Gaining New Perspectives Leadership Lessons from a Deaf CEO

[Music]

my name is ryan

a neapolitan wood-fired pizzeria

that is deaf-owned and deaf-led

did you catch all of that no don’t worry

there’s nothing wrong with your audio

but if you’re deaf

this is the type of information that

escapes us every day

even with the use of captions or sign

language interpreter supports

for example i struggled taking notes in

meetings while also having to watch the

interpreter

because i turn into a bobble head while

also being attuned to the conversation

at hand

to the point that my notes look like

this

this is just one of the many small ways

in which society

even today is not fully mindful of

inclusion

how do we change that well it starts

with creating opportunities

for deaf people today

i’m here to talk about how creating

opportunities

for deaf people is not just the right

thing to do

but the smart thing to do people seem to

think

accommodations for deaf people such as

sign language interpreters

assistive technology cause headaches and

costs time as well as money

but that’s not the whole story deaf

people in

all their diversity bring incredible

value and talent

to any situation accommodations

or sign language interpreters actually

give you

access to us working with deaf deafblind

deaf disabled or hard of hearing people

is an advantage i don’t have hearing

loss

i have what’s known as deaf gain this is

a term

that describes how a deaf person

provides

value in a way that no other person can

instead of looking at what we have

supposedly quote

lost death gain really encompasses

everything we as deaf people

have yield the beautiful thing about

death gain

is that it is not just deaf people who

benefit

with the right mindset everyone does

today i’ll show you ways

you can break away from the old

framework

of loss and tap into the power of deaf

gain

this is my story

communication was always a challenge for

me growing up in nebraska

i was one of a few deaf students at a

public school

filled with hearing students and

teachers

back then i had no idea what deaf gain

was but looking back it’s clear

my freshman year i decided to ask a

hearing

senior girl to be my homecoming date

via an old school tty a teletypewriter

i would dial in a relay service number

then put the phone handset on this big

clunky typewriter licking machine that i

was told made sounds like

an old modem remember that i typed

something like

stephanie would you be my homecoming

date

i waited and waited in what seemed like

an eternity

as the operator relayed my message to

stephanie

in a flat monotone voice with that

annoying keyboard

clattering sound in the background with

my heart

thumping and after what seemed like

forever she accepted

but i never asked anyone out over the

tty ever again

talk about awkward silence because we’re

constantly playing

catch-up with communication

deaf people are generally early adopters

of coms tech we are eager to try out

anything that could enhance the way we

connect with each other

especially because of existing

communication barriers

after ttys we had video relay service

known as vrs where a deaf person

has access to a live in-person operator

facilitating communication in real time

then came along the qwerty keyboard on

cell phones

like sidekicks and blackberries

while we were busy texting we were also

using apps like

glide zoom facetime

all before that technology became so

mainstream like it is today

perhaps this is why we are viewed as the

original hipsters

not only are we early adopters of

creative solutions

but we are also natural born problem

solvers

hearing people tend to feel

flustered and uncertain how to

communicate with us

but what they don’t realize is we’re

experts

in communication and in overcoming

communication challenges whether

high-tech

or low-tech we find creative ways to

improve our lifestyle

and experiences deaf people

believe in thinking differently

we are not the status quo and we embrace

that

that’s def gain

another reason we adapt well in tough

situations

is because we’re used to being

uncomfortable

let me share another high school story i

played offense and defense on the

football team

so i needed constant interpreting

support while on the field

imagine how difficult it was to read

lips

with the player’s helmets face masks and

mouth guards

while trying to watch the interpreter up

and down the sidelines

because my interpreter was female i

missed out on

the locker room banter between players

during halftime my interpreter would

have to wait outside the locker room

until i flagged her to come back for the

coach’s

halftime pep talk i remember feeling

uncomfortable like i was such a burden

to the players and

coaches because i invited the

interpreter

into our circle this pressure of

being a burden made me feel like i had

to perform especially well

both on and off the field to make up for

their sacrifice

but this discomfort can also promote

personal growth from within my being

uncomfortable

taught me how to communicate my needs to

others

while building my self-confidence

