When people think about accessibility, they often think about interpreters, captions, or accommodations. While those things are important, true accessibility also requires Deaf voices to be present where decisions are being made. That belief is what led me and my fellow California State University, San Bernardino social work student, Mireya Carranco, to launch a petition to establish the first-ever Deaf Social Workers Council within the National Association of Social Workers

Deaf Access Now began as an idea long before it became an organization. Before there was a website, a logo, or a mission statement, there was simply my life as the firstborn child of two Deaf parents. As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), American Sign Language was my first language and Deaf culture was my first community. From a very young age, I found myself helping my parents navigate systems that were not designed with them in mind. I interpreted housing appointments, school