Who Are We

Lissa Ramirez-Stapleton, Ph.D. (she/her), was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She is an educator, author, and founder of The Black Deaf Project. As a student affairs staff member at California State University Northridge, she witnessed a lack of culturally accessible resources and research for Deaf College Students of Color. Because of this, Lissa returned to school to pursue her doctorate at Iowa State University. She graduated in 2014 with her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Higher Education and Social Justice and a minor in Women's Studies. Her research focuses on equity and access, identity development, and the educational history of Deaf students with a commitment to Black Deaf communities. Lissa is an active member of the Southern California Black Deaf Advocates organization, has traveled and engaged with Black Deaf communities worldwide (e.g., Ghana and South Africa), and was an Associate Professor of Deaf Studies for eight years at California State University, Northridge. She is an Associate Professor at California State University, Fullerton, in Student Affairs and lives in Southern California with her wife, Marcela Ramirez-Stapleton, and their daughter Kalia. Personal Website Link 

Ashlea Hayes was born and raised in Compton, CA. She was bitten by the acting bug in 2009, stemming from her love of storytelling as a child. In 2011, she joined the SAG-AFTRA union and has been honing her craft ever since. Ashlea has been active in the Deaf community for 27 years. She has been involved in several community organizations, all with the goal of empowering the Deaf community as well as educating the Hearing community about Deaf Culture. When she isn't volunteering her time to the community, or working on a new production, she is teaching ASL at Fusion Academy and El Camino College

Michael Agyin is a Deaf & Disability rights advocate. The Son of immigrants from Ghana, he was raised in Compton, CA. He didn't know there was a word for people like himself until college: Deaf. Empowered by learning American Sign Language (ASL) while earning his bachelor's degree at California State University Northridge, he began to see the need for Deaf advocacy. Michael became determined to break the barrier that exists between the hearing and Deaf worlds. This determination earned him the CSUN National Center on Deafness Outstanding Humanitarian Award.  Michael further emphasizes the connection between ASL, self-esteem, cultural identity, while bridging the gap between the Deaf and the hearing communities by providing accessibility awareness, fostering inclusion, and Deaf pride. He is the founder of Compton ASL Club which foster to teach and spread Sign Language in urban communities from a BIPOC perspective. 

Flo, former known as Ashlee’ McHenry, is an American Sign Language Interpreter located in Los Angeles, California with an M.A. in Higher Educational Leadership & an B.A. in Deaf Studies. Her research focuses on the intersectionality of Deaf people of color, especially Black Deaf communities, and their access to higher education. 

Jaleesa Herrington is a Program Manager for Student Involvement and Leadership at the University of Michigan-Flint. She has an M.A. in Higher Education Leadership and BA in Deaf Studies.