Leala Holcomb, Deafness/Hard of Hearing - University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Leala is Non-Binary and uses gender neutral pronouns. Ze comes from a multigenerational Deaf family with zir parents and grandparents passionately involved in improving the quality of education for Deaf children. After graduating from the California School for the Deaf, Fremont (CSDF) in 2005, Leala continued zir education at Gallaudet University and earned a B.A. in International Education and Development. Leala also obtained a M.A. in Special Education with specialization in Deaf and Hard of Hearing from National University.

Leala returned to CSDF to teach in the Early Childhood Education department where ze was instrumental in developing American Sign Language (ASL) standards, bilingual resources, and visual nursery rhymes. Leala is also committed to the anti-oppression work and aims to eradicate systemic inequalities within the education system. Since then, Leala has taught college level courses at Kapi’olani Community College in Hawai’i, the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on topics pertaining to Deaf education. Leala also has been giving presentations at national and international conferences in addition to providing consultations to schools nationally and internationally.

Currently, Leala is devoting zir energy on a new enterprise that aims to create educational resources through rhyme and rhythm called Hands Land.

Leala is a fourth year Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee and will defend zir dissertation this spring.