I am so happy and proud of the collaboration between the Confucius Institute, SCSU Rehabilitation Studies, and the Harkin Institute! On June 12, 2018, that’s just in a few days, Dr. Johnson and I will be heading to China with an amazing delegation. This year we have a strategic focus on Deaf education and employment. We are proud of the team of professionals we have put together.

So…without further ado I would like to introduce to you the 2018 SCSU CI Delegation!

Kathryn Johnson, Ph.D., Confucius Institute Director

Dr. Kathryn Johnson currently serves as the Director of the St. Cloud State University Confucius Institute. The SCSU CI is celebrating a five year anniversary this year. During the last five years, Dr. Johnson led the work of establishing Confucius Classrooms with K-12 partners, hosted over 75 guest teachers from China to support the teaching of more than 5000 students, facilitated multiple delegations to China that have provided the cross-cultural experience to more than 250 students, teachers and administrators, and is now championing the inclusion and engagement of people with disabilities in the strategic planning of Confucius Institutes. In partnership with Jilin Hanban and National Hanban, the SCSU CI is working to develop the “U.S. China School for the Deaf Network of Confucius Classrooms.” 

Amy Hebert Knopf, Ph.D., George H. W.  Bush Fellow

Dr. Amy Hebert Knopf is Chair of the Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy Department. She coordinates both the Rehabilitation Counselor Education program and the Rehabilitation and Addiction Counselor Education program. Dr. Hebert Knopf is also a George H. W. Bush Fellow with the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement where she has been involved in researching the impact of WIOA legislation on consumers with disabilities, and is currently engaged in conducting a cross-cultural comparison analysis on Deaf education and employment between the US and China. Dr. Hebert Knopf has worked both nationally and internationally to improve services for people with disabilities in the areas of transition, education, health and employment. Additionally, Dr. Hebert Knopf is an advocate and consultant who is passionate about improving access for people with disabilities.

Joseph Jones, Harkin Institute Executive Director

Joseph Jones serves as Executive Director for The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement. The Institute offers nonpartisan programming, experiences, research, and connectivity focused on the areas that defined the career of Senator Tom Harkin (Retired): people with disabilities, retirement security, wellness and nutrition, and labor and employment.

Joseph was elected to the Windsor Heights City Council in 2017. Before joining The Harkin Institute in 2016, Joseph was Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy for the Greater Des Moines Partnership. The Partnership is the economic and community development organization serving Central Iowa, working to grow opportunity, create jobs, and promote the best place to build a business, a career and a future. Joseph is a graduate of the United States Military Academy Preparatory School and earned his BBA in economics from Loyola University New Orleans. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree in public policy and a Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership and Administration from Drake University. In 2014, he was presented Drake’s Distinguished MPA Alumnus Award. He is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College and is also a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project.

Bakar Ali, Disability Advocate

Bakar Ali is Disability Advocate. For more than a decade, he has been involved with disability advocacy. He was the founding president of Somali National Association for the Deaf, which was the first deaf advocacy organization that was established in Somalia. He has been involved with various disability advocacy organizations  including Global Partnerships on Children with Disabilities, the World Federation for the Deaf and Deaf Legal Advocacy Worldwide. He recently established Dhagool Educational Development, which is a nonprofit organization that aims to improve Deaf education in Somalia and Africa. He believes that all student with disabilities have the right to obtain a quality education and advance their lives. Mr. Ali holds Bachelor of Science in International Studies from Rochester Institute of Technology and Masters of Public Administration (MPA) In International Policy from New York University. He currently works at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf where he serves as the Senior Project Associate in the International Education Outreach Program.

Evon Black, Motivational Speaker

Evon Black is nationally acclaimed performer, workshop leader, keynote and motivational speaker. Evon combines her belief in the power of story with an inborn talent for teaching and performing. Her infectious enthusiasm and dynamic energy revitalize audiences and empower participants in her workshops. Holding a B.S. in psychology and a Masters in Educational Technology, Evon Black has been performer since 1986. She uses folktales from around the nation in a non-didactic way to teach values, elevate understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Professional associations find Evon to be a lively and inspiring speaker. At Gallaudet University as a college student, Evon was the first Black deaf student who held a leadership position as Student Body Government Vice President since Gallaudet was founded in 1868. Evon survived through all obstacles and struggles in order to open the doors for the black students on campus. Evon has worked primarily in the Deaf student development area for approximately 22 years ranging from Deaf residential schools to Gallaudet University.  She currently works at Gallaudet University as an Associate Director of Recruitment with the Admissions office.  

