Celena Ponce our president and the proud godmother of a Deaf Latina young adult whose journey inspired the creation of this nonprofit. Through her relationship with her goddaughter, Ms. Ponce was able to connect with both the Latino and Deaf communities and realize how few services were available in families’ native language, furthering the impact of language deprivation that starkly affected her goddaughter. She also has a history of working with immigrant communities, curriculum creation, technology skills and community organizing that has been key to getting the word out about our services, thereby increasing our impact.

Janice Stotts, our secretary, is a Deaf educator with over 30 years of experience teaching English/Language Arts through ASL to students facing language challenges. She has taught middle and high school at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and the Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver. Ms. Stotts holds a master’s in special education from Lewis and Clark College and a bachelors in counseling from The Evergreen State College. Along with her teaching, she has helped establish several non-profit Deaf services programs, including Hands United.

Our treasurer and right-hand woman is Dorinda Davidson. Dorinda, who is Deaf-blind, has had the opportunity to connect with many Latino and Latina young adults alongside Ms. Ponce. It has been an incredible journey watching these young adults grow. As a Deaf individual, Ms. Davidson has witnessed firsthand the lack of resources and support available for families who speak languages other than English. This realization sparked the idea and inspiration to collaborate with Ms. Ponce and create our nonprofit. Ms. Davidson is currently pursuing her Master of Science Rehabilitation Counseling from Western Oregon University.