Renate Rose is a woman of many interests and passions. She enjoys reading, hanging out with her fur babies and her girlfriend, Tayla, Twitter, cooking, baking, traveling, keeping up with current events, and learning new things. She aspires to maintain a growth mindset and roll with any punches life may give her or people close to her and learn from it. Her not-so-secret addiction? Alfredo pasta! She could eat it every day and not get tired of it.

Renate was born genetically Deaf and graduated from Kansas School for the Deaf in 2015. In 2020, she received her Bachelor’s degrees in Government with a specialization in Law and International Studies, along with a minor in Communication Studies, from Gallaudet University. She found herself fascinated with humanities, communications, sociopsychology, and how they all influence how citizens of the U.S. and its public servants in making their decisions in government matters. She does not know where this will lead her and is more excited about any unknown life or path changes that may appear in the future!

Tyese Wright graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in Elementary Education. Ms. Wright earned her master’s degree in Counseling from Trinity University in 2005. Her career has included teaching students enrolled in kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs and serving as a Family Educator/Counselor for students in grades 1-8 at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School. She is currently the Transition Specialist for the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. She was former Miss Deaf America 2002-2004. She was also a Maryland Deaf Culture Digital Library Advisory Board ib 2019-2020. At the present time, she is a board member of District of Columbia Area Black Deaf Advocates, Inc.

Lori Taylor received her Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Applied Accounting at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Bachelor of Science in Food Management at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Shortly after, Lori went to Chicago to work as a front-house supervisor in the cafeteria for Lucent Technologies.  After 10+ years in the food industry, Lori decided to return to Rochester to pursue her Masters degree in Human Resource Development.

After graduating from RIT in 2004 with her masters, Lori and her partner operated a business called, "Deafworks! Professional Career Center" where Lori helped Vocational Rehabilitation clients find employment for 10 years. In 2009, Lori arrived at Texas School for the Deaf as a Job Coach then became the Culinary Arts Teacher for seven years.  Currently, Lori teaches Career Preparation 1.  During her time at TSD, she obtained my Special Education teaching certification from ITT (I Teach Texas).  

In her free time, Lori loves to spend time with her family- her husband. two children, 4 cats and grand-puppy! We love to go camping, hiking and spending time together.

Gisella Tomita (she/her/hers) is a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist in the Deaf Services Section - Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Honolulu, Hawaii. She develops a strong sense of advocating the VR participant with informed choices to plan their vocational and personal goals. This experience gave her a deep appreciation for the participants who are empowering their peers to make empowered decisions. Gisella holds a Masters of Science in Rehabilitation Counselor Education from the University of Hawaii.

Gisella is passionate about the ocean- swimming, surfing, snorkeling, and sunbathing are her downtime to unwind. Walking on the beaches to collect litter and debris along the coast is a hobby of hers along with raising awareness about plastic pollution, which has become a global crisis. It is disheartening for her to see debris and microplastic everywhere on the beaches. Microplastics are plastic pieces that continue to break down into grains of sand! Her main goal is to make a positive difference by adjusting her lifestyle choices to plastic-free alternatives or making zero waste swaps which can help protect and restore our oceans for future generations.

We value access and strive to make our meetings accessible and welcoming to all participants. The NAD is committed to access and all of the presenters have been provided with guidance on making their presentations accessible. We also provide accommodations to meet individual needs during the webinars. If you have a question about an auxiliary aid or service you requested on your registration, please email [email protected].

All webinars will be in American Sign Language (ASL) unless specified.

• Our webinars are intended to be a safe, secure, and learning environment for all participants with the purpose of encouraging productive discussions
• All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner, and to show respect to everyone at all times without any form of harassment.
• The NAD does not tolerate harassment of any kind, including but not limited to: race, national origin, age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, religion, or political affiliation. The NAD reserves the right to expel any person who engages in violations of this conduct policy, and also reserves the right to ban such person from future events. No refunds will be given to any person who has been expelled from the conference for violating this conduct policy.
• Anyone can report harassment or inappropriate conduct. If any person’s behavior has made you uncomfortable, or if you witness inappropriate conduct towards someone else, please immediately contact any staff or security affiliated with the NAD.

By attending a webinar, you agree and understand that you are giving permission to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) to obtain and use screenshots, audio, and video recordings at the webinar, without restriction or limitation for such use. You also agree and understand that you will not be compensated for the use of such photographs, or audio, or video recordings. You further agree and understand that if you do not want to be photographed or recorded in audio or video, you will notify [email protected] before the webinar.

NAD webinars may be free (with a charge only for CEUs) or might have a cost for registration. Any payments made towards registering for a webinar and/or the CEUs are non-refundable except for a medical emergency or a death in the family (written documentation is required).