Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Series

Past Speakers

2016 - Pamela Siebert

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Pamela Siebert - Software Engineer, IBM

Pamela was born to Deaf parents and raised in Saint Paul, MN. She graduated from RIT in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in information technology. She accepted a job at IBM in Lenexa, Kansas as a software engineer. In 2009, Pamela earned her master’s degree in software development and management from RIT. She is passionate about volunteering for the Kansas Association for the Deaf Board and was Miss Deaf Kansas from 2005-2007.



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Be Your Own Advocate as a Deaf Person in the Corporate World

Monday, April 25, 2016
Presentation 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Q&A 8:00 - 9:00 PM
CSD Student Development Center 1300/1310

Pamela Siebert will discuss her background and how her career path, networking, and persistence helped her to land a job with IBM. She will discuss her experiences working for one of the world's largest technology and consulting corporations, especially with adapting to continuously-evolving technology and working with many different people all over the world, as a Deaf person.

For more information, contact Karen Beiter at kjbndp@rit.edu

Presentation in ASL - Interpreting Services have been requested

Lecture Video

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2015 - Andreas Wezel-Peterson

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Andreas Wezel-Peterson – Communications Designer, Disney Consumer Products

Andreas Wezel-Peterson was born and raised in Germany and is presently living in Los Angeles. He is a Communications Designer on the Internal Corporate Communications team at Disney Consumer Products, a segment of The Walt Disney Company, in Glendale, California. Andreas leads all the design communiqués, from logo to brand, from print to digital, and from magazine to email newsletter for over 3,000 employees (including executives) as well as consumers across North America, keeping a multi-disciplinary approach to all of his projects. He earned a bachelor's degree from RIT'S College of Imaging Arts and Sciences and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Graphic Design at Savannah College of Arts Design.



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A 360 Degree Visual Portrait of a Designer’s Process

Thursday, October 29, 2015
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Presentation
8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Q and A
Xerox Auditorium (2580)
James E. Gleason Hall
Rochester Institute of Technology

Andreas will give you an insight into the in-house design department at Disney Consumer Products and the creative process of visual communication design that combines the visual arts and technology to communicate ideas. It begins with a message that, in the hands of a talented designer, is transformed into visual communication that transcends mere words and pictures.

Lecture Video

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2015 - Steven Forney

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Steven Forney - SMAP Research Associate

Steven Forney of Huntsville, Alabama is currently working for Systems Management and Production Center (SMAP) as Research Associate. SMAP is one of largest research departments at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). He received his Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). For the last ten years, his experiences with reverse engineering, internships at the UAH, gain of education and knowledge at RIT provided him the opportunities to work in the area of technology innovation; 3D printing and multi-rotors drone technology. He is currently pursuing Master's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction at the RIT for online graduate program.



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Technology Innovation: 3D Printing and Multi-rotors Drone Technology

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Presentation: 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Q & A: 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
CSD Student Development Center
Rochester Institute of Technology
National Technical Institute for the Deaf

The rise of 3D printing can bring a lot of benefits in innovation, which includes 3D printing and technology of drones. The 3D printing is able to keep up with the drones' continuous field maintenance and repair. It also increases innovation, improves communication, reduces development costs, gathers more interest from the clients and contractors, and personalizes products.

Lecture Video

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2014 - Dr. Kimberly Dodge, DVM and Dr. Jennifer Miller, DVM

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Photo of Jennifer Miller, short dark hair, v-neck sweater, sitting on floor with dog.
Kimberly Dodge and Jennifer Miller

Kimberly Dodge, DVM -
Dr. Dodge provides emergency Veterinarian services at the Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Service clinic located in Rochester, NY. She is a graduate of Michigan State University, Dr. Dodge received her B.S. Degree in Zoology in 1995 and her DVM Degree in 1999. Dr. Dodge is co-founder and former board member of the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss. She also works to mentor young deaf individuals who are interested in health care related careers.

