After 23
years of services, Leon Curtis is retiring as director of Washington State
Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services after 23 years.
Eric Raff has be chosen as a new director.
Here is the latest news:
JULY 30, 2003 NO. 003-256
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Gaye Jensen, Health and Rehabilitative Services,
360-902-7789
Jeff Weathersby, Media Relations, 360-902-7892
DSHS hires Indiana man to head Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing
OLYMPIA - The Department of Social and Health Services today hired Eric Raff, an administrator and consultant to deaf service programs, to head its Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Raff, 38, lives in
Bloomington, Ind., where he recently received a master of public affairs degree
from Indiana University, with concentrations on public and non-profit
organization management.
Deaf since birth, Raff is bilingual in the English and American Sign Language (ASL) languages.
"We are very fortunate to have found a candidate with the experience and background to try to fill the shoes of Leon Curtis," said Tim Brown, assistant secretary of the Health and Rehabilitative Services Administration. Curtis, who has headed the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing for 23 years, is retiring.
"Leon made the office a force for ensuring thousands of people who are deaf and hard of hearing can enjoy all this state and country have to offer. I'm confident Eric will continue the tradition of using innovative technology and cooperative partnerships to help these deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people participate fully in the mainstream of American life," Brown added.
"I am pleased and honored to have been chosen to build upon Leon Curtis' legacy and steer the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing into the 21st century," said Eric Raff. "I look forward to serving and empowering a diverse constituency and working with a truly inclusive DSHS. I envision that barriers will continue to crumble through a blending of technology and people, achieving greater communication access and further enhance the quality of life in the beautiful state of Washington."
Raff has served as manager of the statewide Deaf Network program for the Bloomington Center for Behavioral Health, a community mental health agency providing counseling, case management and interpreting services. As a graduate student with a young family, he was a consultant to the Massachusetts and Kentucky Commissions on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Since his graduation with a bachelor of accounting from Gallaudet University in 1990, he also has been a tax preparer for Gambrel & Thomas, an accounting firm in Louisville, Ky.; community liaison/case manager for the National Mental Health Institute on Deafness and TTY (teletypewriters) distribution program and information coordinator for the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Raff and his wife Lauren have two children. Lauren also is deaf and a graduate of Gallaudet. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
Before hiring Raff, Brown said four candidates were interviewed by three panels, two of which consisted of members of the deaf, hard of hearing and hearing communities. The third represented people from the deaf-blind community. The public observed the interview process at five videoconference sites around the state.
Approximately 650,000 Washington residents have hearing problems and 14,000 of them are profoundly deaf.
July 29,2003 - I guess by now most of you heard. Eric Raff has been chosen as the new director of Washington State Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing. For information about Eric Raff, scroll down this webpage. - Jenifer
July 11, 2003 - One candidate was interviewed this past week and another will be interview this coming week. A decision will be made sometime the following week. This is all the information I was able to get. - Jenifer
July 1st, 2003
I would like to thank the many members of the Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and hard of hearing community who have helped me over the last six months with the recruitment, screening, and selection process and shared their advice for the hiring of a new ODHH Director.
On June 23, 2003, DSHS interviewed four highly qualified candidates for the position of Director of The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Eric Raff, Jelica Nuccio, Jan Holler, and Bob Lichtenberg. There were 3 interview panels, one of which was broadcast to 5 sites located in Renton/Tukwila, Lacey, Vancouver, Spokane, and the Tri-Cities. Over 60 people watched the video-conferenced interviews, and many viewers later sent me faxes and e-mails.
Liz Dunbar, Deputy Secretary, and I were very pleased with all four candidates. They interviewed well and each candidate had many unique qualifications that set him or her apart. As you may imagine, it has become a difficult choice. Therefore, we have decided to ask two of the finalists, Eric Raff from Indiana, and Bob Lichtenberg from Washington State, to come back for a second time to be interviewed by Liz and myself before making the final choice for the Director position.
This has been a very positive experience and I want to thank Jelica Nuccio from the Child Health Institute at the University of Washington and Jan Holler from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Social and Health Services, for participating in these interviews and making this an outstanding professional experience.
I hope to have the final interviews completed over the next week and a half and the final decision announced by mid-July 2003. Thank you, everyone, for making this a positive, open and interactive process.
