Deaf Community Panel (past)

Deaf Community Panel

Here are the members from the Deaf Panel that will occur on March 18th at 6:30pm. Grab the opportunity to see different Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing loss members talk about their journey/experience through life

Click HERE to watch the event virtually once it goes live.

My name is James Postell. I am 30 years old and hard of hearing. I enjoy watching sports and social gatherings with friends and family. I attended NTID in Rochester, NY from 2008 to 2013. I currently work full time as a Saw operator for a company called Grief in which I’ve been employed for the last 4 years.

Cookie Brand is a BlackDeaf School Counselor at the Metro Deaf School. Cookie spent two years in central Kenya as a Peace Corps Volunteer where she taught deaf and hard of hearing children. Returning to the US, Cookie fulfilled the third goal of the Peace Corps - “to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans'' by sharing her first-hand world experience and found a love for supporting people as a whole person. 

Cookie loves to spend time with her two deaf and hard of hearing daughters, enjoys hiking, still-life photography, dancing and being president of the St. Paul & Minneapolis Black Deaf Advocates.



Jacob Leffler currently works for the Federal Government and lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He is originally from Buffalo, New York. He is a graduate of St. Mary's School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University - BA in Government and Masters in Public Administration. He was involved with different organizations - Empire State Association of the Deaf, Maryland Association of the Deaf, Baltimore City Association of the Deaf, and Deaf in Government in various capacities. He is currently serving on the National Association of the Deaf Board as the Region 1 Representative. He was involved with Jr. NAD when he was a student at St. Mary's School for the Deaf. Jacob also enjoys cruising and traveling around the world.