Jennifer Miller, DVM ( RIT’ 06) -
Dr. Miller is a small animal Veterinarian at Walworth Animal Hospital located near her hometown of Macedon NY. She grew up in a mainstream school system and went to RIT for her Bachelors degree in biology, and was an RA in EPB for 3 years. Dr. Miller played soccer for RIT and has a gold medal from deaf olympics (Australia 2005). She then went on to Michigan State for her degree in Veterinary Medicine in 2010. Outside of work, Dr. Miller enjoys life on her farm with her husband and 3 small children and various pets.



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Veterinary Medicine: the Deaf Perspective

Thursday, November 6, 2014
Presentation: 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Q & A: 8:00 - 9:00 PM
CSD Student Development Center 1310

Dr. Kimberly Dodge, DVM, and Dr. Jennifer Miller, DVM ( RIT '06) will discuss their professional training and career paths in the field of veterinary medicine. They will also describe how they successfully navigated the challenges of being deaf while doing so. Come listen to their stories about animals and the humans who love them.

Lecture Video

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2014 - Jarrod Musano

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Jarrod Musano, CEO of Convo Relay and Infini, attended Rochester Institute of Technology and went on to University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. His education and daily challenges have led him to a number of successful start-ups, being responsible for driving and implementing strategic plans for all his companies.



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"Be Uncomfortable!"

Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Presentation: 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Q & A: 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
CSD Student Development Center - 1310
Rochester Institute of Technology
National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Management is a feat in itself. Management within the real estate world in high rise Manhattan is a realm of its own. To gain success in various enterprises, being uncomfortable is the road to take. Come and find out how to be uncomfortable to succeed!

For more information, contact Kathleen Szczepanek at ksgnvd@rit.edu.

Presentation in ASL. Interpreter and real time captioning services have been requested.




2013 - Michael Bloomfield

Photo of Michael Bloomfield, man with medium length brown hair, dark shirt, and arms crossed
Michael Bloomfield (Deaf) was born and raised in Waterford, Michigan. He currently lives outside of Seattle, WA with his wife, Nancy (Deaf), who graduated from NTID in 1994 and together, they have four children (all hearing).

As a sophomore at University of Michigan, he got his first summer internship at Aetna Life & Casualty in Hartford, CT, implementing better workflow processes for the payroll department by reducing the number of steps from 112 to 36. More importantly, he hired Doreen Simons-Marquis to teach him American Sign Language during the summer.

In 1988 and 1989, he played Tenor Saxophone for the Michigan Marching Band and performed twice in the Rose Bowl. After transferring to Rochester Institute of Technology, he joined the Mu Zeta chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity and was the second President of the chapter. For three years, he performed with the RIT/NTID Dance Company. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, and moved to the Seattle area to work at Microsoft for 6 years. He has also worked for the Wizards of the Coast, Eporia, Sogeti, EDS, and Virtuoso.

For the past 5 years, he has worked as a Database Developer at BlackRock designing and developing BlackRock's internal client relationship management system. BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager with $3.9 trillion of assets under management and 72 offices around the world.

Every year, he and his wife volunteer at a Christian camp for Deaf children and CODAs in Oregon that recently celebrated its 40th year.

As one of the founders of ButterflyHands.com (http://ButterflyHands.com) he leveraged the power of the internet, to allow anyone to request a Sign Language Interpreter at any time. ButterflyHands.com includes the ability to request an interpreter with online scheduling and secured payment processing. Interpreters are using ButterflyHands.com to manage their schedule with email notifications and submit invoices for services rendered.



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Embrace Technology, Impact Your Career

Thursday, October 24, 2013
Presentation: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Q&A: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
CSD Student Development Center - Room 1300/1310

Friday, October 25, 2013
Investment Seminar: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
CSD Student Development Center - Room 1300/1310

Technology has changed every area of our economy which includes medicine, travel, education, entertainment, communication, finance and many others. The best careers in the future are directly in technology.

For more information, contact Karen Beiter at kjbndp@rit.edu

Presentation in ASL. Interpreter(s) and real time captioning services have been requested.




