For a video update on the Council of Representatives Session I, please visit our YouTube page. A video update from the second day of the Council of Representatives will be coming soon!

The Council of Representatives has met three times during the National Association of the Deaf Conference, and will have two more meetings before the week is out!

On the second day of the Council of Representatives, NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins began the State of the NAD by encouraging members and delegates to support one another as the NAD grows as an organization. The NAD has focused on ensuring that diversity is properly represented within the Board over the last few years and has seen an increase of diversity on the basis of race, age, sexual orientation and more. During 2010 through 2012, half of the elected and appointed Board members were women. Now, in addition to ensuring diversity is present, the NAD Board is focusing on encouraging more individual involvement in the activities and goals of the NAD. Scoggins then summarized the accomplishments and work the NAD has done over the past two years, including heavy involvement at the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) conference, the recent landmark decision in the NAD v. Netflix lawsuit and advocacy for communication access at hospitals. President Scoggins topped off her speech by stating that the "NAD is here to stay!"

The Interim Director for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), Matthew O'Hara, spoke about upcoming changes to the NIC certification, which included providing feedback to interpreters who failed the certification exam and delivering scores to test takers at a faster rate. More information can be obtained at the RID exhibit booth and online at www.rid.org.

The Council of Representatives meeting was buttressed by award announcements. John Patrick Evans presented the Andrew J. Foster Teaching Excellence Award to Dr. Roslyn "Roz" Rosen (Sherman Oaks, California) in recognition of her tireless work in cultivating deaf education methods in ASL.

The Knight of the Flying Fingers Award recognized commitment to volunteer service and was given to seven dedicated individuals from all over the country. These individuals are: Chuck Baird (posthumous, Austin, Texas); Ella Eakins (St. Louis, Missouri); Dr. Henry "Hank" Klopping (Fremont, California); Julie Bourne Lockhart (Frederick, Maryland); Kim Bianco Majeri (Carmel, Indiana); Lissette Molina-Wood (Miami, Florida); and Michelle Rathswohl (Garden Grove, California). To find more information about these volunteers and the work that they do, go to our awards and recognition page.

Colin Allen, President of the World Federation of the Deaf, stopped by to encourage members to interact with WFD Board members who are attending the 100th annual WFD Board meeting on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency, adjacent to the Kentucky International Convention Center.

NAD Board members, along with some delegates, are currently wearing "Child First" pins provided by CSD to symbolize one of NAD's top priorities: that every child has access to ASL as part of their education.

That's just a peek into a few of the issues your delegates cover while they meet at the Council of Representatives!