Hawaiʻi & Pacific Deaf-Blind Consortium​

Hawaiʻi & Pacific Deaf-Blind Consortium​ Logo

Project Dates

2019 – March 2024

Funding Source

US Department of Education – Office of Special Education Programs

About

The Hawai‘i & Pacific Deaf-Blind Project provides technical assistance to children and youth who are deaf-blind, birth through 21 years of age, and to their families and service providers here in Hawai‘i and outlying Pacific Island nations/jurisdictions of American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap), Guam, Republic of Palau and Republic of the Marshall Islands. Technical assistance may include: in-home consultation, school consultation, family support, networking, in-services, bi-annual statewide trainings, referrals to other agencies, and resources. Services may be requested by families of children and youth with deaf-blindness, school personnel, and agencies providing services to children and youth with deaf-blindness.

Principal Investigator

Contact

(808) 753-0981

mellanie@hawaii.edu

Full profile

Team

Jennifer Tarnay, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a Native Hawaiian with over 13 years of experience working with infants, children and young adults with communication impairments, deafness, deaf-blindness, autism spectrum disorders and severe multiple impairments as well as adults with stroke, traumatic brain injury and dementia in a clinical/hospital setting. She has worked in Hawai`i and across the Pacific Basin providing direct services, teaching classes, conducting workshops, and providing technical assistance and training. Jennifer is also a certified American Sign Language/English interpreter.

Contact

(808) 753-2351

jtarnay@hawaii.edu

Full profile

Rosalind Kia is a Native Hawaiian with over 20 years of experience working with families who have infants and children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. As CSC’s Project Coordinator, she is driven by a desire to create an inclusive environment, and takes pride in providing accessible services regardless of a person’s communication choice. She is a certified ASL interpreter and is currently learning contracted braille and haptics. In addition to her primary job functions, Roz has played an integral role in building the CSC to be Hawaii’s go to provider of adding accessibility for established media via captions, ASL, and (soon) audio description. In her spare time, she enjoys learning new technology and cooking.

Contact

roz@csc-hawaii.org

Pacific Liasions