South by Southwest EDU (SXSW EDU) is a conference for professional creatives in the music, film, technology, education, and cultural fields. On March 4, 2024, they hosted a panel spot in an important area – accessibility. The panel event “Holographic Horizons: Bridging the Educational Divide” was premiered. The panelists were Dr. Laurene Simms of Education, Topher Myers of Information Technology, and Rosavetta Jackson of CSD Social Venture Fund. They discussed and demoed “M” by Proto Inc. as an accessible technology solution in Deaf education. 

Accessibility for Deaf community members is a given. But accessibility combined with the latest technologies to improve communication between people, now that is the magic. 

However, as early innovators have discovered when it comes to American Sign Language (ASL), it is easier said than done. Video technology was not advanced enough to capture ASL in its 3D space. When attempts were made, such as capturing only hand motions on video, other important aspects of ASL were neglected, such as facial expression and body language. 

So when the panelists, Dr. Laurene Simms, Topher Myers, and Rosavetta Jackson demoed “M” by Proto, the magic became apparent to users of ASL.  Rosa Lee Timm, Division President of CSD Social Venture Fund (CSD SVF) appeared on the hologram screen and conversed with Rosavetta. The device captured all the language parts in 3D space, which allowed ASL to remain fully accessible to Rosavetta. It was a demo that inclusive technology in the past could not deliver.  

The location also does not matter as users can interact via “M” as if they’re in the same physical space. “M” also has a big appeal to others. “ASL and “M” don’t just benefit Deaf community members,” Dr. Simms commented, “but also visual learners and those who rely on visual cues.” 

While the future is exciting, Rosavetta shared why investors haven’t lined up quickly. “Educational technology is very expensive. It’s challenging to get funding for it. It’s a lucrative area in terms of expenses, and investing can have its own societal and economic benefits. But the funds can go to communities if you invest in the right space, too. It promotes job growth, increases college admissions, and more.” 

Dr. Simms added another challenge that slows the use of inclusive technologies. “There are barriers to accessible Deaf Education. For example, with language equity. The education field heavily favors English and speech-listening skills. Another barrier is the stigma around ASL and Deaf people.” To face these issues, Dr. Simms encourages educators, policymakers, and subject matter experts, such as Deaf people, to work together in creating ideal inclusive technologies. “What we’ve seen is that any time an accessible technology benefits Deaf people, it benefits all people. It’s a win-win scenario.”  

To make these experiences a reality, CSD Social Venture Fund (CSD SVF) recently launched an accessible tech fund to create access and economic opportunities in diverse communities.

---

About the Presenters 

Dr. Laurene Simms 

Laurene E. Simms is Chief Bilingual Officer at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C. After graduating from the Indiana School for the Deaf, Indianapolis, Indiana, she received a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and an M.Ed. in Deaf Education from Western Maryland College, Westminster, Maryland. She received a Ph.D. Degree in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. She has been a Professor in the Department of Education at Gallaudet University for twenty years. As an ASL and English Bilingual Education consultant and a former elementary teacher, Laurene has hands-on experience in the implementation of a bilingual and multicultural educational environment for diverse learners. 

Rosavetta Jackson 

Rosavetta is a proud Georgia native located in the heart of Atlanta, the city where entrepreneurs thrive. Rosavetta has 12 plus years of experience in the VRS industry focused on leadership, strategy, and sales, she is a results-driven individual. She is focused on providing top-notch customer services to clients and is committed to providing communication access of all kinds to the Deaf community. She genuinely believes that Deaf individuals should have the same equal access as their hearing counterparts. She is also a passionate entrepreneur who owns two small online businesses and spends her free time providing consultations to upcoming entrepreneurs. 

Topher Myers 

Topher Myers is a tech enthusiast and Cloud Solutions Engineer at Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) with a strong commitment to advancing deaf communities. Being deaf himself and an American Sign Language user, he brings a unique perspective to the integration of holograms in educational environments. Topher excels in cloud-based solutions, specializing in AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. His passion for accessibility and innovation has led him to advocate for the deaf community and explore cutting-edge technologies. With a focus on empowering deaf education, Topher is committed to making sure technology paves the way for fostering an inclusive learning experience 

In 2020, attendees of South By South West (SXSW) 2020 events will have the opportunity to learn from two, that’s right two, groups of CSD presenters. This March, members of our CSD Learns and CSD National teams will head to Austin, TX to present to those attending the conference, which is known for its creativity and innovation.

