Steph is responsible for building a strong team, strengthening operations, fostering a dynamic organizational culture, and ensuring a positive impact in our community. Steph believes that violence and oppression is not inevitable and that our work to transform systems and create opportunity must be led by people with lived experiences of oppression, violence, and marginalized identity.
Steph has 15 years of Deaf services experience and holds an individualized Bachelor’s degree in Addiction Studies and Complementary Healing from the University of Minnesota. In her down time, Steph enjoys playing with her vizsla Lincoln and spending hours with her husband and children on and around Minnesota’s 11,842 lakes.
Steph: “I was identified as deaf at 4 1/2; I began learning sign language about a year later when I was enrolled in a Deaf education program that had a strong Deaf/HH mainstreamed program. I believe working in an environment that uses ASL as its primary form of communication has been essential to my capacity to stay mentally healthy and grow as an employee, leader, and good person.”
Photo is of very young pigtailed Steph, she is smiling goofily, waving, one arm around a black lab who has a white purse around its neck.