Sincerely,
Tim Brown, Assistant Secretary
Health and Rehabilitative Services Administration
Department of Social and Health Services
Bob Lichtenberg earned his B.S in Economic Studies at Lewis and Clark College in 1978 and his Juris Doctor at the University of Washington Law School in 1984. He currently serves at the Assistant Director for the Office of he Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Department of Social and Health Services. Between 1971 and 2001, he has been a member of the National Association of State Relay Administrators, the Community Service Center Board of Trustees for the Deaf and hard of Hearing, and the Governor�s Committee on State programs for the Handicapped. He currently resides in Vashon, Washington.
PAST NEWS
JUNE 23RD
From 9am to 3:30pm, the final 4 candidates were interviewed. About 60 people throughout the state watched the live interviews at a video conference closest to them.
In Lacey, in DIS videoconference room, folks from Tacoma and Olympia, watching Jelico Nuccio being interviewed.
1 group of panel members getting ready to interview the next candidate.
.
On screen, Lalo Valdez, representing for speech-impaired + Native Americans, asking a candidate a question.
CANDIDATE PROFILES
Candidate 1: Eric Raff earned his B.S. degree in accounting from Gallaudet University in 1990, and his Masters of Public Affairs in December 2002. His most recent professional experience was as a consultant with the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in 2001. His community service experience includes the Indiana Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Advisory Board; the Indiana Association of the Deaf; and the Statewide Independent Living Council of Kentucky. He currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana.
Candidate 2: Jelica Nuccio earned her B.S in Biology in 1988 from the Rochester Institute of Technology and her Masters in Public Health in 1996 from Emory University. She is currently the Program Coordinator for the Child Health Institute at the University of Washington. Jelica�s community leadership activities include serving as President of the Washington State Deaf-Blind Citizens; membership in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, and serving on the Washington State Advisory Committee to ODHH. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington.
Candidate 3: Jan Holler earned her B.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1978 and her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1981 at Seattle University. She is currently a Statewide Program Administrator for Corporate Relations for the Division of Vocational Counseling, Department of Social and Health Services. Her current professional associations include the National rehabilitation Association, American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, and National Association for the Deaf. She currently resides in Bellevue, Washington.
Candidate 4: Bob Lichtenberg earned his B.S in Economic Studies at Lewis and Clark College in 1978 and his Juris Doctor at the University of Washington Law School in 1984. He currently serves at the Assistant Director for the Office of he Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Department of Social and Health Services. Between 1971 and 2001, he has been a member of the National Association of State Relay Administrators, the Community Service Center Board of Trustees for the Deaf and hard of Hearing, and the Governor�s Committee on State programs for the Handicapped. He currently resides in Vashon, Washington.
Overview of the Office of The Deaf and Hard of Hearing:
There are approximately 650,000 individuals with a hearing loss in the State of Washington. Of that number, 14,000 individuals are profoundly deaf. ODHH contracts with six community service centers, located in Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, Pasco, Spokane, and Bellingham, to provide communications access advocacy, sign language interpreter information, workshops, information and referral, counseling, outreach and independent living support services to clients and their families.
Additionally, ODHH contracts for Telecommunications Relay Services which provides telecommunications access through trained relay call agents to persons with specialized communications equipment distributed by ODHH or purchased by persons with hearing loss from retailers.
ODHH helps identify local, regional, and state services, which are available for the deaf and hard of hearing populations; provides resources for interpreting, captioning and amplification services for DSHS clients; and collaborates with and provides technical assistance to the Washington School for the Deaf. ODHH is often asked to comment on proposed legislation that effects the Deaf and hard of hearing in the State of Washington.
Overview of the Interview Process:
Recruitment for the ODHH Director position was open from March 15th through April 30, 2003. The ODHH Resume Screening Committee reviewed 30 qualified resumes, called references, and made a recommendation to the DSHS Assistant Secretary for Health and Rehabilitative Services Administration, Tim Brown, for the top candidates to be interviewed.
The top 4 candidates were interviewed by 3 panels, 2 composed of a mix of members of the Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing communities, and 1 composed of individuals representing the Deaf-Blind community. The candidates also had an interview with Tim Brown and Liz Dunbar, Deputy Secretary of DSHS. At the end of the day. after the interviews are completed, Tim Brown consults with the panels and consider your input before making the final decision no later than July 1st .
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