President Jenny Buechner | 2022-2024
Jenny hails from Madison, Wisconsin, who works as a deaf interpreter. She graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in 1998 and from Gallaudet University in 2002 with a degree in Social Work. Jenny spends her time serving in leadership roles with various organizations, including the role of conference chair for the 2009 biennial conference and president for four years with the Wisconsin Association of the Deaf (WAD) from 2009 through 2013. Jenny served as the board president for two years with Deaf Unity, the only agency serving deaf people who experience domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes, prior to leading the agency as its executive director for one and a half years, in her tenure she expanded its programs and services, raised awareness of social justice issues within the deaf community as well as the hearing community. Jenny has served on the NAD Board since 2013. Jenny enjoys speaking to the community about social justice issues that directly relate to the deaf community.
Vice President Stephanie Hakulin | 2022-2024
Stephanie works as a Deaf Interpreter and is currently the President of the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf. Stephanie was an Appointed NAD Board member in the previous term to focus on dismantling racism within the organization. She has been involved in advocacy organizations such as Deaf Women of Massachusetts, National Deaf People of Color Conference (as Co-Chair), Massachusetts Commission on the Deaf (as an Advisory Board Member) and more. She has two lovely kids and loves sports!
Secretary Milmaglyn Morales | 2022-2024
Milmaglyn, a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, has been involved with Connecticut Association of the Deaf since 1998. She served as the Law Chair on the Connecticut Association of the Deaf Board and also served as the Chair of Interpreting Standards subcommittee of the CAD Legislative Committee during 2016-2020. Between 2005-2017, Milmaglyn was also involved in Council de Manos. Milmaglyn graduated from the University of Hartford with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Central Connecticut State University with a master’s degree in Special Education. She is currently a Director of the Early Childhood Center at the Marie Philips School for the Deaf, a program under The Learning Center for the Deaf. She is also a Deaf interpreter in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Treasurer Michelle Cline | 2022-2024
Michelle has a versatile skill set of experiences in counseling; policy work; and advocacy. Michelle has served as the NAD Treasurer since 2018. When Michelle served as President of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf, she advocated for Language Acquisition for all Deaf Kids and many other important topics. Michelle obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Rochester Institute of Technology and Master’s in Social Work from Syracuse University. After several different job stints, she has made Massachusetts her home. Michelle continues to volunteer her time to different organizations through advocacy. She has won several awards through her mantra of continuing to make a difference. Michelle is married to William and has three beautiful children together and is experiencing a nest that is almost empty. She enjoys spending time with her family and the little critters, Nevaeh, Stripey and Lilo.
Affiliate Board Member Tyese Wright | 2020-2024
Tyese graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in Elementary Education. She 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 also serves on the District of Columbia Area Black Deaf Advocates, Inc as a Board member. Tyese is a proud sports fan of the Commanders!
Region I Board Jacob Leffler | 2020-2024
Jacob currently works for the Federal Government and lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He is originally from Buffalo, New York. He is a graduate of the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University, BA in Government and Masters in Public Administration. He was involved with different organizations including the Maryland Association of the Deaf, Baltimore City Association of the Deaf, and Deaf in Government in various capacities. He was involved with Jr. NAD when he was a student at the St. Mary’s School for the Deaf. Jacob also enjoys cruising and traveling around the world.
Region II Board Linsay Darnall Jr. | 2020-2024
Linsay Jr. was born to deaf parents and, along with his brother, attended his parents’ alma mater, the Nebraska School for the Deaf where he graduated in 1988. He then studied government at Gallaudet University. Linsay Jr. has served local and state-level organizations in various capacities. He has served as the Region II board member of the National Association of the Deaf in the 2006-2008 term and was reelected to the same position in 2016. Linsay Jr. co-founded and is the board member of the Nebraska Deaf Heritage Museum and Cultural Center dedicated to preserving Nebraska Deaf heritage and ASL for posterity. Linsay Jr. has performed, coached, wrote scripts, and directed plays in various places and has starred in several video productions. Linsay Jr. is the film director of The Book of Job, which was produced by the Deaf Missions. He was also the director of ASL for the film The Silent Natural. He is currently involved in other movie projects. Linsay Jr. served as a chair of Deaf Education Taskforce subcommittee with the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He was the chair of the Nebraska Early Hearing Detection and Intervention advisory committee. He is an advisor to the Jr. NAD Nebraska/Iowa Chapter and has been volunteering at the Youth Leadership Camp since 2006. Linsay Jr. has received The James Sowell Appreciation Award from the Nebraska Association of the Deaf, The Spirit of NAD Award from the National Association of the Deaf, and Admiralship from the Governor of Nebraska. His work with deaf youth and theatre was featured in the Omaha World-Herald. Linsay Jr. founded Darnall Consulting LLC to work with various entities in education, advocacy, historical preservation and training. He is committed to developing training tools in leadership development across the nation.
