As of last year, in May 2015, Alicia has graduated from the Interpreter Training Program out of Austin Community College. She currently works as a Community Advocate with a focus on the Deaf, Hard of Hearing communities, but also has added all disabilities to her set of advocacy. Her mission is to promote cooperation and alliance between CDIs/Dis and CHIs, as well as educating the importance of hiring CDIs and Dis. She advocates strongly the need to accept and treat CDI’s and DI’s as equals and dynamic teams. Alicia truly believes that as long as CDIs and Dis are not accepted as equal partners within interpreting teams and are discriminated against in hiring and payment practices, neither hearing nor Deaf clients will ever be fully satisfied with interpreting services and many of the complaints we all are familiar with will persist. There is a wealth of knowledge to understand the roles of a CDI/Dis and CHIs. >>>>To learn more please check out Alicia's Blog/V-Blog.<<<< More about Alica McClurken: Alicia was born into a native Deaf family from Irving, Texas of which she is the eldest of 3 girls; all living in Austin. She is also the proud mother of two sons. Alicia has a nurturing spirit.
- Mrs. Christina Goebel, Advocacy Projects Manager |
Before working with Sign Shares, Christina worked at the Texas State Independent Living Council, as a Project Specialist, Outreach and Education, and as a Conference Coordinator for the Texas Statewide Independent Living Conferences from 2013 - 2015. The annual, cross-disability conference brought individuals with disabilities and professionals together for three days to enjoy educational sessions and exhibits. At the Texas SILC, Goebel doubled outreach so that participation grew from 50 to more than 100 businesses and organizations represented by attendees. She was the editor of the Texas SILC’s “Good Information” newsletter, a cross-disability news publication that grew from 200 to 600 statewide subscribers. Before that, Goebel taught English for 14 years to students in grades 6-12th at both National Blue Ribbon and inner city schools in Austin and Miami, FL. During her spare time, Goebel has worked with Blind Ministry, people who are homeless, Habitat for Humanity, educated adults so they could pass their G.E.D. or learn English as a second language, produced and edited a literary e-zine, and taught students to paint with acrylics. She has a bachelor’s in Secondary English Education from Florida International University and a master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Goebel has severe/profound hearing loss, wears bilateral hearing aids, and is the mother of a son who is also Hard of Hearing and has a bachelor’s in Digital Animation. She advocates for doing the “right thing,” whether required by law (usually), or not.
As Erik Erikson once said, “You are what you love.” Imagine a life without sight and hearing? How would s/he learn about the world around him/her? A specialized learning plan is develop to assist those without these senses develop a sense of self, learn how and to feel love, and be able to participate in their communities. These individuals have the hearts and support of all the Sign Shares employees. As a Deaf/Blind advocate employed by Sign Shares, Tonia's efforts are focused on public awareness, assisting individuals in finding resources locally, and how she can be a supportive person for the Deaf/Blind. Over the next year, we plan on developing relationships with organizations that will help us create venues in which people can experience for themselves what it would be like to be deaf-blind. In addition, we plan on developing ways for the deaf-blind to have a voice through the use of a variety of mediums such as art, photography, writing, and videography. We look forward to becoming more involved in helping individuals who are Deaf/Blind. Tonia received her Masters degree in Child Life Specialty from Purdue University. Prior to Sign Shares Tonia also worked for over 16 years within a large medical healthcare system.
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