Laurene Simms

Laurene Simms is a Deaf American educator and advocate who has become a leading figure in bilingual-bicultural deaf education, teaching deaf children using both American Sign Language and English rather than treating spoken or signed language as a barrier to overcome. She previously taught at the Indiana School for the Deaf, where she rose to become Principal, and in 2000 became the first Black alumna of that school to earn a doctorate. She served as interim Chief Bilingual Officer at Gallaudet University for three years before being made permanent in that role, and teaches courses there including Literacy Applications in ASL and English Bilingual Classrooms K-12 and Language Arts in Elementary Education. She co-authored the Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist, a standardized tool for tracking American Sign Language development in deaf children from birth through age five, and in 2005 founded Deaf Women of Color Inc. to create professional advancement opportunities for deaf women from underrepresented communities. She also directed the documentary Climbing the Avalanche, examining identity, intersectionality and educational inclusion for deaf students and people of color.