Update from President Lisa Rose, and CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins

(Click here to jump to YouTube to watch the video.)

Image description:

Bobbie Beth Scoggins, CEO, sits on the left, a white woman with shoulder length blonde hair. She is wearing a black sweater, and black glasses. Lisa Rose, President, is sitting on the right; she is a white woman with dark hair longer than shoulder length, wearing a black sweater and black glasses.

Transcript:

Lisa: Well, it’s been five months since the NAD Conference in Chicago. Since then, the Board has been meeting, and planning. We have 13 returning members to the Board. And, we have 3 new members joining us.

I want to thank the 13 who have returned, for their continuing loyalty to the organization, and their ongoing commitment to work for the mission of NAD. The three new joining members are bringing new energy, new perspectives, and new ideas. The joint team of the veterans and the new members is ready to go.

We’ve been spending our time lately reviewing the priorities that were given to us by the Council of Representatives, and developing project plans that we can begin to share in January.

So, Bobbie Beth, as our CEO, how are you doing?

Bobbie Beth: I think this has been an amazing journey for both of us, as well as the Board. So many things have happened, it’s difficult to pull out just one to share,

I do want to share that I am just so delighted at the opportunity to work at the NAD. The NAD has a long and rich history, and we will continue our work into the future.

But some examples of some things on the horizon:

We have a new website in the works.

Lisa: That’s exciting!

BB: Yes! I’ve been encouraging my staff to hurry with that, it is very exciting.

We are also working on launching a new “member portal”, where members will be able to control their own information.

Lisa: And it will handle membership reminders?

BB: Yes! Directly from the website.

We have many new initiatives coming from our Youth Programs. That is very exciting.

I’m really delighted to be working with our Youth Director, Claudia Giordano.

I expect to see a lot of activity coming from her desk in the near future.

I’ve also been doing some review of our staffing at Headquarters, assessing organizational needs. The goal, of course, is to be best prepared to support the Board, their initiatives, and the community.

We need you (the community) to be engaged. That is a very high priority for us.

Lisa: We want to thank you, the community, for your ongoing commitment to the NAD.

We are only strong because of your involvement and commitment.

BB: It is incredibly inspiring for me to see people like YOU, the members, continually approach me, and ask, “How is the NAD doing?” and “How can I best support the NAD?”

Likewise, we want to continue to hear from you, “What can the NAD do for you?”

We are continuing in our work to refocus, and figure out how we can best serve you, the community.

We are also recharging, with new inspiration being applied to our work.

We are re-energizing, bringing in new energy.

With all this work, I can see new things coming soon, and I’m really excited about that.

Lisa: Are you ready to join the excitement? To join us?

Both: Come on!

Slide at end:

Save these dates:
JrNAd Conference: October 15-19, 2025, New Mexico School for the Deaf, Santa Fe, NM

NAD Leadership Training Conference (NLTC): Oct 29 – Nov 2, 2025, Austin, Texas

NAD Conference: June 28 – July 4, 2026, San Francisco, CA

About the NAD:

The National Association of the Deaf is the nation’s premier civil rights organization of, by, and for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened people in the United States. The NAD represents the estimated 48 million Americans of these communities, and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.