Board Report January 2025 Translation

Description: Multicolored NAD logo, changes to NAD Logo with “National Association of the Deaf”. The video opens with two people standing in front of a white background. A large brown vase is visible on the right, and a tree is visible on the left. On the left is Joseph “Jojo” Lopez III, a hispanic man with short dark hair. On the right side is Laura Kim, an Asian woman with long hair. Both are wearing blue t-shirts with “ONE (NAD logo)” and then a heart icon.

Laura:
Hello, I’m Laura Kim ...

Jojo:
... and I’m Joseph “Jojo” Lopez III, and we are the Region IV Representatives to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Board of Directors.

Laura:
We’re here today to share what we’ve done during our quarterly board meeting here in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is our first quarterly meeting of 2025.

On Thursday, we convened at the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf. We had our regular “business” meeting in one of their conference rooms, which they generously provided. The NAD CEO presented a budget report, and we reviewed NAD’s finance policies. We also reviewed some of the Bylaws to ensure compliance. We reviewed and discussed the new Board Policy Manual (Board Policy Manual) that’s being developed. All of these efforts are part of our goal to strengthen the NAD organization.

We also had the opportunity to meet two different groups of Jr.NAD leaders: the officers from the Jean Massieu School and the officers from the Kenneth Burdett School of the Deaf (in Ogden, Utah). It was great meeting all of them and having some activities together. They are a fantastic group of young leaders.

We were also invited to have lunch with some of the JMS students. It was great meeting them and learning more about the school. We also had an awesome tour of the JMS school building and the campus. It really is a beautiful facility. After our tour, we continued our business discussions from the morning meeting.

We then met up with the Utah Association of the Deaf - they invited us to dinner. This was a great opportunity to get to know them better.

Jojo:

On Friday, we went to the Sorenson Communications Headquarters, in Taylorsville, Utah. They graciously provided us with a meeting space, where we continued our business meeting from the previous day. They also gave us a tour of the facility, which was very interesting - it was a chance to learn about the company's history and their technology. We continued our discussions throughout the afternoon.

Laura:

On Saturday morning, we traveled to the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, also in Taylorsville, Utah. We were given a tour of their amazing facility. Robert G. Sanderson is a former President of the NAD and was instrumental in the founding of this community center. The Center provides a wide range of services for deaf and hard of hearing Utahns, ranging from senior citizen assistance to employment assistance, and more.

After the tour, NAD and UAD hosted a Town Hall meeting, where local deaf and hard of hearing people were invited to come and learn about the organizational priorities of each. The NAD Board also emphasized our focus on the “PPP / CHL” acronym from the NAD mission that we’re using to guide our decisions - “preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights” of deaf and hard of hearing people. UAD brought up Jodi Becker Kinner, who shared some insights on her work into Utah Deaf history. We also had a Q and A session, where people could ask questions and share their needs.

Friday afternoon we had some free time; several Board members went to Park City, Utah. Park City is a beautiful town!

Later that evening, we gathered at a local pub with UAD Board members and members of the community for a “Deaf Night Out” (DNO), where we had the opportunity to socialize.

Jojo:

On Sunday, the Board had a business meeting here at the house where we are staying. This was a continuation of some of the topics we’d been discussing over the past few days.

We would especially like to thank:
- The Jean Massieu School of the Deaf
- Sorenson Communications
- The Robert G. Sanderson Community Center
- The Utah Association of the Deaf
We really appreciate their warm welcome, and willingness to host us at their facilities.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your regional representatives!

Both:

Thank you for watching our report!

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Closing Slide:

The NAD Board would like to thank:
- The Jean Massieu School of the Deaf
- Sorenson Communications
- The Robert G. Sanderson Community Center
- The Utah Association of the Deaf

Closing slide: NAD logo