Rebecca Gaw, Iowa School for the Deaf Principal

Rebecca Gaw graduated from Northern Illinois University in Dec. 1987 with a dual major in Elementary Education and Deaf Education. She began her teaching career as a deaf education teacher in a public elementary school in Missouri. I taught there for 2 years and moved to another school near St. Louis to teach middle school and high school deaf and hard of hearing students. A friend convinced me to apply for a job at Oklahoma School for the Deaf and I moved there in 1993. I went back to school and got my Masters in Educational Administration at East Central University in Oklahoma. I began my career as a Vocational High School Principal at Tennessee School for the Deaf in the fall of 2000. In 2003 I moved to Iowa School for the Deaf as the High School Principal. I left in 2010 to take a position as the Director of the Scranton School for the Deaf and quickly realized that Iowa was home. I came back to Iowa School for the Deaf in 2012 as the Sign Language Program Coordinator and moved back into the position as the K-12  Principal in 2014. I am back where I belong and plan to stay at ISD.

Aaron Gutzke, Owner and CEO of ThinkSelf

Aaron Gutzke is a Minneapolis native and has lived in Washington, DC to attend Gallaudet University, and Los Angeles prior to returning to Minnesota in 2005.  Since then, he has worked in several capacities in Adult Basic Education as well as a US Department of Education grant for post-secondary technical assistance work via PepNet-Midwest.   Aaron received his Masters in Public Affairs from the Hubert H Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2014 and started work with ThinkSelf shortly thereafter as a program coordinator for Adult Basic Education.  Today, ThinkSelf is a nonprofit organization focused on Minnesota’s Deaf adults by offering educational programming to build skills and become employable and also offers advocacy services and resources to victims of crime.  As Hubert H. Humphrey once said, “don’t give in, don’t give up” and he applies this mantra in his daily work with adult learners and survivors of trauma.

Leah Katz-Hernandez, Receptionist of the United States

Leah Katz-Hernandez is a leading expert on disability and diversity issues, public communication strategy, and civil rights. Currently serving as Manager of Special Projects at Gallaudet University President’s Office, Leah is arguably best known as the celebrated ROTUS, Receptionist of the United States, for President Obama. The first ever deaf person to hold the position, Leah was appointed to the West Wing after serving in First Lady Michelle Obama’s communications office and for the Obama campaign during the 2012 election cycle. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Leah’s groundbreaking grassroots digital communications resulted in an award-winning blog and international attention. Throughout her career at the White House, in the non-profit sector, political campaigns, and on Capitol Hill, Leah has consistently used her specialty knowledge to urge equal access for the deaf, disability and Latina communities. With more than a decade’s worth of experience to share, Leah is a dynamic contributor to the U.S. Speaker Program via the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs. Leah earned her MA in Strategic Communication from American University and a BA in Government from Gallaudet University. In addition to being bilingual in written English and American Sign Language, Leah enjoys learning new sign languages from deaf communities all over the world. 

MJ Kielbus, Filmmaker

Melissa Jane Kielbus is a filmmaker. She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2013 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts for Film and a Bachelor of Science for Psychology with a minor in Deaf Cultural Studies. She has also obtained a Performing Arts certificate from the NTID department. She is currently working as the Digital Media Director for Copper & Water, LLC. She also does freelance work, doing projects with several different companies and start-up businesses on the side.

