Bio
My name is Anne Gray Liversidge. I believe in empowering companies by giving them the knowledge they need to hire and retain Deaf employees and to attract and retain Deaf customers. I have a severe-profound hearing loss as a result of spinal meningitis when I was 16 months old. My parents fitted me with hearing aids at the age of two. I grew up being the only or one of two deaf students in my school. My world changed when I learned about the Deaf President Now ’88 movement at Gallaudet University, the world’s only university for the Deaf in Washington, D.C. and felt inspired to be part of the Deaf community. I learned American Sign Language at age 18 and, in a friend’s words, I became “unlocked”. I decided to dedicate my career to improving the lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people and others with special needs. I started out first as a teacher’s aide for Deaf children, then attained my Master’s in Deaf Education in 1993. I pursued a doctoral degree at Gallaudet University then completed my Ph.D. in Education Policy and Leadership at the University of Maryland in 2003. My dissertation focused on how deaf students can be successfully integrated academically and socially in college. Later I became interested in how businesses and corporations can become more Deaf-friendly, better able to accommodate Deaf employees, and attract more customers who are Deaf and differently-abled. This is the main mission behind “Sign Class”.
The Origins of Sign Class
“Sign Class” began in my living room in Takoma Park, Maryland. I was living in a group house and attending Gallaudet when I decided to teach my housemates and neighbors ASL. I made a book with self-created and borrowed materials which I published, copied and handed out to those who attended my class. Student feedback for my class was very positive and later I was recruited to teach at a total of five different community colleges in Maryland and Virginia as an assistant adjunct professor. I also taught at the high school level. Later, when I moved West, I taught at another community college and university in the Portland, Oregon, area.
During this time, the idea of having my own business teaching ASL in person and online never wavered. I worked for six years, and still work, for a company teaching ASL online to K-12 students around the country. In 2021 I became a nationally certified online teacher with a National Virtual Teachers Certificate.
Ninety percent of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) people have hearing parents. I provide ASL and Deaf Culture training for hearing parents and families. It’s important for D/HH children and their families to understand their communication options.
