Denise Duffy

Duffy’s winning program, “Hearing to Deaf: Enrichment and Understanding,” is designed to provide laptops for hearing students at the McLean School of Maryland with Skype capability so that they can communicate with deaf students their age at schools for the hearing-impaired around the country. The project is an innovative way to have hearing students and hearing-impaired teens come together to form bonds of friendship and understanding. The project attempts to immerse students in a very unique situation where using American Sign Language is the primary means of communication. This project creates the opportunity for students to increase their fluency, understanding and respect for the deaf community in America. Hearing-impaired students will also benefit from the opportunity to enter the hearing community on their terms and to make an effort to be understood by the hearing community that surrounds them on a daily basis. Duffy resides in Woodbridge, Va.