Christine Sharkey, Teacher at Delaware School for the Deaf

Christine Sharkey teaches American Sign Language (ASL) to Kindergarten through 12th grade students at Delaware School for the Deaf.  Christine makes successful communication a priority for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing both in the school and the community.  Christine holds Professional level certification from the American Sign Language Teacher Association and currently serves on the national ASL Honor Society board. Christine earned a B.S. in Speech Language Pathology/Audiology, M.S. in Education of the Deaf/HH, MAEd in Education K-12, and is pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership with a focus on strengthening ASL programs in public high schools.  At home, Christine enjoys cheering on her 3 sons in soccer, lacrosse, scouting and theatre, and celebrating her Deaf husband’s real estate business success.

Terry Wilding, Superintendent of Minnesota State Academies

Superintendent Terrence (Terry) Wilding is the 14th superintendent of the Minnesota State Academies, overseeing two campuses – the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf and the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind.  Both campuses are located in Faribault, Minnesota and serve a total of about 175 students.    Superintendent Wilding was born into a large deaf family, consisting of 9 deaf siblings.  Both of his parents are also deaf and he has numerous deaf relatives on both sides of his family tree.   Mr. Wilding’s family is possibly the largest family in the world comprised of all deaf individuals.Mr. Wilding attended the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind in Gooding, Idaho, from Kindergarten through his graduation with honors in 1986.   Upon his graduation from ISDB, he enrolled at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.   Upon graduation, Mr. Wilding earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government.  After graduation, Mr. Wilding moved to Austin, Texas where he started his teaching career at the Texas School for the Deaf.   As he taught, he worked towards acquiring his Masters of Arts in Deaf Education from Western Maryland College (currently McDaniel College) in Westminster, Maryland. In 2002, Mr. Wilding and his family relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico and he began working as a Principal at the New Mexico School for the Deaf.  In May 2016, the Minnesota State Academies board offered the job of Superintendent to Mr. Wilding and he accepted, starting his tenure as Superintendent on July 1st, 2016. 

MEET OUR INTERPRETERS!!!

Maureen McCaffrey, CI/CT

Reen McCaffrey is a Nationally Certified American Sign Language & English Interpreter. She has been signing since she was in middle school and interpreting professionally for the past twenty-plus years. Reen continues to give back to her profession of Sign Language Interpreters by mentoring students who aspire to become future interpreters. She has her Master’s degree as a Disability Specialist. While in Grad School at the University of Arkansas, her thesis research paper was titled Asian Women with Disabilities. After Grad school, Reen relocated to Florida, then moved and settled in Delaware. While living in Southern Delaware, she became immersed in the Latino community; providing counseling, interpreting and support for Latino families who have a child/children with a disability. Ms. McCaffrey has spent half her career working as a child-advocate, specialist with children who are deaf, hard of hearing and/or have a disability. Reen’s life path has led her to working at Delaware School for the Deaf and at the University of Delaware; interpreting for native tri-lingual Chinese professors. 

Dawn Smith Raymond, CI/CT

Dawn Raymond is an interpreter, educator, and leader that has worked in the Deaf community since the late 1980s.  She began her work as an educational interpreter, and then broadened her scope to interpreting in the community focusing on medical interpreting and eventually to interpreting in the video relay realm. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in linguistics of American Sign Language and English from Gallaudet University, she combined her love of people and of language.  She also has a passion for education and has worked in the professional development realm since 1998.  Dawn volunteered with the Jamaica Association for the Deaf for over 10 years, working within their system to help in their shift towards a bilingual bicultural model in several of their Deaf schools on the island.  She has been working at Sorenson Communications for the past 11 years developing and managing programs focusing on peer mentoring, skill-based and self-care workshops, ASL mentoring, eLearning development and interpreter assessments. In her free time, Dawn loves to travel, kayak, do art projects and spend time at the beach.

Shawn Vriezen, CDI

Shawn Vriezen is a native Minnesotan, working full time as a Certified Deaf Interpreter in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) area and has been interpreting professionally since 2008. In addition to his certification as a CDI, Shawn is also certified as Qualified Mental Health Interpreter (QMHI) and is one of three CDIs holding both certifications in the United States. He works as a Video Remote Interpreter for InDemand Interpreting based in Seattle, Washington specializing in medical and mental health. Additionally Shawn is an actor, most recently performing in a locally written production of Welcome to Hell at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis.