Announcing Three New Board Members
Introducing Three New Board Members
CSD proudly announces three new board members, of diverse backgrounds and talents, who will serve on its Board of Directors effective July 1, 2016. These new members, Marilyn Jean Smith, Mark Seeger and Rogelio Fernandez, Jr. join seven other board members whose role is to provide overall strategic guidance to the organization.
Marilyn Jean Smith founded the Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS) in Seattle and directed the organization from 1986-2011. He is considered the mother of the anti-violence movement in Deaf America, and received her B.A. and M.A. from Gallaudet University.
Her work at ADWAS brought many awards, including one from President Clinton, Gallaudet University, the National Association of the Deaf, Deaf Women United and the Phi Kappa Zeta sorority. Other recognitions include the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World award, The Sunshine Lady award, the National Network to End Domestic Violence award, Bank of America Hero award, the Deaf Hope Trailblazer award, among others. She received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Gallaudet University in 2004.
Marilyn was Distinguished Alumnus Fellow at Gallaudet University in 2012 and is currently Principal of The Leading Edge, LLC, and hosts workshops on domestic violence, sexual assault, leadership, board development, fund development, grant writing, personal ethics, organizational development, nonprofit management, and is a motivational keynote speaker. She works throughout the United States and Canada.
Mark Seeger was born and raised in Austin, TX as the proud CODA son of two TSD educators, Julius and Ruth Seeger, who graduated from Gallaudet in 1949. Mark graduated from the University of Texas in 1984 and started his advocacy career in the field of deafness at the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Mark was instrumental in the passage of state legislation in Texas, prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, that set the standard for 24/7 relay services nationwide.
Mark continued his career at Sprint as an Account Manager supporting the relationship with the Public Utility Commission of Texas before advancing into marketing management. By 1996, he was responsible for maintaining contract relationships with over 36 state public utility commissions.
In 2002, Mark joined the CSD team as a Government Affairs Officer working with the FCC to help shape the video relay service (VRS) regulations that established reimbursement rates and policies for early providers of the service. At CSD, Mark also managed human service programs, interpreter operations and video relay operations.
In early 2012, Mark returned to Sprint to finish his relay career, primarily managing nationwide marketing for the captioned telephone service, known as CapTel.
Mark retired from Sprint in late 2015 and is now an officer of SeeHarp, Inc., which allows him to do freelance ASL interpreting work in medical and court settings when he is in Austin, as well as the flexibility to travel extensively with his husband, Jeff Harper, who recently retired as an Electrical Engineer from IBM.
Rogelio Fernandez, Jr. was born and raised in El Paso, TX and Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. After attending public schools, he enrolled at the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) at 16. There, he learned about Deaf culture and ASL and received numerous outstanding achievement awards, such as Athlete and Scholar of the Year. He was also recognized as a member of Who’s Who in American Schools and Programs for the Deaf.
Rogelio attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., earning his B.S. in Computer Information Systems in 1999. At Gallaudet, he served as the president and vice president of the Hispanic Student Organization and as vice president of the Kappa Gamma fraternity.
He received a Circle of Excellence award from CSD in 2003 during his tenure there, and currently serves as a Business Account Executive in Austin, Texas with ZVRS. He received Salesperson of the Year awards from ZVRS in 2007 and 2009 for his outstanding achievements in sales.
Rogelio has served on numerous committees and boards. He has been a longtime activist involved in social justice with Latinx Deaf organizations. He is the president of Council de Manos and a board member of Texas Latino Council of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which he founded in 2004.
Through his consulting company, Manos Communications, he and his wife have traveled extensively to Latin countries to work with the deaf communities there, as well as with the deaf Spanish-speaking population in the United States.
More information about CSD’s board can be found below. Meet some other CSD Board Members here.
Rogelio Fernández Mota
Dr. Mei Kennedy
Maria Wilson
Melissa “echo” Greenlee
Dr. Khadijat “Kubby” Rashid
Thomas Means
Marilyn Jean Smith
Chris Soukup
Mark Seeger
Shireen Hafeez
TJay Middlebrook
