RIT adds two members to its Board of Trustees

RIT appointed two members—both with connections to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community—to its Board of Trustees. RIT is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the world’s first and largest technological college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Christopher W. Lehfeldt, a dentist at Elmwood Dental Group PC and Finger Lakes Community Health, will remain on the board after serving a term as the chair of NTID’s National Advisory Group. Lehfeldt has served on several boards of directors for deaf advocacy including the Rochester School for the Deaf, the Monroe County Association for the Hearing Impaired, and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The son of a Foreign Service Officer, Lehfeldt spent his childhood in five different countries before returning to the United States. He earned a degree in chemistry from Georgetown University, attended the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and completed his residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Pamela Lloyd-Ogoke will join the board after being named chair of NTID’s National Advisory Group. Members of the advisory group, whose appointments are approved by the U.S. Department of Education, advise the NTID president in developing and carrying out policies governing the operation and direction of the college. The group comprises professionals concerned with the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students, professionals concerned with postsecondary education, and individuals familiar with the need for the services provided by NTID.

Lloyd-Ogoke is an RIT/NTID alumna and currently serves as the chief of community integration services and supports for the North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. She has nearly 40 years of experience in the deaf and disability communities and 16 years of experience in the field of higher education, including six years at RIT, where she served as a faculty member and the university’s coordinator for disability services and ADA compliance officer.

A member of the NTID National Advisory Group since 2017, Lloyd-Ogoke also serves as a national external advisory committee member for the National Center for Deaf Health Research and is president emeritus of National Black Deaf Advocates. She previously served on the board of the National Association of the Deaf and the Gallaudet University board of trustees.

The board now consists of 46 active trustees, including 30 alumni.