Knocking down communication barriers between Deaf and Hearing Communities

Elaine Lenon (MA, NAD, NIC) is a leading advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and has dedicated over 20 years of service to the South Florida community. A public servant by nature, her passion for the Deaf community was cultivated during her time as a Denver resident. Diving into the fabric of the Deaf community, she witnessed the acts of discrimination and maltreatment imposed upon the Deaf.

Passionate on decreasing the multiple barriers and lack of resources for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, she founded Community Outreach for the Deaf, Inc., a not for profit organization.

She successfully achieved certification with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, earning two National Certifications that include the National Association for the Deaf (NAD), and the National Interpreter Certification for the Deaf (NIC). She is also a member of the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (FRID).  She is also certified with the Registry of Professional Evaluators (RPVE).

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Niccole Pazos began at a young age with her work in the Deaf Community. At 7 years old she was fascinated with the sign language interpreter at church; there she began to learn the language. When she turned 14 she registered for American Sign Language at her high school as her second language requirement. There she became proficient in the language and served over a thousand hours of community service to better the Deaf Community. Niccole feels blessed that she was able to find her passion at a young age, and in High School she decided that she would dedicate the rest of her life to creating awareness about the importance of learning American Sign Language and servicing the Deaf Community.

Throughout the past 20 years she has worked in various non-profits for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, but realized that there was more that needed to be done. She branched off two years ago on her own and created The Bridge Outreach for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She began teaching sign language in pre-schools and teaching mommy and me based sign language programs in local libraries.

Niccole feels that it’s imperative that while improving the Deaf Community it’s equally as detrimental to inform the hearing population about the Deaf community. The more people that know sign language and understand the proper methods of communication with a Deaf person will help reduce the high depression rate amongst our Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. For this reason, the Bridge offers a community partner education program, where they go into local business and teach the employees basic knowledge of American Sign Language along with other proper methods of communication to engage and welcome Deaf Consumers.