English version

Hello everyone! My name is Darlene Zangara and I’m the Executive Director of the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing.

I will start with a visual description of myself. I am a white woman with blonde hair, glasses, and wearing a black shirt.

These last few months, my team and I have been working on many things. Here are some of our recent and upcoming activities.

Interpreting Forward 2030 Updates

Interpreting Forward is a statewide initiative. Together with Dendros and stakeholders, we are working on solutions to a big question; How do we increase the quality and availability of professional sign language interpreting services in Minnesota?

This is a nationwide issue. Other states are also starting to work on addressing interpreting shortage in their states. Minnesota is not alone.

On February 23-24, 2024, we hosted a summit to work on possible solutions.

On April 19, 2024, Dendros presented a summary of the work done at the Commission board meeting.

Together, people participating in Interpreting Forward created 77 possible solutions.

Dendros and the Commission are working to make the solutions clear and accessible. We can’t wait to share the result with the public. There are exciting things to come.

Collaborative Experience Conference

Good news! The location and a new date have been selected for the 2024 Collaborative Experience Conference! This conference is for parents and professionals serving students who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing.

The conference will take place at Breezy Point Resort in the Northwoods. It will happen on Friday, November 1 through Sunday, November 3, 2024.

Over the coming weeks, more announcements will be sent out about sponsorship, exhibitor, and presenter opportunities.

For any questions, please reach out to Danelle Gournaris, the Collaborative Plan Program Director.

Update: Here is the presenter proposal announcement. If you have a great workshop, be sure to fill out an application.

Other education conferences

Danelle continues to attend national education conferences, where she can learn about the latest research and network with her peers.

In March, Danelle attended the 2024 Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Conference in Denver, CO.

In April, Danelle attended the CEASD Conference in Spartanburg, SC.

Again and again, Danelle is impressed with the professionals who are committed to good outcomes for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing children.

Uber, Lyft, and the City of Minneapolis

The Commission has received many questions about the City of Minneapolis, Uber, and Lyft. People ask about what is causing the conflict and why the City and rideshare companies cannot come to an agreement.

Where we are at right now:

1. The City of Minneapolis passed an ordinance that sets the minimum pay for rideshare drivers to $1.40 per mile within city limits. Before there was a May start date but now the start date is July 1, 2024.
2. Both rideshare companies say that is too much and plan to drop service starting on July 1st.
3. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry released a study that says a rate of between 89 cents and $1.21 per mile would be enough for drivers to earn minimum wages.
4. The Minnesota legislature is working on legislation that might resolve the issue.
5. It is not yet known if a newly passed state law will result in overriding the City’s ordinance.

We are monitoring the situation because this impacts deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community members traveling in the Twin Cities. Most recently our team members, Alicia Lane and Maya Larson, attended a city council meeting. During this meeting, the council members decided to extend the original May 1st deadline to July 1st.

We are hopeful that state legislation will come through and the rideshare companies and the City will resolve the issue through negotiation.

Update: Since the time of this filming, state legislators and the City have reached an agreement. However, they still need to reach an agreement with the rideshare companies. The outcome is still unknown at this time. Meanwhile, other rideshare companies are becoming licensed to operate locally. The Commission is paying attention as we want to make sure their apps and services are accessible to the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community.  

DeafNation Expo

DeafNation Expo took place in Minneapolis on April 13, 2024. Over 1,400 people attended! The board, staff and contractors had a great time connecting with members of the community. We had information about voting, legislation, and a new Venn diagram that shows the difference between the Commission and our sister agency, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division (DHHSD).

Dan Millikin, director at DHHSD, and I led a fun activity onstage, called “Who Does What? Commission or DHHSD?” Audience members had small signs with Dan’s picture on one side and my picture on the other side. We quizzed the audience and asked them to guess the answer, which would be either ‘Commission’ or ‘DHHSD.’

For example, we asked, “Which agency advises the governor’s office?” I hope you know the answer! It is the Commission.

Walk4Hearing

The national Hearing Loss Association of America is organizing a nationwide walk to bring awareness and fundraise for both the national and local chapters.

The walk will take place on Sunday, June 2, 2024, at Como Park in St. Paul. We hope you will consider signing up and join the hard of hearing community on Walk Day to “connect, celebrate, learn more about hearing health care, and enjoy fun activities!”

Visit HLAA’s Walk4Hearing site to learn more.

Board and Staff Retreat

The Board had a board meeting on April 19, 2024. As I mentioned earlier, Dendros provided an update on Interpreting Forward work. I provided an executive director’s report, where I covered information such as:

1. Work on Legislative Task Force on Aging/Older Americans Act
2. Best practices and strategies for managing conflicts of interest 
3. A proposed strategic plan for next FY, which includes more work on aging, a DeafBlind quality of life study, language acquisition, housing, and more.
4. Reported on monitoring reports, including the Commission’s financial health, activities, and planning for next fiscal year.

The next day was a training day. Chair Rebecca Thomas and member Michele Isham provided training on John Carver’s policy governance model, which explains how the board operates and makes sure the board’s role and responsibilities are clearly described.

Later, the board and staff had DeafBlind training provided by Helen Keller National Center. Many thanks to Ryan Odland, John Filek, and Karlee Wascher. The training included a presentation on the diversity of the DeafBlind community, with hands on activities. There was also a panel discussion. Many thanks to panelists Rocky Hart, Patrick Vellia, Riss Leitzke, and Jessica Eggert.

Picture Slideshow

Here are pictures of recent events.

In Closing

As always, my door is open. Please contact me to discuss systemic issues. You can also let me know if there is any information you would like me to share in a future update. Thank you!

Credits

Featuring Dr. Darlene G. Zangara, Executive Director. The Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing thanks:

Rita Van Der Puije for voiceover.

Keystone Interpreting Solutions for film production.