Region II Board Kevin Ryan | 2022-2026
Kevin was born in Chicago and grew up in Wisconsin. He is from a four-generation deaf family (on his mother’s side). After graduating from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf, he went to NTID to earn his AAS degree in Data Processing. After college, Kevin worked in Naperville, Illinois at Lucent, formerly known as the AT&T Bell labs for 11 years. He is now the owner of CR Construction Inc., a successful business for 20 years. Kevin loves serving the Deaf community; he’s been involved in many activities as an officer of the National Softball Association of the Deaf and served on the Illinois Association of the Deaf Board. Kevin is now serving as the Region II Board member, second term. Kevin and his wife have four wonderful children and during his free time, he co-leads his son’s boy scout troop.
Region III Board Michael Deuel | 2022-2026
Michael is currently President of the Alabama Association of the Deaf. He works as an Outreach Coordinator and serves 12 states in the Southeast region with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) Special Projects located in Decatur, Alabama. He has worked as a Case Manager for the Deaf since 2015 with AIDB’s Regional Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Michael is a native Alabamian and alumni of the Alabama School for the Deaf 1996. He received a BA in Recreation Leadership from Jacksonville State University with a focus in community organization and leadership and pursued his Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Auburn University in 2019.
Region III Board Lisa Rose | 2020-2024
Lisa currently works as a Virtual American Sign Language (ASL) teacher with 6-12th grade students for the Pasco County School District and Lisa also is a Deaf Culture and ASL adjunct instructor with St. Petersburg College. Lisa became involved with the NAD since she was a middle school student starting from Pee Wee NAD, Jr. NAD and the NAD. She also worked at Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) during the summers of 1990-1994 as a camp counselor and Business Manager. She is a Past President of Florida Association of the Deaf (2017-2019). Lisa received her Master’s Degree in Deaf Education: Secondary Education in Social Studies and Bachelor’s degree in Government and Secondary Education from Gallaudet University. Lisa is a hardcore fan of the Baltimore Ravens football team.
Region IV Board James ‘Dino’ Christianson | 2020-2024
Dino was raised in San Luis Obispo county in California and graduated at California School for the Deaf in Fremont. He obtained his degree in Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Dino currently resides in the northwestern corner of Washington State with his wife, Maria, and their two beloved daughters. He has been a Client Advocate at Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center in Bellingham, Washington State since 2004. Dino was involved in Deaf Teen Leadership Camp in Randle, Washington in various roles and currently is one of the co-directors. Between 2007 and 2017, he has served as a board member for different organizations: Washington State Association of the Deaf as president and treasurer and Northwest Washington Community of the Deaf in various executive and committee roles. Dino has been a board member of Salish Sea Deaf School located in Burlington, Washington since 2015. Being involved in these organizations have brought Dino’s passion into politics as one of his main interests.
Region IV Board Laura Kim | 2022-2026
Laura, a Korean-American Deaf female, originally from Chicago, Illinois, has worked as a K-12 Deaf Educator for over 13 years working closely with Deaf students, professional staff, deaf and hard of hearing families and the Deaf community. She graduated from Gallaudet University with two BA degrees in Communications and Graphic Design before enrolling at the University of California at San Diego to complete her Master’s in ASL-English Bilingual Education Teaching Credential Program. While a Teacher of the Deaf at San Diego Unified School District, Laura also served as a former ASL teacher for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, partnering with the Parent Link under the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Deaf Project for two years (2013-2015). Her role was to help deaf and hard of hearing families with ASL skills necessary to successfully communicate with their deaf and hard of hearing child. She is currently in her sixth year teaching middle school and absolutely loves working with this age group. She is dedicated to promoting positive reinforcement and restorative justice within the classroom. Her side work includes volunteering for the Southern California Asian Deaf Association (SCADA) organization as a local San Diego Country representative since 2019. Laura has been inspired by the organization’s positive engagement in building collaborative and active networking events. She has been involved in various activities promoting an appreciation for multicultural identity to recognize Deaf and Asian cultural values and ethnic identity. Laura has been serving as a Board Member for Region IV during the 2020-2022. Also, she is a Board Liaison for the Education Section and the Past Board Member section. Laura loves hiking, surfing, and exploring beaches.
We have four vacant positions of which the NAD Board is working on fulfilling: two Appointed Board members, one Affiliate Board member, Region I Board member. Learn more about the Board online.