2013 - Rosa Lee Timm

Photo of Rosa Lee Tims, woman with shoulder length curly brown hair, light colored blouse, and arms crossed over chest.
Rosa Lee is a Deaf performing artists and a managing editor of KISSFIST Magazine, star of the Rosa Lee Show, and actress in ASL FILMS' "Versa Effect"and many other works.



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The Art of Storytelling: Various Ways of Telling a Story and Why it is a Vital Part of Deaf Culture

Thursday, March 21, 2013 7:00 p.m.
Student Development Center, SDC-1300/1310 (Bldg. 55)
Rochester Institute of Technology
National Technical Institute for the Deaf

This lecture is about the art of storytelling where Rosa Lee talks about different ways of telling a story and why it is one of the core values of Deaf Culture. In-depth breakdown of different storytelling types, video samples of ASL Storytelling, and a brief live performane are what the lecture will be about.

Lecture Video

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Workshop Info

The Art of Storytelling: Hands-On Activities on How to Develop and Execute a Story

Friday, March 22, 2013 3:00 p.m.
RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center* (RADSCC)
SAU-2510/2530 (Bldg. 4)
Rochester Institute of Technology

Hands-On Activities on How to Develop and Execute a Story




2012 - Mr. Matt Daigle, Deaf Professional Cartoonist

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Matt Daigle is a deaf professional cartoonist with over 11 years of experience. He is the creator of a single panel cartoon series called "In Deaf Culture..." and "Deaf Reel" and as well as the popular webcomic "That Deaf Guy"which he collaborates with his hearing wife, Kay and boasts over 13,000 fans and an impressive international audience. Daigle has published two humor books, "Adventures in Deaf Culture" and "Extreme Interpreting". His new book "That Deaf Guy: A Family Portrait" is currently in production.

Matt lives in Burbank, California with his wife and son.

You can view his cartoons at:
www.thatdeafguy.com
www.facebook.com/thatdeafguycomic
www.mdaigletoons.com



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"The Deaf Experience As Told Through Sequential Art"

Presentation:
Thursday, October 25, 2012 7:00 pm
Student Development Center (SDC) - Room 1300/1310

Workshop:
"Creating Cartoons"
Friday, October 26, 2012 10:00 am
Student Development Center (SDC) - Room 1300/1310

This lecture will educate audiences on the world of cartooning from the perspective of a deaf artist. Daigle will share his experiences growing up with the desire to create art and how he found his niche with cartooning. He will explore the elements of storytelling, sequential art, and how they relate to cartooning specifically and the challenges of entertaining Deaf/HoH and Hearing audiences alike. Daigle will touch on how he manages to incorporate a 3-D language such as ASL into a medium that is 2-D and how he draws on his own deaf experiences to entertain thousands worldwide.




2012 - Michael Chorost, Ph.D.

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Michael Chorost is the author of two books, Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human (2005), a memoir of getting a cochlear implant, and World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humans and Machines (2011), an examination of what technology can know and transmit about the conscious experience of the brain. His work concerns questions such as, “What are computers doing to our bodies, our friendships, and our working lives? How do we live whole and full lives in a world saturated with technology?” He has also written about emerging technologies for Wired, The Washington Post, Technology Review, and PBS. Born with severe-to-profound hearing losses in 1964 due to an epidemic of rubella, he began wearing hearing aids at 3½ and switched to cochlear implants in 2001 when he lost the rest of his hearing (the cause is still unknown.) He got his B.A. at Brown University and his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. He has given over 110 lectures at universities and corporations about humanity’s future in a technological age. He lives with his wife and their three cats in Washington, D.C., where he writes as both an author and a freelancer.



