Linsay Darnall

Linsay Darnall Jr., is a versatile individual whose experience ranges from chasing cattle in western Nebraska to serving the National Association of the Deaf as a board member. His reputation as an eloquent speaker and an expert advocate for Deaf people's rights is held in esteem across the nation.
Born to Deaf parents, Darnall grew up in Polk, Nebraska. He and his brother attended their parents’ alma mater, Nebraska School for the Deaf in Omaha. He then attended Gallaudet University, where he studied government, before returning to Nebraska to continue his advocacy and community work.
Darnall has been heavily involved in the community for several decades. Among his experience is serving as vice-president of Nebraska Association of the Deaf for two years, president of Nebraska School for the Deaf Alumni Association for 17 years, and as National Association of the Deaf Region II board member for two years. He is serving on the Hands and Voices Board and Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Board. He also co-founded the Nebraska Deaf Heritage Museum and Cultural Center. His work with deaf youth and theatre was featured in the Omaha World-Herald. Darnall received the Outstanding Use of American Sign Language Award from the Gallaudet University Theater Department and The James Sowell Appreciation Award from Nebraska Association of the Deaf.
Darnall founded Darnall Consulting LLC (www.darnallconsulting.com) in 2006 to work with Nebraska agencies and entities in education and advocacy for individuals who were deaf or hard of hearing. With his skills and services, his firm quickly expanded to include a variety of services. Today, Darnall Consulting knows no boundaries. He is currently residing in Omaha, Nebraska and enjoys reading in his spare time.

Tabitha Jacques

Tabitha Jacques, art historian and museum specialist, is a 2006 Gallaudet University graduate of Art History, and a 2008 graduate of Georgetown University with a master’s degree in Art History and Museum Studies.
Currently, she is the arts director for Ebisu Arts Collective, a project which is created to give deaf artists resources for showcasing their work and promoting dialogue.   She is involved with numerous projects related to the arts in the Metropolitan D.C. area. Jacques is also an admissions counselor at Gallaudet University.
Jacques plans to pursue her terminal degree in Contemporary Art History and plans to teach at an university.  She also hopes to work closely with artists, deaf and hearing, to promote a stronger bond between the deaf and art worlds.

Mark Wood

Mark Wood, the owner of ASL Films, is a Northern California native. Born Deaf into a Deaf family, Mark grew up loving to tell stories in American Sign Language (ASL). He combined this love with a passion for acting at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, which eventually led him to his directing and producing career.
In addition to having produced numerous full-length feature films, including Gerald, which was recognized as the best feature film at the World Deaf Cinema Film awards, Mark has a background in stage production and direction. Today, Mark is hard at work on his eighth film. He makes his home in Austin, Texas, with his wife and their son.

Joseph J. Murray

Joseph J. Murray is Assistant Professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University and coordinator of the Master's Degree concentration in Language and Human Rights. A trained historian, Murray works within the fields of History and Deaf Studies.  His research focuses on the position of Deaf people in society and transnational interconnections among Deaf people.
His most recent publications have dealt with the concept of Deaf-gain. In his 20 years of international work, Murray has given numerous lectures on Deaf Studies, the International Deaf Community, and Human Rights in over a dozen countries on five continents.   He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Iowa in 2007.

Dr. Henry Klopping

Dr. Henry Klopping is Vice President of Large Accounts for Purple Communications. Prior to assuming his current role, he served as Superintendent of the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, California for 36 years where he led an internationally known school with an outstanding reputation for an ASL/English--Bi-lingual/Bi-cultural educational program.
Dr. Klopping is a believer in Deaf people and the empowerment of Deaf people and at the California School for the Deaf he was instrumental in hiring and promoting many Deaf individuals.  Currently 5 sitting superintendents of schools for the Deaf were mentored into becoming superintendents by Dr. Klopping.  As part of his commitment to Education of the Deaf, Dr. Klopping continues to promote comprehensive educational programs for Deaf children.
His presentation at this conference will focus on the importance of maintaining and promoting residential schools and large day programs for Deaf students.  He and his wife, Bunny, are CODAs and maintain an active relationship with the larger Deaf Community.

Patti Durr

Born partially Deaf, Patti grew up without sign language or any exposure to Deaf people prior to learning ASL at the age of 20. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT. Shehas received RIT's Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching, RIT's Vagina Warrior award, NTID Student Congress Staff Humanitarian Awards and Outstaff Staff Awards.
Durr was one of the founders of Lights On! Deaf Theatre, a community theatre company, and served as artistic director for several years and was the artistic director of the first Deaf Rochester Film Festival (DRFF) in 2005.
Durr has made several award winning short films and educational videos: Don't Mind?, Page Me, EXODUS, WORRY, The Grey Area, HIV and AIDS, Me Too! and numerous Deaf artists interviews. She has published and presented in the area of Deaf View / Image Art, Deaf Cultural Studies, Deaf People and World War II and visual histories.

Durr has also been information architect for the Deaf Artists website, Deaf People and World War II website and assisted with the Deaf theatre Website. She maintains a blog called People of the Eye and is involved with activism via Audism Free America and other social justice groups.  She has an upcoming visual textbook of DVDs with Dr. Karen Christie exploring and examining expressions of the Deafhood via visual art, ASL and English literature, & Deaf theatre and Cinema. Patti is also a Gemini and a pacifist.

Rebecca Furland

Rebecca Furland received her MA in Deaf Cultural Studies from Gallaudet University in 2011. The title of her thesis is, “American Sign Language and the Desire to Buy: A Study of ASL in TV Advertisements”. Currently, she teaches Deaf Studies at the University of Iowa.

Contested Representation: PepsiCo Advertising and the Deaf Community

People today are media-driven. We are exposed to advertising in a great many contexts, consuming it and its inherent messages without serious consideration. Deaf people and sign language, for instance, appear in advertisements quite frequently. This begs the question, what do these representations mean for members of the Deaf community? Currently, there is a dearth of information surrounding the intersection of Deaf people and media. While other fields have extensively examined the role of media representation, Deaf Studies has yet to fully engage this topic.
This presentation builds on a larger work that examined the relationship between Deaf people and TV advertising. Here we will focus on the controversy surrounding one such representation. PepsiCo’s commercial, “Bob’s House,” is an advertisement that garnered national attention within the deaf community. In 2008, this silent ad had its debut on primetime TV. The NAD was in full support of the commercial, while the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing vehemently opposed it. This controversy illuminates the difficulties of representing a minority group appropriately as there may be polarized views within or surrounding a minority community. Unpacking survey data and interviews, this presentation will investigate the controversy, examine the difference in interpretation of media representation by hearing and Deaf audiences, and discuss the importance of media representation.