2011-2013 Board Members

Alana comes from a three-generation deaf family. She was born in California and raised in New York City area.  She obtained her bachelor degree from Gallaudet and master degree from University of Phoenix.  Her professional career has always been in the telecommunications industry since 1994, she worked for MCI, Verizon, NexTalk respectively until she opened her own consulting practice, Creative Communications, which she operates currently with her husband, Donnie Dove out of Charlotte, N.C.

Alana enjoys spending her time with family, traveling, reading, and painting along with many other different interests.  As a DWU Board President, she looks forward to bringing the organization to the next level where deaf and hard of hearing women’s lives would be enriched in many ways more than one.

Vice President Keri Darling

Keri was born, raised and will be buried in Vermont, attending public schools until she went to RIT and  graduated with a BFA in Photojournalism in 1994. She has worked as the director of Deaf Vermonters Advocacy Services (DVAS) for the past 12 years and is currently the chair of the Justice for Deaf Victims National Coalition (JDVNC). She has been married to husband Todd for 14 years and they have two wonderful children.  Maleia, 16, who is on the autism spectrum and Jake, 9. Keri believes wholeheartedly in DWU and what it stands for and what it can do to Deaf women all over the country. She has been a scholarship recipient for the DWU conference in 1997 in Rochester and she has received an affiliate award in 2007 in Maryland for outstanding work in the Deaf community. Keri has attended 9 DWU conferences and doesn’t expect to stop! She likes to make wreaths and read books in her spare time. She loves to travel and likes learning new things everyday.  She often goes hiking, snowshoeing or snowmobiling with her family. She welcomes all Deaf and hard of hearing women to DWU!

Secretary Adele Ann Eberwein

Adele Ann was born and raised in California to a Deaf family.  She is still living in California with the next generation with a partner and 4 children.  She received her B.A. in Psychology and Ed.S. in Change Leadership in Education from Gallaudet University and M.A. in Deaf Education from San Francisco State University.  As a second-generation graduate of California School for the Deaf in Fremont, Adele Ann works there as a principal of Elementary School.  Her hobbies includes traveling in Europe, Africa and Latin America, reading books, taking photography, gardening, making plucot and persimmon jams and knitting baby beanies.  Adele Ann has been involved with youth leadership and now she hopes with DWU to contribute in recruiting Deaf women of different backgrounds and finding the connection between Deafhood and womanhood.

Treasurer Bethany Gehman

Bethany Gehman, a very friendly, down-to-earth girl was born in a small town in Pennsylvania. Ever since she was a little girl, she knew that she had the passion to travel and see the world, and she begun her journey when she was 17 year old, serving the Deaf community in Brazil for six weeks. Bethany continued her passion by recently studying abroad in Siena, Italy for five months in the past spring of 2011. She will graduate in May 2012 from Gallaudet University with B.A. Degree in Studio Arts with minors in Family & Child Studies and Psychology. Over the years she has continuously getting involved with the sustainability, another passion of hers that was ignited by working with Conservation Corps of Minnesota for three summers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, painting, and hiking! One of her lifetime goals is to own five purple cats.

Affiliates Officer Shelley Oishi

Born in British Columbia, Canada, Shelley is a third generation Japanese-Canadian.  She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.  Afterwards, she attained her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from Western Oregon University.  After nearly 8 years in the rehabilitation field with a strong emphasis in Vocational Services, Shelley shifted into the corporate world by accepting a job offer in Austin, Texas.  Currently, she is working at Texas School for the Deaf as the Parent Liaison.  She has been involved as a board member with Deaf Women United since 2007.

Public Relations Officer Shilpa Hanumantha

Dr. Shilpa Hanumantha was born in Bangalore, India and then moved to the United States. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from George Mason University (GMU) and two master’s degrees from Gallaudet University: one in Administration and Supervision and the other in Clinical Psychology. A few years later, Shilpa received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. Currently at Gallaudet University, Shilpa is an adjunct professor at the Psychology Department while working as a neuro-psych assessment specialist for Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) center, one of the six selected Science and Learning Centers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Addicted to her iPhone, Shilpa in her free time also enjoys reading psychology journals, photo-blogging, trying out a variety of spicy ethnic food, and traveling to new places. As an appointed board member of DWU, Shilpa hopes to focus on improving diversity on different levels among Deaf women nationwide.