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Cyborg Ear, Cyborg I: Writing a Book, Rewriting a Life

Presentation:
April 26, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
Student Development Center (Bldg. 55), Rm. 1300/1310

Workshop:
Every Good Memoir Tells Two Stories: Mastering the Double Discourse
April 27, 2012, 10:00 a.m. - noon
Student Development Center (Bldg. 55), Rm. 1300/1310

Lecture Description:
The day Dr. Chorost went deaf, he sat down at his keyboard and started writing. Rebuilt, his memoir of getting a cochlear implant, was written as he went through surgery, mapping, and the long process of learning how to hear all over again. He’ll talk about how he shepherded the book through getting an agent and signing with a major New York publisher. Through writing the book, he also overcame personal issues that had troubled him for decades. In a very real sense, while he wrote the book, the book also rewrote him. Dr. Chorost is a funny and personable speaker, and in this intimate evening he’ll share with you what he learned about the processes of writing and personal change.

Recommended Readings:
Chorost, M. (2005). Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human. Autobiography. Free Press.
Chorost, M. (2011). World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humans and Machines. Mariner Books.

Workshop Description:
A good memoir doesn’t just tell a chronological story. It also uses the story to shed light on some larger issue in society. In other words, it transcends the specifics of the writer’s life to reveal insights that are of interest to a wide range of readers. Thus in his memoir of growing up black in the 1820s, Frederick Douglass also analyzed the ideas of freedom and slavery – a topic of much wider interest than race alone. In his brilliant memoir The Unheard, Josh Swiller wrote about being a deaf Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, but also told a larger story of how human beings communicate across profound differences. This is “double discourse” – writing in which each part contributes simultaneously to telling a story and to making an argument. In this workshop, you’ll work out a double discourse of your own, and create a table of contents for it.




2011 - Laura C. Stevenson, Ph.D.

Photo of Laura C. Stevenson, short bob hairstyle with bangs, dark top, with gold necklace.
Laura C. Stevenson was trained as an historian, but upon going deaf in her mid thirties, she moved back to her family's summer house in Vermont and became a novelist. Her first two novels for young adults, "Happily After All" and the "Island and the Ring", were both short-listed for Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and awards from other states. Her next two young adult novels, both published in England, concerned disabilities: "All The King's Horses" is about Alzheimer's Disease, and "A Castle in the Window" is about dyslexia. Her most recent novel, "Return in Kind", is set in the fictitious town of Draper, Vermont, and reflects upon the changes in Vermont landscape and residents from 1929 to 1971. Reviewed as "a highly intelligent, moving, and humane novel," the book is a study of loss - of hearing, of love, of a way of life. Stevenson is retiring from Marlboro College, where she has taught Writing and Humanities since 1986.



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Pencil, Laptop, Cochlear Implant: Making Meaning of Late Deafness

December 8, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
Student Development Center (Bldg. 55), Rm. 1300/1310

How does a 29-year-old scholar on the cusp of a professional career make meaning of Late-onset Deafness? How does a semi-professional violinist make meaning of the inability to hear music? The lecture describes Stevenson’s personal pilgrimage into the cultural limbo of the Late Deafened Adult, with reflections on the ways technological change has affected her professional life and the perspective that difficulty of communication has brought to her teaching and writing. In particular, Stevenson will talk of her attempt to make meaning of Late Deafness in her recent novel, Return in Kind.

Recommended Readings:
Return in Kind. Novel. Separate Star Press, 2010
“A Wall of Glass,” Potash Hill: Alumni Magazine of Marlboro College, Winter 1991
• http://www.lauracstevenson.org/files/AWallofGlass.pdf)
“Memory, Music, and Cochlear Implant,” Seneca Review Fall 2009/Spring 2010, Volume 39, No. 2.
• http://www.lauracstevenson.org/files/music_memory_cochlearimplant.pdf


Workshop Info

The Perils of Writing Memoir and Fictional Autobiography, and How to Avoid Them

December 9, 2011, 10:00 a.m. - Noon
Student Development Center (Bldg. 55), Rm. 1300/1310

What are the perils of writing memoir and fictional biography? They're embedded in the advice familiar to every student writer:

Write what you know. Express Yourself. Just be who you are. Disaster! Professional writers know that convincing personal writing depends on:
• Controlled subordination of ideas
• Development of narrative voice
• Rejection of literary stereotypes
• Understanding the evolving self
• This workshop offers an introduction to these techniques.