Dr. Chad Ruffin is an ENT doctor and cochlear implant surgeon. He tirelessly advocates for people with hearing loss and provides expertise to our Strategic Planning Committee. Dr. Ruffin was the first person born with severe hearing loss to become a surgeon using cochlear implants. He now sees patients in the Central Business District in Seattle. He generously sponsored our Community Day lunch.

Find out more about Dr. Ruffin on his website.

The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) is part of ALTSA and the Home and Community Living Administration, which is under the umbrella of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.

Our ODHH provides many services to people who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing all across our state, including sign language (ASL) interpreters, which they kindly provided for our Community Day at no cost to us. Staff at ODHH also provide accessible technology and support, case management, and community outreach. Find out more about ODHH on their website.

Town Hall Seattle is Seattle’s community gathering place. Located downtown, Town Hall Seattle hosts author talks, science presentations, civic dialogues, concerts, private meetings, and much more.

All Town Hall Seattle’s venues have a hearing loop assistive listening system. Their audiovisual folks are top-notch in coordinating live captioning, ASL, and even hybrid events.

Town Hall Seattle, along with a local family foundation, partnered with us to help make our Community Day happen.

See Town Hall Seattle’s upcoming events here.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is donating sunflower lanyards and joining us at a table at our Community Day. Sunflower lanyards are a way people with invisible disabilities like hearing loss can let others know they might need extra help or an accommodation while traveling.

Read more about SEA’s lanyards and other disability accommodations here.