2022 Education and Advocacy Summit

2022 Education & Advocacy Virtual Summit: Deaf Education

This summit is for deaf education administrators and professionals and special education administrators in the areas of policy, best practices, and innovation related to educating deaf and hard of hearing students. It will be conducted in American Sign Language and spoken English.

How to Support Equity in Schools:

An Administrative View

Joseph Santini, PhD

Director of Instruction, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

Every school has its own journey toward equity. This journey is never complete, and it changes for each generation. Dr. Joseph Santini shares his experience and work as part of the Clerc Center’s own collaborative journey.

Presenter Bios

Brianne Burger, MS, currently serves as director/liaison for the Special Institutions inside the U.S. Department of Education (DoE), Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS). She supports four institutions: the American Printing House for the Blind, Gallaudet University, the Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf-Blind, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. She currently represents the DoE on the Federal Communications Commission’s Disability Advisory Committee and was reappointed to serve a second term. Prior to DoE/OSERS, Burger served as the National Disability Emphasis Program manager, the Selective Placement program manager, and the Reasonable Accommodations manager for the Natural Resources Conservation Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). She was also co-founder and two-term president of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employee Association for the USDA. Burger’s first federal position was with the Administration for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she supported the administration of the National Network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service; the National Training Initiative on the Consortium to Enhance Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities; and the Protection and Advocacy services for people with disabilities. Before joining federal service, Burger coordinated several federal grants for Gallaudet University to create new accommodations, education methods, and training for people with a variety of disabilities through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the National Science Foundation, and the DoE. She is also a proud alumna of Gallaudet University.

Debbie Trapani, EdS, is the director of National Programs and Outreach-Early Intervention at the Clerc Center. She is also currently co-leading the Regional Early Acquisition of Language (REAL) project in collaboration with the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. Before coming to the Clerc Center, Trapani was a parent-child educator, a teacher of students from preschool through secondary, a literacy specialist, and administrator of the Delaware School for the Deaf and statewide programs in Delaware. Growing up deaf, she was a student in several deaf education settings in California before graduating from a school for the deaf.

Joseph Santini, PhD, is a seasoned writer, researcher, and education leader who has published articles on bilingual education in The New York Times on accommodation and differentiation and learner autonomy. Santini began his career as a program manager with the New York Society for the Deaf; his passion for helping youth led to a focus on education and learning. He became a New York City teaching fellow at PS 47 in Manhattan. Currently, Santini works as director of instruction at the Clerc Center and volunteers as secretary for the National Theatre of the Deaf. He holds a master’s degree in deaf studies from the University of Bristol, a master’s degree in secondary education from the City College of New York, and a doctoral degree in education from Gallaudet University. His dissertation research was on curriculum development and teacher training, and his current work focuses on training for equity.

Marianne Belsky, chief academic officer, joined the Clerc Center in 2014, bringing with her a wealth of experience in a variety of educational settings—public schools, residential programs for the deaf, and a program serving students with special needs. Before beginning her tenure as chief academic officer, she taught for 19 years, and she has served for 12 years as an administrator, including service as a K-12 principal and an instructional coach. Belsky is a Gallaudet alumna and has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in deaf education, and an educational specialist degree in change leadership. As chief academic officer, she oversees the academic, athletic, and student life programs at KDES and MSSD, is involved with content development with the Clerc Center’s national programs, and serves on the Gallaudet University President’s Executive Team.

Nicole Sutliffe, chief administrative officer, has served in numerous capacities since joining the Clerc Center in 2003, most recently serving as executive director from 2008-2016. Throughout her career, she has been engaged with leadership efforts across Gallaudet University, including co-chairing the University Planning and Budget Committee, serving as a member of the Crisis Leadership Team, and serving as a member of the President’s Executive Team since 2016. Sutliffe’s background is in finance, business administration, and deaf studies. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and her master’s degree in special education administration from Gallaudet University. As chief administrative officer, Sutliffe oversees the administrative and operations arms of the Clerc Center, as well as the Clerc Center’s national programs and the Gallaudet University Regional Centers.

Stacy Abrams, MA, is project manager for early intervention at the Clerc Center on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Abrams grew up in Arkansas with a deaf sister and hearing parents. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University and her master’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with the intention of working with hearing families with deaf and hard of hearing children. For five years, Abrams taught deaf and hard of hearing students in both mainstreamed and deaf schools. She served as Deaf Mentor Program coordinator at the New Mexico School for the Deaf and the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind for 10 years. She currently serves on the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. Abrams’s passion for connecting families with the community on their signing journey led to her developing a social awareness campaign, #whyisign. The aim is for families to become inspired by seeing individuals share their reasons for signing. She and her husband are the proud parents of two bilingual deaf children who attend Kendall Demonstration Elementary School.

Organized by the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center in partnership with the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf