March 30, 2020 Newsletter

I hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe in the comfort of your homes. While we are all doing our best to adjust to the new normal of working from home — practicing social distancing and relying on virtual communication more and more each day — we feel like our world has been turned upside-down. With most public spaces around the world being shut down, having the support of family, friends and colleagues is even more important. With that in mind, here are some steps we are taking to assist our members.

On Wednesday, April 1, from 7-8 p.m. Eastern Time, the Global Alliance will partner with the Clear2Connect Coalition to host our first Virtual Social Gathering, entitled “Social Distancing Doesn’t Have to Mean Social Isolation.” This gathering will provide a safe space to meet and share ideas on how to survive and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please see the flier in this newsletter for full details. Realtime captioning will be provided.

On our social media pages, we are sharing information our members may find beneficial on topics such as FCC rules requiring televised emergency information to be accessible and captioning options for videoconferencing. We also are creating a database on our website that will include information about new online platforms. Although we’re not endorsing any platforms, we feel it is important to share this information on our website.

Thank you to AudioScribe, a recent sponsor of the Global Alliance. We encourage you to find out more about the products, training and support offered by AudioScribe by visiting audioscribe.com. Thank you, AudioScribe, for your support of our vision of universal accessibility to the spoken word via all forms of captioning!

We need your help to fund our efforts. To sponsor or support the work we’re doing, please visit our website HERE. If you’re not yet a member, we encourage you to JOIN today!

The Global Alliance is proud to be a new member of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance (dhha.info). DHHA is a coalition of organizations that focuses on public policy and other issues related to improving the quality of life for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and all people with hearing loss. Member organizations include, among many others, the National Academy of Audiology, Hearing Loss Association of America, National Association of the Deaf and the International Hearing Society. The member organizations of DHHA voted unanimously to grant membership to the Global Alliance.

Will Lewis, a Global Alliance Board member since our inception, recently informed us that he is resigning from his Board position due to a changing workload and for personal reasons. We thank Will for his insight and contributions and for being with us from the beginning. Per our bylaws, “A Director’s vacancy for any reason may be filled by the Board Chair for the unexpired term of the Director whose place is vacant.”

Raja Kushalnagar, J.D., LL.M., Ph.D., has been appointed to fill the vacant Board term. Dr. Kushalnagar will serve until August 6, 2020, with the opportunity to serve another term of one year, should he choose. Raja is a professor at Gallaudet University; a researcher on deafness and hearing loss, accessibility and captioning; and the author of numerous books, articles and reports. Be sure to check out our website where a brief bio of Raja will soon be added. Thank you, Raja, and welcome to the Board.

In February, following our Annual Meeting, assignments were made to fill our various committees. All committees have met to discuss and prioritize their charges and are working hard on behalf of you, our members. If you’re not yet on a committee and would like to serve, please reach out to Karyn Menck, Vice Chair, at info@speechtotextcaptioning.org. Also, a big thank you to our members who have generously signed up to provide pro bono captioning for our deaf and hard-of-hearing members during these committee meetings and other Global Alliance events. We appreciate your sharing your time and skills!

We thank you all — our members, supporters and followers — for keeping up with us and for getting involved. Take care of yourselves and of each other. Stay home, stay healthy and stay safe.