TN Deaf Mentor Program: “Meet a Deaf person” Webinar!

Topic: Cued Speech & Communication

Rachel McAnallen is a native cuer and proficient signer. Rachel was born with severe-profound deafness and wears a cochlear implant and a hearing aid. While growing up in the Chicago, IL, suburbs she acted and danced for the International Center on Deafness and the Arts. In 2013, Rachel earned her B.S. in Environmental Technology and M.S. in Environmental, Health, and Safety Management from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf/ Rochester Institute of Technology. Rachel is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and specializes in environmental protection and compliance. After serving in the Department of Defense, she is currently working at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. Rachel first joined the NCSA Board of Directors as a Regional Representative during the 2017–2020 term and became a certified instructor of Cued Speech through the NCSA’s InsCert program in 2018. Since then, she has taught children how to cue at Arlington County Public Schools’ American Sign Language-Cued English A.C.E.S. camp. Rachel started teaching adults Cued Speech through Maryland/District of Columbia’s Hands and Voices Chapter. She has presented at the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) national conference twice and at the Virginia EHDI Committee. She is currently the vicepresident of the National Cued Speech Association. She lives in Burke, VA, with her husband (a fluent cuer!) and their three children.