Christy Smith - Co-Founder/Director

Christy Smith is the Co-Founder of Discovering Deaf Worlds and a full-time volunteer dedicated to carrying out DDW's mission. During DDW's 2007-2008 World Tour, she connected with over 100 deaf associations, schools and non-profit organizations in eight different countries; was exposed to nearly 20 languages signed, written or spoken; and filmed over 100 hours of interviews with international leaders and advocates to deaf communities worldwide.

Smith co-directed DDW’s first documentary, Discovering: Shuktara and currently serves as Secretary to the Board of Director's.  Since DDW's inception, she has collaboratively raised over $70,000 for DDW projects and has presented to several audiences of over 500 people on DDW’s mission, discoveries, and future programs.  

Originally from Basalt, CO, Smith graduated from Gallaudet University (GU) with a B.A. in Criminology and Sociology.  After surviving 33 out of 39 days as a contestant on CBS's Survivor: The Amazon (2003), she became a well known international role model to the deaf community.  Smith directed and co-produced a children's television show called Christy's Kids: Challenge Yourself, and has visited over 100 schools and organizations across North America as a motivational speaker.  

Smith is passionate about challenging others to believe in themselves and has held positions as an American Sign Language teacher, facilitator for the Colorado Home Intervention Program (CHIP), and discovery & program coordinator for the Aspen Camp School for the Deaf (ACSD).  She is currently pursuing her Master of Science degree in Secondary Education at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). 

David Justice - Co-Founder/Director

David Justice is the Co-Founder of Discovering Deaf Worlds and a full-time volunteer dedicated to carrying out DDW's mission. During DDW's 2007-2008 World Tour, he connected with over 100 deaf associations, schools and non-profit organizations in eight different countries; was exposed to nearly 20 languages signed, written or spoken; and filmed over 100 hours of interviews with international leaders and advocates to deaf communities worldwide.

Justice co-directed DDW’s first documentary, Discovering: Shuktara and currently serves as Treasurer to the Board of Director's where he maintains DDW’s budget, taxes, and official records.  Since DDW's inception, he has collaboratively raised over $70,000 for DDW projects.  Justice co-writes and edits DDW’s monthly newsletter, distributed to over 2,500 subscribers, and has presented to several audiences of over 500 people on DDW’s mission, discoveries, and future programs.  He also designed and now updates DDW’s official website.

A native of Rochester, NY, Justice strives to be an intermediary of cultural understanding between deaf and hearing worlds.  He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Sociology from Ithaca College (IC), and holds an A.A.S. in ASL/English Interpreter Preparation from Front Range Community College (FRCC).  He has served as a counselor to the Aspen Camp School for the Deaf (ACSD), and as an English/American Sign Language interpreter in the states of CO, WA, OR, and NY.  Justice established a supportive employment service center for the Southwest Washington Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SWCDHH) and currently works part time as a job developer for P.R.I.D.E. Employment Services under the Rochester School for the Deaf.

Contact: djustice@discoveringdeafworlds.org

Davin Searls - Executive Director

Davin Searls is the Executive Director of Discovering Deaf Worlds and a full-time volunteer dedicated to carrying out DDW's mission.  He was the associate producer for DDW's first documentary, Discovering: Shuktara, and serves on the Board of Directors.  He co-writes and edits DDW’s monthly newsletter, distributed to over 2,500 subscribers.

Since his initial involvement with DDW in September 2008, Searls has collaboratively raised over $30,000 for DDW projects and has presented to several audiences of over 500 people on DDW’s mission, discoveries, and future programs.  Searls is DDW's social media manager, promoting DDW's cause on websites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and is DDW's resident tech guru.  He edits and subtitles short videos for DDW's website, and also develops Powerpoints for DDW's various presentations, workshops, and classroom visits.

A lifelong advocate, perpetual traveler, and visionary, Davin hails from Rochester, NY and holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.  There, he chaired a disability advocacy group that successfully lobbied for a director of disability services.  He has had over five years of experience teaching English and/or American Sign Language (ASL) to people of all ages, from young children to adults.  Searls has made several short films and worked on multiple film sets.  Most recently, Searls spent ten months teaching ASL and English as third and fourth languages to deaf university students in Changchun, China under the Postsecondary Education Network (PEN)-International.  He currently works as an adjunct faculty English Tutor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID).

Christine Kretchmer - Website Technology

Christine is a Project Manager/Web Developer for SiteBrandBuilder who jumped on board with Discovering Deaf Worlds in their early stages of development. 

In addition to playing an instrumental role in the creation of DDW's website, Christine manages all website updates when DDW is on the road.  She is also the "go-to" person for marketing and advertising support. 

Christine received a B.S. degree from S.U.N.Y. Oswego and a M.S. degree from the University of Rochester.

Trudy Suggs - Newsletter Editor

T.S. Writing Services, LLC handles the monthly newsletter distributed by Discovering Deaf Worlds.

The company website is at www.tswriting.com.