Hello and welcome! I decided to start this blog to share the work I do in the area of deaf advocacy. I have never been one to suffer in silence in the face of a perceived slight. It is my custom to stand up for myself and for other deaf people when I see something that just isn’t right. This blog is an attempt to share these efforts with others in the deaf community. Perhaps something I say or do will inspire others to advocate for themselves.
A brief biography: I was born and raised in suburban New Jersey. When I was 8, I started to lose my hearing to unknown causes. It was a long process and I did not consider myself deaf until I was 22 and no longer able to hear on the phone even with a strong amplifier to boost the sounds.
I attended Syracuse and Rutgers Universities in the days before support services and did not get very far with my studies. In 1980 I enrolled in the Rochester Institute of Technology, where I received support from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. I graduated in 1985 with a B.S. in professional photography.
Shortly after graduating, I founded Deaf Artists of America, Inc., a national nonprofit arts service organization, and ran it for 10 years. A highlight was establishing an art gallery for deaf artists, which hosted more than 20 exhibits over a four-year span (1988-92).
I was editor of Silent News from 1991 to 1996 and publisher/editor of Newswaves from 1997 to 2002. I moved to California in 2000 and worked for GLAD (Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness) for two years, then moved back to Rochester in 2003. The following year I started Deafweekly (www.deafweekly.com), a free news service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
In addition to working as a journalist, I am a part-time photographer (www.tomwillard.com) and recently started a new business (www.canalstreetpress.com) to publish deaf-related and photography books.
So that’s my story and you are invited back any time to keep up with what I’m doing in the area of deaf advocacy. I welcome your comments, but I have to insist that you give your real name when you comment. As a writer, I have stood behind my own comments and opinions all my life, and frankly I don’t have a lot of respect for people who cannot do the same thing. I definitely will not allow people to use this blog to attack other people while hiding behind fake names. I see too much of that on other blogs.
3 Comments
November 9, 2006 at 3:12 pm
pls subcribe to me
it cool i like deaf story about deaf people life…..
thanks
Thomas
November 10, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Hi Tom: Been reading your comments on RidorLIVE and always enjoy them! I am working as a bookkeeper for my son at his company in Magnolia, NJ. It keeps me out of trouble. I will be 76 in December so I am kinda slowing down these days. Keep on doing what you are doing! I send you my best.
November 10, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Hi Betty, nice to see you here and thanks for the kind words. Staying out of trouble, eh? Good to hear. I had to take a break as a Ridor commentator due to the nastiness there … it’s sad how some people take pleasure in other’s misfortunes. Oh well, that is nothing new, I guess. Take it easy and talk more soon.