December 19, 2008 - Sheryl D. Emery, M.A., has been named as director of the Division on Deaf & Hard of Hearing (DODHH). She will also serve as assistant director of the Commission on Disability Concerns and senior staff liaison to the DODHH governor-appointed advisory council.
"Sheryl has the extensive knowledge and experience we need to advance the indisputable rights of 1.4 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals in Michigan," said Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG) Director Stanley "Skip" Pruss. "Providing equal access to accurate communication is priority #1 for Sheryl which will help ensure all of our citizens can succeed in education and employment opportunities as we continue to transform Michigan's economy."
As director of DODHH, Emery will oversee the testing and certification of sign language interpreters seeking Quality Assurance level certification from the state of Michigan now required by law, Public Acts 23 and 24 of 2007, which amended PA 204 of 1982, the Deaf Persons' Interpreters Act. This legislation calls for interpreters to be certified by DODHH to work in the state of Michigan and also fines interpreters and appointing authorities in violation of the law. Emery will also work with all state departments to ensure adequate accommodation strategies for deaf and hard of hearing consumers.
Emery was previously assistant director of Deaf C.A.N. (Community Advocacy Network) located in Sylvan Lake, MI. From 1987-2000, she worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the deaf with Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) in Mt. Clemens, Clinton Township, and Warren, MI. During her 13-year tenure with MRS, she placed hundreds of deaf and hard of hearing people into employment and helped them to attain access to technical or liberal arts college education.
Emery has also served on the state mental health advisory board on deafness, the Division on Deafness Advisory Board, National Missions Advisory Panel and as a consultant for the National Council on Interpreting. In 1982, at age 23, Emery became the first national director of National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA), the oldest and largest consumer and advocacy organization serving thousands of deaf and hard of hearing African-Americans.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Sheryl received an associate's degree from Johnson County Community College, a bachelor's degree in social work from Gallaudet University, and a master's degree in rehabilitation from New York University.
The DODHH was established by P.A. 72 of 1937 as the Division of Deaf and Deafened. In 2002 it was renamed to the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing by Executive Order and provides such services as technical support, workplace assessment, barrier free consultation, information and referrals, accommodations, interpreter information and services, and research and statistics.
The DODHH is an agency within the Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG), Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns (MCDC), which was created in 1949 by Gov. G. Mennen Williams and established under state law by P.A. 11 in 1968. MCDC provides statewide leadership to empower and integrate people with disabilities into all aspects of society and serves as the only state agency that responds to issues impacting all of Michigan's 1.9 million citizens with disabilities.
Read more Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth press releases.
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