Page 108 - profiles 2019 working copy containing all bios as of Feb 20 final version

From 1988 to 1990, I attended Montgomery College under President Reagan’s
Women Returning to Work Program, made the Dean’s List, received a

Certificate in 1989, as well as an A.A. degree in 1992. I continued my
education (while working 32 hours per week at NWS) at the University of
Maryland, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Management in 1994. I served
as the Chair of the GSA Technical Evaluation Board for the GSA Federal

Relay Service contract in 1998. I served for 15 years as a Montgomery
County Election Judge and another seven years as Chief Judge of Precinct 13-

15. I completed the Toastmaster’s International Communications and
Leadership Program.

In 1995, I began losing my hearing – by 2001, I was totally deaf. As a deaf

person with impaired mobility, I chaired the Disability Issues Subcommittee
and served on the Communications Subcommittee of the NOAA Equal
Employment Opportunities Council (EEOC) and was instrumental in
addressing numerous accessibility issues at the new NOAA Silver Spring

Complex.

I was a founding board member of Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government

(DHHIG), an organization advocating for fair treatment of Government
employees who were deaf or hard of hearing. I co-chaired a National
Conference on Disabilities in Philadelphia, in 1997 and received a $2,500

NOAA’s Administrator Award for the effort. I actively participated in
numerous meetings and conferences on disability issues, including annual
DHHIG National Training Conferences.

I was a member of the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) Outreach Team for
seven years, advocating for more widespread use in its critical role as the only
system in the United States capable of providing timely emergency warnings

to people with disabilities. In that capacity, I participated in numerous annual
National electronic and broadcasting conferences, National conferences for
people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and the annual NOAA Mark Trail

Award luncheons on Capitol Hill. In 2005, I received a $5,000 National Isaac
M. Cline Award for my service to the NWS. Over a period of years, I have
participated in a number of hearing-related research efforts sponsored by
Gallaudet University, the FCC, the Kennedy Center, Mitre Corporation,

National Public Radio and TV, and Disney.

In 2005, I was appointed by Governor Ehrlich to a position on the Maryland
Governor’s Advisory Board for Telecommunications Relay (GABTR), which

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