navigating

a variety of situations in life

by the way while we’re talking about

football

did you know that the huddle was

invented by

paul hubbard a deaf football player at

gallaudet university

like i said we’re creative communicators

that’s def game

i moved to washington dc after

graduating from the university of

arizona

i was young and excited to join the

workforce

while living in dc i thought it would be

a neat experience

to work on capitol hill because i knew

that deaf people were frequently turned

down from

jobs and still are today

i looked for ways to get an edge

so i asked the front desks at different

congressional member offices

what’s the most popular way to submit

job applications

they all said candidates usually applied

through email

but they also told me they were

overwhelmed with

email inquiries from constituents and

lobbyists

i saw that and took it in as an

observation

here’s where i used my problem solving

superpower

as someone who lives in a visual world

i took in my surroundings and noticed

their

fax machines weren’t being used much

i could see they had very few printouts

and were just sitting there collecting

dust

a light bulb went off i blasted out

applications using

fax machines at kinko’s while burning

the midnight oil

at 10 cents per page and sure enough

my application grabbed the attention of

several offices

that were likely fed up with emails by

thinking outside the box i ended up

working for a united states senator

in an entry level management position

before moving over to the house side to

work in finance

i ended up working on the hill for five

years

i continued to apply creative solutions

throughout my career

from the hill to a reputable management

consulting firm

and then to a place i

never imagined working not even in my

wildest dreams

the fbi where i spent eight years

my primary responsibility was to provide

strategic advisory services to the

executive associate director

who were really way up there in the fbi

hierarchy

the fbi was where i fully realized my

death gain

fbi teams rely heavily on visual cues

to be effective in their work my death

gain

was a competitive advantage when

analyzing mountains of data

observing people and monitoring complex

situations

when death gain isn’t necessarily

successful

in getting us the jobs of our dreams

we don’t give up we problem solve and

create opportunities for ourselves

deaf people are more than twice as

likely to become

business owners

talk about grit and unleashing our death

gain oh and one more thing

one advantage we have is that we can eat

and talk at the same time

delicious

was most fortunate to have two very

supportive parents

both from the education field who were

true accessibility advocates

they’d always go to bat for me and my

older sister

who is also deaf to make sure we had

access

to a quality education and fulfilling

experiences

growing up such as participating in

different activities

they both also learned and were fluent

in sign language

which you may be surprised to find out

is not very common for deaf children

with hearing parents

my parents taught me the importance of

advocating for myself and

others especially my community i fully

recognize

that my situation is rare and our

community

which has many advocates is still a

small one

that’s why we need people like you to

become advocates too

this is why i’m committed to creating

opportunities

for deaf people and as a result of this

talk

i hope you’ll join me in doing so

at mazzaria we are giving back and

creating pathways

for other deaf people in the same way my

parents

and other influential people throughout

my life

created for me to build an equal

accessible future we all have roles to

play

opening our restaurant in dc

couldn’t have happened without the

wholehearted support of community

members

and advocates and valued partners

such as the communications service for

the deaf

social venture fund csd svf

the svf focuses on opportunity creation

and providing entrepreneurial support as

well as resources for deaf owned

businesses

looking to scale and thrive that’s

another thing

deaf people are big on supporting what

we call

the deaf ecosystem by helping other deaf

businesses and organizations succeed

in order to build an equal future we

must also empathize more with each

other’s individual experiences

and support the various ecosystems that

we are all a part of

through our intersectional identities

we must encourage family members

educators

coaches and employers to empathize with

deaf people

really it’s simple don’t look at what

deaf people

can’t do or the associated

costs or the hassles

this might bring instead recognize

what deaf people can do and value

what they bring to the table hire deaf

employees

encourage and support deaf businesses

in their momentum towards success look

into

content creators who are deaf and

discover deaf gain

for yourself in turn

you’ll be helping us empower a diverse

marginalized community just like we do

here

at mozzarella one pizza at a time

thank you

[Music]

you