2023 STUDENTS 

Sadie Camilliere (she/her) is a second-year PhD in the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders at San Diego State University and UC San Diego. Her current work is focused on developing cognitive and language assessments for detecting early markers of Alzheimer’s Dementia in older deaf adults. Outside of work, Sadie enjoys reading, playing lacrosse and pickleball, and board game nights with her friends.

Martin Dale-Hench is a M.A. student studying linguistics at Gallaudet University. His research interests lie in assessment, non-manual markers, and typology, among many others. His hobbies are reading history books, traveling all around the world, and visiting National Park Service units across the United States. free time, she practices every sport she can possibly manage to, with a strong focus on indoors and outdoors climbing, hiking, paired with the occasional horse riding session.

Michael Higgins is a 3rd year doctoral student in the Language and Literacy program at Boston University, where he investigates the development of attention and language in deaf children. In his free time, Michael goes fishing and coaches soccer.

Monica Keller is a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona studying Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies, and manages consulting roles focused on sign language acquisition, bilingualism, and curriculum assessment. Among Monica’s research, she addresses issues related to learning within the Deaf community, particularly sign language planning and policy. She also embraces being a Wilderness First Responder, which goes hand in hand with her love for nature.

Desirée L. Kirst (she/her) is a graduate student in Linguistics at Gallaudet University who has been interpreting for fifteen years and is the founder of Interpreters Helping Interpreters. She interns for two NSF projects, researching on ASL transparency and STEM accessibility, and her doctoral work will investigate the phonological layering of nonmanual signals. Both professionally and personally, Desirée enjoys new experiences and challenges surrounded by good people.

Kaj Kraus (he/him) is a PhD student in Linguistics at Gallaudet University. Kaj's dissertation is on the development of ASL comprehension skills and English print literacy in deaf and hard of hearing people whose parents did not know sign prior to their birth. He lives in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, where he spends his time mountain biking, skiing, and hiking.

Carly Leannah (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in Educational Neuroscience at Gallaudet University. Her work in the Action and Brain Lab focuses on the neurocognitive impacts of sign language acquisition, bimodal bilingualism, and the experience of being deaf on spatial and action perception. In Carly’s free time, she enjoys traveling, camping and the outdoors, trying new food, and cozying up at home with a book and her cats.

Nicky Macias (she/they) is an incoming Ph.D. student currently working on her MA in Linguistics (Gallaudet University, May 2023). They are a nationally-certified interpreter and have conducted research on interpreter education, bilingual-bimodalism, and M2L2 language education/assessment. Their aim to use translanguaging and trans-linguistics frameworks to investigate social indexicality in the language use of LGBTQ+ multilingual signers.

Nicole Mapp (she/her) is a PhD student in education at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Her research interests include sign language ideologies, language acquisition and literacy, translanguaging, as well as educational experiences of deaf students of color, deaf students with disabilities, and deaf students from immigrant families. Nicole enjoys climbing and hanging upside down at aerial silks and circus arts classes, singing in the UCSB gospel choir, traveling, and reading.

Elana Pontecorvo (she/her) is a PhD student in Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences at Boston University. Her research focuses on ASL acquisition among deaf children with hearing parents; her projects have looked at early bilingual vocabulary acquisition in deaf children and the experiences of hearing parents learning ASL alongside their deaf children. She enjoys traveling, camping, swimming, and observing neighborhood wildlife (squirrels).

Melody Schwenk is a first year Ph.D. student in Education Neuroscience at Gallaudet University. She is currently interested in spatial cognition and how language influences the development of visual-spatial and literacy skills. Outside of school, she enjoys taking her two dogs to the beach and reading mystery novels.

Casey (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in Educational Neuroscience at Gallaudet University and has a background as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Her current research focuses on how language experience and modality impact the cognitive and neural foundations of numeracy. She prioritizes daily movement and enjoys a good Podcast, early morning walks with her dog, and spending time with (or FaceTiming) her friends and family.

Marah Jaraisy (she/her), is a hearing second-year Ph.D. student in Linguistics at the University of Birmingham, UK, and is part of the SignMoph team. Her research focuses on the effect of social dynamics on variation and the use of morphological structures in the Kufr Qassem deaf community, a Palestinian micro-deaf community in what is now known as Israel. The community has a local (endangered) sign language known as Kufr Qassem Sign Language (KQSL). Marah is Palestinian and enjoys connecting with her culture through food and cooking. 

Maike Beyer (she/her) is a PhD student at the Institute of German Language and Literature II in Cologne, Germany. Her research focus is on multilingual Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children, specifically exploring their perspectives on language identity and semiotic repertoires. In her free time, she enjoys activities such as bouldering, kiteboarding, and going for walks.

Paris Gappmayr (she/her) is a 3rd year PhD student in the Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences program at Boston University. She is interested in ASL acquisition and visual attention development. She is currently working on a project investigating the role of sign type (fingerspelled vs. lexicalized sign), sign familiarity, and sign perceiver proficiency on gaze patterns during sign perception. In addition to her research, Paris enjoys skiing, biking, and reading in a hammock by the river.

Arjun Shrestha (he/him) is a PhD student in Linguistics at the University of Birmingham, UK and a part of the SignMorph team.  His current research focuses on the grammar of morphological aspects of Nepali Sign Language by comparing  signers from different generations in the Nepali Deaf community. He enjoys reading newspapers, hiking, and watching accessible movies.