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History Estill-Varner
Program Director
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Estill-Varner became involved with the Deaf community in 2005 and after spending an academic year in Costa Rica, shifted focus to working with international deaf communities.

In May of 2015, she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in American Sign Language/English Interpreting and International Studies from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Shortly after, she was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Research grant to conduct research in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Her project titled “Improving Deaf Access in the DR: Researching Service Deficiencies, Creating an ITP”, collaborated with the Dominican Republic’s National Deaf Association as well as the National Interpreting Association to research service deficiencies and contribute to the ongoing effort of establishing an interpreter training program.

Through her research, she learned of the challenges, concerns, and goals of the community which allowed her to identify shortcomings in interpreting services. Upon completion of her research, she provided the interpreting association with recommendations that would enable interpreters to better serve and empower the Deaf community.

In addition to serving as DDW’s Program Director, Estill-Varner works as a freelance interpreter in Washington, D.C. providing interpreting services for a variety of federal government agencies. She also serves as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador promoting the Department of State’s flagship program at conferences, colleges and universities across the United States.

In her free time, Estill-Varner enjoys exploring and has spent nearly 2 years traveling and living outside of the U.S. When she isn’t working or planning her next adventure, she can be found at the local Latin dance club dancing salsa, bachata, kizomba, and zouk.