Category Archives: Attorneys

Deborah Mayer, Life Coach

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Deborah S. Mayer, president and owner of Crossroad Solutions Coach, Bio:
Deborah is a professional certified coach with training in leadership coaching at Georgetown University and Adler Professional School of Coaching-Arizona and is recognized by the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Deborah coaches one-to-one and leads interactive workshops and retreats on life, transition and leadership development for both deaf and hearing communities.Deborah demonstrates a remarkable commitment to her clients’ growth and achievements. Deborah is a local and national educator, facilitator and a strong advocate for deaf children’s and adults’ rights. Deborah has a bachelor’s degree in deaf education from the University of Tennessee and a master’s in deafness rehabilitation and counseling from New York University. She holds professional certifications in rehabilitation counseling and rehabilitation administration from the Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling and the Post-Employment Training-Administration of Programs Serving Individuals who are Deaf, Late-Deafened and Hard of Hearing program (PET-D) at San Diego State University. Deborah is certified as a Deaf Mentor in Illinois and Parent Advisor in Missouri trained in the SKI-Hi Curriculum. Professional experiences include director/counselor in programs for deaf/HOH students at Lehman College and LaGuardia Community College, both in NYC, and outreach specialist for Relay Missouri. She provided MCPO/PEPNet with consulting, informational and training services. She taught graduate courses at Maryville University. Deborah loves learning, traveling, cooking, dancing, family life and beach walking.

Tell me about your job– how did you get into this line of work?

I entered the coaching field when as a deaf parent, I saw how effectively and quickly my deaf child enthusiastically responded to coaching techniques by a Parent Coach over traditional counseling approaches.
I work with deaf and hearing individuals, families, groups, teams and leaders. Coaching sessions are anywhere in person, through videophone, webcam or video relay. I also give presentations, workshops, retreats and training sessions.
If you are stuck at a crossroad in your life and dont know how to move forward, that is where coaching comes in.
An advisor, counselor, psychiatrist, social worker or therapist usually focuses on the past to define current problems and tells you what to do. This is the old do-as-I say approach that deprives you of personal achievement. A coach enters a partnership  with you. You coach walks with you to discover the greatest in you. You will be empowered to create your own action plan and move forward to a fulfilling and meaningful life.

What is the best part of your job?
Reaching out to more people and see satisfying results.
What are some of the challenges of your job?
Geographical location and being visible.
I find myself dealing with different people from all walks of life. Not one person has the same goal or desire to change.
What was it like growing up deaf/hard of hearing?
My generation was different than today’s generation as my deaf teenagers grew up with technology advancement.  We didn’t have captions, TTYs or even pagers. Cochlear implants did not exist yet. Education was through touch, feel and see.
What advice would you give a deaf/hard of hearing person who is looking for a career like yours?

I would advise deaf/ hard of hearing person to acknowledge if they are either people oriented person or hands on person before they take this job. The person would love being with people and understand the human mind and emotions with training in Human Services field before taking on coaching work.

Howard Rosenblum, Attorney

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Howard Rosenblum was just twelve years old when he attended an event that changed his life and determined his career path.  At the event, he met Lowell Myers, a deaf attorney who had argued a famous case which was made into a movie, Dummy.

Howard recalls the event:  “When he came to speak about his experiences as a lawyer at an event in 1978, a twelve-year-old deaf boy saw the same opportunity that Mr. Myers saw for himself. That boy was me, and thanks to Mr. Myers, I became a lawyer 14 years later.”

Today, Howard is a Senior Attorney at Equip for Equality located in Chicago– a non-profit organization that advances the human and civil rights of people with disabilities.   He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.  He is the founder and director of the Midwest Center for Law and the Deaf which provides attorney referrals for deaf and hard of hearing people.  In 2002, he received the Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Service Award for providing many years of pro bono work during his tenure at the law firm of Monahan and Cohen.

Howard credits his parents for encouraging him to pursue his dream and to ignore the naysayers.  Just as Myers inspired Howard, Howard is now inspiring other deaf and hard of hearing individuals with his path.  The number of deaf and hard of hearing attorneys continues to grow, and together, they’re breaking down barriers.

Leonard Hall, Attorney

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There’s no typical day of work for the City of Olathe Legal Department.  Leonard Hall, a deaf attorney who works for the city, takes care of land acquisition, eminent domain, zoning, and construction contracts.  Toss in a little bit of ADA, Tax Law and Development Standards, and you can see why the Assistant City Attorney is busy from eight in the morning to six at night.  On Tuesday nights, he is involved with City Council meetings.   

“I like my job,” says Leonard.  “I usually see the ‘final products,’ such as commercial shopping centers, interchanges, road improvements or bridge projects completed by the city.” 

Leonard has a background in business and he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Social Sciences at Emporia State  University.  He attended Emporia on a scholarship for long distance running and participated in the World Games for the Deaf.  “I hold one world record for the deaf for the three-mile run and four American records in other events,” Leonard shared. 

Leonard worked in his father’s business, Hall Truck Line, which gave him a solid background in business.  With a strong desire to help people and provide service to deaf people, Leonard decided to continue his schooling to become an attorney.  He obtained a Juris Doctor Degree in Law at Washburn University Law School in Kansas. 

Leonard still finds time to write a weekly column for the Olathe News.  He became a columnist in 1993 and has produced over 700 articles for the newspaper.  He is also the coordinator of the Kansas City Coffee Chat– a social, monthly gathering of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. 

Leonard’s newest challenge is learning to adjust to the new sounds produced by his cochlear implant.  He had surgery in July of this year and wears a hearing aid in the other ear.  “I am going through a world of changes with my hearing,” says Leonard.  “My ability to understand speech went down to 5% before the surgery.  Now I am back up to understanding 30% of speech with my implant and my hearing aid.  I hope to increase it to 50% with the implant.” 

Leonard is enjoying the new sounds but explains that it is a lot of hard work.  “I like it, but it is a very difficult process — first the surgery, second, the mapping to increase the level of hearing and understanding, and third, the difficulty of adjusting to each level of hearing.   It has been a long four months of making a lot of adjustments and many more months to go.”

Leonard is married to Charla, who is hard of hearing and has a vision impairment.  They have one pre-teen son, Daniel who has hearing in the normal range.