Deaf Studies Forum
Holyoke Community College will host a free afternoon conference celebrating Deaf culture on Saturday, April 22.
The conference, co-hosted by Baystate Deaf Senior Citizens, New England Deaf Senior Citizens, and HCC's Deaf Studies program and ASL Club, will run from 1 to 6 p.m. in the college's Leslie Phillips Theater and the theater lobby on the second floor of the Fine & Performing Arts Building.
Admission is free and advance registration is not required.
Ivy Velez, a grassroots Latina Deaf community advocate from Marlboro, will lead off the presentations at 1 p.m. with a workshop titled "Why is Social Advocacy Important in our Deaf Community?"
At 2 p.m., Ruth Moore, Deaf advocate and retired educator from Hadley, will moderate a panel discussion about the Deaf community in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 3:15-4 p.m., conference attendees can enjoy refreshments and visit vendor booths in the lobby outside the theater.
At 4 p.m., actress and ASL interpreter and educator Janis Cole, Ph.D., will perform "Vision Through Deaf Eyes, Past, Present, Future."
"We are very happy to be able to finally host this conference, which had been postponed since 2020 due to the pandemic," said Carol-Ann Smalley, an ASL interpreter and learning specialist in HCC's Office for Students with Disabilities and Deaf Services. "In past years, this was an annual conference that was held on a much larger scale at Hampshire College. The Deaf senior citizens groups really pushed to bring it back. By doing so we are honoring the historical legacy of the conference and also helping to preserve and share what it means to be part of the Massachusetts Deaf community for current and future generations."
About the presenters:
Ivy Velez, M.S., is a grassroots Latina Deaf Community advocate and the oldest daughter of Deaf parents who are both from Puerto Rico. She works as a statewide coordinator for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Supports at the Department of Developmental Services, serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is active in the Deaf community and has served as a board member of several organizations.
Ruth Moore holds a master's degree in Deaf education from Smith College and a bachelor's degree in education from Gallaudet University. Now retired, she is a former guest lecturer at Smith College, assistant professor at Hampshire College, and communication access training specialist for the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Janis Cole, Ph.D., is a feminist, ASL/English interpreter/translator; educator/consultant, and social justice community forum leader/facilitator, and now semi-retired from over 40 years of teaching at Boston University, Northeastern University, and Gallaudet University, where she has presented various interpreting/translation and Deaf/Cultural Studies courses. She has been a professional actress on Broadway (Children of a Lesser God, 1980-82) and the National Theatre of the Deaf (1977 season) and has served as a director and stage manager for decades.
Conference sponsors and vendors include: American School for the Deaf, T-Mobile, Sorenson Communications, Stavros Center for Independent Living, Kramer Wealth Managers, Viability, Willie Ross School for the Deaf, Center for Living and Working, Central Massachusetts Deaf Senior Citizens, Connecticut Deaf Senior Citizens, Maine Deaf Senior Citizens, Mass Relay/Hamilton Relay, Massachusetts Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and Vermont Deaf Senior Citizens.
PHOTO: Claire Sanders, HCC professor and chair of HCC's Deaf Studies program, teaches an ASL class.
