Dr. Denise Kavin, Senior project associate, represented PEN-International at the Western Symposium on Deafness, "Partners United for Empowerment, Education, and Employment of People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late Deafened and Deaf-Blind" in San Diego, California, from April 20-23, 2005.
There, she conducted two separate 75-minute presentations. The first workshop was titled, "PEN-International: Fostering World-Wide Postsecondary Career Education for Men and Women Who are Deaf", attracting 15 attendees and generating very positive discussion and feedback. The second presentation was with Dr. Marcia Kolvitz, Director of the Postsecondary Education Consortium at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville, titled, "Speech to Text Services Network: A New Professional Organization". Again, approximately 15 people attended this presentation.
The Western Symposium on Deafness was a regional conference focusing on postsecondary education and deafness. While it was largely for student service providers in the western region of the United States, it attracted 300-plus people from all over the U.S., even as far as New York City. Committee members and supporting organizations include the following: Western Region Outreach Center & Consortia, Regional Resource Center on Deafness at Western Oregon University, Gallaudet Regional Center at Ohlone College, California Department of Rehabilitation, and Rehabilitation Services Administration- U.S. Department of Education.
