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WHO
WE ARE
At Deaf Empowerment we’ re guided by a common goal: to empower deaf people around the world
OUR BOARD.
George Schinarakis
George is an International Development Specialist and an educator. Having devoted his life to deaf education and the deaf communities, George has always worked on improving education for deaf students and advancing deaf communities around the world.
Born and raised in Greece, George has lived and worked in Greece, Canada, and the United States. He has also worked at various organizations and educational institutions, including Ontario Ministry of Education, George Brown College, Canadian Hearing Society, Saskatchewan Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services, H3Network Media Alliance, the International Yeshiva High School for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, and the Schinarakis Studies—Special Education Schools.
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Founder & President
Vice President
Ali is an Iranian born Literacy Instructor who has lived in Japan and Canada before migrating to the United States. Over his career he has worked in a wide variety of professional capacities including the Bow Valley College in Calgary-Canada, and Gallaudet University-Washington D.C.
He has provided leadership to committees organizing events and workshops about Deaf awareness, multiculturalism and Deaf culture issues, both in Canada and in the United States.
During his teaching at Bow Valley College in Calgary, he created comprehensive guidelines for the tutorial service in order to provide a bilingual (English/ASL) environment for deaf students and expanded the student activities in the Deaf program. For this effort, he was honored with the award of best literacy instructor at the Literacy Community in Calgary, Alberta in 2005. Ali is currently an English Language Instructor at Gallaudet-Washington D.C. while he is pursuing his doctoral in Deaf Studies and Deaf Education at Lamar University-Beaumont, Texas.
Christian has almost 10 years’ experience in the youth work sector across a range of settings and contexts. He has worked with disadvantaged and at-risk deaf youth populations in various capacities by advocating on their behalf to enable them to access their full statutory rights and have access to development and learning opportunities.
Originally from Saskatoon-Saskatchewan, Christian moved to Toronto in 2015 to broaden his knowledge and experiences. In Toronto, he worked as Residential Counsellor at Bob Rumball Canadian Center of Excellence for the Deaf. Through this position he builded up extensive experience in issues of poverty, education, discrimination and human rights.
As a front-line advocate, Christian has a passion for supporting deaf young people to grow in confidence and reach their full potential. His knowledge and experience from previous roles within the private and voluntary sector organizations, have given him the confidence to join Deaf Empowerment and contribute to the organization’s goal to promote collaboration, growth, and positivity for deaf youths around the world.
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Christian is currently living in Montreal-QC where he pursues a new career with local businesses.
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Secretary