The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) welcomes three new team members: Andrew Biskupiak joins the Front Desk as a Front Desk Assistant, Sarah Honigfeld as our Education Policy Specialist, and Marlene Valle as our Social Media Contractor.
Andrew Biskupiak
Originally from Connecticut, Andrew grew up in Maryland. He graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Government and International Studies in 2016, and then obtained a Master of Arts degree in Deaf Studies with a concentration in Cultural Studies in 2020. He enjoys spending his spare time playing volleyball, hanging out with dogs, and watching reality TV.
Sarah Honigfeld
Sarah is a Deaf adult who works as a bilingual ASL-English Early Childhood Education and Early Intervention Consultant. Her preferred pronouns are she/her. Sarah lives in Colorado, where she attends the University of Colorado Denver for her doctorate in Leadership in Educational Equity. She works closely with various schools, community programs, and state agencies to provide bilingual, family-centered programming for deaf or hard of hearing infants and toddlers and their families. Her academic background includes a Masters in School Counseling from Gallaudet University and a Certificate in Infants, Toddlers and Families: Leadership, also from Gallaudet University. Sarah’s special interests include family language planning, ASL/English bilingual programming for Early Childhood, and family centered practices. In her free time, Sarah enjoys exploring the mountains of Colorado with her partner and their rescue dog, Honey.
Marlene Valle
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Marlene graduated in Marriage and Family Therapy at California State University of Northridge (CSUN). She has a passion for traveling, wildlife & nature, human rights, and mental health. Marlene believes in the power of storytelling for social impacts and creating connections between humans around the world. She shares her passions as a content creator and a founder of Mira We Rise, a digital platform where Latine/x Deaf communities and their loved ones share their stories. Marlene loves relaxing in a hammock, reading books, and learning many new things, such as languages.
We are excited to have Andrew, Sarah, and Marlene with us as we continue the hard work ahead.
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The NAD was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.