Deaf Entrepreneurs: Stories that Change Perception

CEO of CSD, Chris Soukup will give the presentation “Deaf Entrepreneurs: Stories that Change Perception.” In which he will give attendees an inside look at the nation’s first venture fund for deaf owned and operated businesses. With this presentation, CSD hopes to broaden how society thinks about and defines entrepreneurship, diversity, leadership and what investment means. 

Just Like Me: The Importance of Role Models

Brian Milburn and Mei Kennedy of CSD Learns will also travel to Austin to present “Just Like Me: The Importance of Role Models” at SXSW EDU, which is held March 8th-12th. The pair will share how important representation is in education, and how oftentimes deaf and hard of hearing students aren’t exposed to deaf and hard of hearing role models.

Throughout this presentation, attendees will learn how they, too, can improve educational success and empower students nationwide. 

CSD SVF Hosts Business Incubator for New Business Partners

Earlier this year, we held our first business incubator for two of our most recent partners: Bus Door Films and National Deaf Therapy.  

Business incubators are a great opportunity for new businesses to connect with mentors and tap into new resources to develop plans for growth.

In our first incubator program founders of both companies met with subject matter experts to discuss marketing, finances, sales and more in order to support the business partner’s growth.

Over the course of each week-long session we covered the following topics:

Check out some photos from the experience

Communication Service for the Deaf Launches Round Two of First-Ever Venture Fund for Deaf Businesses

New York (September 27, 2018) – Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) announced the Series 2 launch of its Social Venture Fund (CSD SVF), the first-ever social impact fund and incubator for Deaf-owned and operated businesses in the United States. Building on the success of the Fund’s inaugural year in 2017, round two applications open to new candidates on October 4, 2018. Those businesses ultimately selected will have access to significant resources, including capital investment, mentoring and leadership training.

CSD created this multi-million dollar fund in 2017 to help address the 70% unemployment and underemployment rate among Deaf Americans. The Series 1 Fund recipients are Mozzeria, DeafTax, and reFort, all in varying business stages. CSD is the world’s largest nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and cultivating greater opportunity for millions of Deaf people worldwide.For Series 2, the CSD SVF will look to support new business ideas, nascent startups or businesses just getting a foothold in their industry and mature businesses looking to expand or scale their offerings or operations. New for Series 2, the CSD SVF is expanding to include media productions, which will be accepted in applications in the form of either a script or treatment. CSD CEO Christopher Soukup says, “the purpose of our Social Venture Fund is clear. We are addressing the unacceptable unemployment rates among the Deaf community that are so inextricably linked to society’s biases about who Deaf people are and what they are capable of achieving. Creating and supporting more Deaf-owned businesses ventures is critical for societal change for our community. These businesses are far more likely to see the value in and hire Deaf employees.” The CSD SVF is led entirely by Deaf executives with firsthand knowledge and expertise on Deaf community concerns, who are positioned to advise on matters of business, finance, public relations, marketing, legal, technology, and design, and make up a core center of support for the incubator program. CSD’s Chief Innovation Officer Dominic Lacy, who leads the CSD SVF, said that “it has been tremendously beneficial to work with our current group of CSD SVF partners as we look to bring on more partners while evolving the SVF to become even more supportive of strengthening a burgeoning Deaf business ecosystem.” The CSD SVF incubator program provides funding, consultation, and resource support to current partners. The program currently offers access to:

• Direct capital investment
• Mentorships and subject matter experts
• In-house resource support, including marketing and creative
• An intensive hybrid training program for business leadership

The CSD SVF is looking for applications from:

• New business ideas and recently-formed startups
• Mature businesses looking to scale up or expand
• Media production (film or television show)

Application criteria for consideration for CSD SVF include:

• Commitment to social impact via alignment with CSD’s commitment to Deaf success, notably through the creation of employment opportunities for Deaf people
• Having the potential to grow and be scalable in sustainable ways
• Demonstrating leadership in their field through a clear and far-reaching vision
• Offering a unique, inclusive or innovative spin on traditional approaches for the benefit of greater numbers of people, including Deaf-centered design

Soukup added, “There is nothing more compelling than a story of success. We want to ensure the viability of Deaf-owned or Deaf-led businesses because they are living examples of Deaf success, which in turn will combat negative societal perceptions of Deaf people and their abilities. The hope is that our partners’ success will show other businesses the value of hiring Deaf workers and inspire future Deaf entrepreneurial ventures.”

For more information on the CSD Social Venture Fund, the application requirements, and CSD please visit CSD Social Venture Fund.

