Gaining New Perspectives Leadership Lessons from a Deaf CEO
[Music]
[Music]
hi
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
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you