CHUCK BAIRD

in 1947, as a baby boomer, he was born with moderate deaf, grown up as culturally deaf while attended the deaf residential school in Kansas. He went to study both at Gallaudet College and NTID. After received his BFA in Rochester Institute of Technology 1974, he spent 5 summers at the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) painting their sets.  During these years, he held a variety of jobs developing his art in upstate New York and Delaware before he joined Spectrum, the deaf art colony Texas. In 1980, he joined the NTD for the next 10 years as an actor and did some set designs. For the more artistic opportunities, he left the NTD to live nomadically in California and Arizona. He has performed at some Equity theatres.  He also worked for DawnSignPress as an in-house artist, and painted a number of first deaf-related works, culminating in the coffee table book. He went back to Kansas City and moved again to Tucson setting up his own painting studios. During time, he has often traveled to paint murals or lead art workshops for deaf children at schools, summer camps, and at art festivals. He had his works known for the genre called Deaf View Image Art (De’VIA) in numerous art exhibits here and oversea over last 12 years. He was summoned to Gallaudet to help coordinating the visual arts exhibitions for Deaf Way II in 2002 and went back there again teaching art for one semester. He now resides in Austin, Texas continued creating arts at his studio and aboard. He has established the visual art foundation in his name for promoting emerging deaf artists. Please go to www.chuckbairdfoundation.org.

PETER COOK

Peter S. Cook is an Internationally reputed Deaf performing artist whose works incorporates American Sign Language, pantomime, storytelling, acting, and movement.

Peter has traveled extensively around the country and aboard with Flying Words Project to promote ASL Literature with Kenny Lerner since 1986. Peter has appeared in Live from Off Center's "Words on Mouth" (PBS) and " United States of Poetry" (PBS) produced by Emmy winner Bob Holman. Peter teaches at Columbia College where he received the 1997 Excellence in Teaching award. In 1998, Peter set up a video production called PC Production and now based in Chicago.

Peter was featured nationally in festivals such as the Jonesboro National Storytelling Festival, Oklahoma City Winter Tales, Illinois Storytelling Festival, Indiana Hoosier Storytelling Festival, Eugene Oregon Multi-Cultural Festival, and The Deaf Way II and the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Peter was invited to the White House to join the National Book Festival in 2003. Internationally, Peter has worked with Deaf storytellers/poets in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Japan.

Peter lives in Chicago and teaches in ASL-English Interpretation Department at Columbia College. He loves to tell stories to his son

CROM SAUNDERS

Crom has his own  one-man show, “Cromania!”, which tours nationwide,in which he plays over 40  different characters. Crom also co-founded ICEWORM, a nationally touring troupe  which features comedy, improv, and storytelling.

Crom also has  performed in other productions, most recently, as Enkidu in “Gilgamesh” In  addition to acting, Crom also has seen several of his plays that he wrote  performed on stage. 

Crom also has  interpreted dozens of plays, and has taught ASL and theatrical workshops across  the nation. He currently teaches ASL at Columbia College, Chicago IL

Alan L. Marcus, PhD

is a licensed psychologist and a certified interpreter.

He currently maintains a private practice along with doing freelance interpreting work including VRS. Some of his prized moments as a professional include presenting workshops in Australia and Denmark on issues related to interpreting as well as mental health and deafness.

He is also in the process of updating a chapter for a book on Psychotherapy and the Deaf. Dr. Marcus has worked at Gallaudet University as well as the University of Maryland and the Maryland School for the Deaf.

He is a proud Coda and parent to Adam and Mandi

MAUREEN TUCCELLI

A native of the Hudson Valley in New York, Maureen has been an educational and freelance interpreter for more than 25 years.  She has a national RID Certification of Interpretation, holds a Florida Educational Interpreter Evaluation Level 3, and earned a superior rating in the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview. 

She served for seven years as a Quality Assurance Administrator for the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and was honored with FRID's Distinguished Service Award in 2003.

She serves as a consultant for the Florida Department of Education's Interpreter Project and is in her eleventh year of interpreting Broadway shows that come to the Times Union Center in Jacksonville.

Formally an adjunct instructor at Florida State College at Jacksonville's interpreter training program, she now travels as a guest lecturer and workshop presenter.    In her role as a mentor Maureen has been praised for her ability to relate theories of professional practice to real life situations and is noted for providing a safe learning experience.

SHANNON SIMON

has been in the field of deaf education and interpreter preparation for over 30 years and one of the TERPEXPO instructors since its beginning in 2008. Her name is synonymous with excellent hands-on brain based professional development activities on a wide variety of

topics. She is also well known in the educational interpreting field due to her work over the last 20 + years with the Educational Interpreter Project, a statewide project funded by the Florida Department of Education.

As a self-employed interpreter/transliterator for more than 30 years, and a partner in an agency, Signs of Interpreting, LLC, Shannon has interpreted in all types of settings and interprets in the community daily. She holds CI, CT, OIC:C, CSC certificates from RID, has completed a number of legal trainings, earned a Masters degree from Florida State University in Deaf Education, and has completed advanced work in Administration and Supervision at the University of North Florida.

Additionally, Shannon is an adjunct instructor for the Sign Language Interpretation Program at Florida State College at Jacksonville and the University of North Florida where she has developed and taught a number of face-to-face and online courses for interpreters.

WINDELL SMITH JR

Holds an NIC Masters from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Windell is currently the Director of Outreach & Video Communications at SLRS- Sign Language Resource Services, Inc.

He has developed the SLRS VRI (Video Remote Interpreting) Program including designing a completely new and unique VRI Module.

Windell co-founded and serves as CEO for a not-for-profit organization, Project N.A.D.I.N.E. (National Advocates on Deafness to Inform, Network and Enrich).

In 2009 he was elected to serve as parliamentarian for the Oklahoma RID chapter later becoming the Vice-President,  where he also serves on the bylaws and licenser committee.

Windell also provides one-on-one interpreting mentoring, incorporating his experiences growing up as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adult(s)) teaching how to be an effective interpreter with the understanding of Deaf culture.

Windell has also written and produced an ASL DVD entitled Idioms! "Do You See What I'm Saying"?