Contacts:

Brandi Rarus Vice President, Public Relations, Engagement & Policy brarus@csd.org

The Durkin Agency karen.durkin@thedurkinagency.com
Original: https://www.prweb.com/releases/communication_service_for_the_deaf_launches_round_two_of_first_ever_venture_fund_for_deaf_businesses/prweb15798647.htm

Dominic (Dom) Lacy was raised by Deaf parents who established high expectations in his studies, and he witnessed their dedication to ensure that access to education and sign language was provided him. That experience forever shaped him, and is why he is passionate about education because it “opens new doors and opportunities,” which lead to a more visible Deaf workforce that can “help shift limiting beliefs about Deaf and hard of hearing people.” Dom discovered his zeal for activism as he joined the workforce after graduating from Southern Methodist University as a double major in finance and political science. He’s well-known in the Dallas community for his leadership on the Deaf Action Center (DAC) board, where he spent 10 years as a member, and was DAC’s first Deaf board president. During his time at DAC, Dom focused on developing the organization’s capacity and steering capital development to establish facilities, including Martha’s Vineyard Place, an affordable and accessible housing project. He also served as a commissioner on the City of Dallas Community Development Commission. Prior to coming to CSD, Dom worked 14 years at Accenture Strategy as a Senior Manager. In this role, he worked with Fortune 500 companies, guiding them in achieving strategic objectives such as streamlining business operations, developing a vision for business models and implementing technology to achieve this.

“The CSD SVF needs the right leader to ensure that it achieves its full potential, and Dominic Lacy is that person,” CSD CEO Christopher Soukup said. In his new position at the CSD Social Venture Fund (SVF), Dom will focus primarily on the further developing the SVF and its offerings. He will work with Mozzeria and DeafTax to help achieve their goals, and help develop the SVF’s incubator and mentoring programs. On top of all this he will also provide day-to-day support to all of CSD’s programs, investments, and partners. “I love CSD’s vision of creating success stories while combating the unemployment and underemployment rate among Deaf people. It feels like a perfect fit,” said Lacy. Soukup added, “Dominic will be integral to our work to create meaningful change for Deaf people and will be contributing broadly to all of the initiatives in our company portfolio. We’re fortunate to have him.” Original: https://www.csd.org/stories/meet-csds-newest-chief-innovation-officer

Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) Launches First Ever Social Venture Fund for Deaf-Owned Businesses, During National Deaf Awareness Month

Multi-Million Dollar Fund to Combat 70% Unemployment Rate for Deaf Americans

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) announced the creation of the CSD Social Venture Fund, the first-ever social venture fund and incubator for Deaf-owned businesses in the United States. CSD is the world’s largest nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and cultivating greater opportunity for the millions of Deaf people worldwide.

“We are confident our new fund and incubator will help address severe employment issues and ultimately inspire others to emulate the success of Deaf individuals,” said CSD Chief Executive Officer Chris Soukup.

Today, more than 70% of Deaf people in the United States are either unemployed or underemployed, according to CSD. CSD’s Social Venture Fund is part of CSD’s ongoing efforts to close this significant employment gap and other remaining workplace barriers.

“The creation of this pioneering social venture fund is an important milestone,” said Soukup. “Today’s massive wage gap for Deaf Americans is unacceptable. The best way to combat this is to showcase the exceptional talents and successes of people who are Deaf. With so many success stories of Deaf people out there, this fund will not only help reduce this gap, but more importantly, strengthen and increase opportunities for the Deaf community overall.” Soukup discusses the fund here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDHeC2Ifpfg#action=share

The incubator program will provide both capital funding and mentorship to deaf people who want to become business owners (startups), and to existing deaf business owners (established businesses) wanting to create employment opportunities for Deaf people.

Further strengthening this Social Venture Fund is that CSD is led by Deaf executives in all of its functional departments: technology, legal, public relations and finance. This helps ensure a team that can interact with participants directly without third parties and provide firsthand understanding and expertise of the Deaf community.

Application criteria for the Social Venture Fund include:

•     Creating an impact and aligning with CSD’s commitment to prosperity among Deaf people everywhere
•     Having the potential to grow and be scalable
•     Demonstrating leadership through a clear and far-reaching vision
•     Offering innovative products and services that provide a unique spin on traditional approaches, or that are entirely new innovations

For more information on the CSD Social Venture Fund, the application requirements and CSD please visit http://csdsvf.com

Original: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14698781.htm