Marilyn is a native born Atlantan. She graduated from Henry McNeal Turner High School in 1966 and from Clark College in 1971, where she majored in Psychology with a minor in French. She has always loved languages. Meeting a Deaf person on a bus ride to work, she became fascinated with learning sign language. She graduated from the sign language interpreting program at DeKalb Community College (later Georgia Perimeter College) in 1982. That led her to become a substitute teacher at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf and later an Assignment Coordinator at GISN for 15 years. She has been an assignment coordinator & recruiter at LATN since 2016. She is a former GaRID President.
She loves and appreciates what sign language interpreters do and is truly concerned about Deaf matters.
She enjoys cosplay & volunteering for just about anything. She has volunteered for: The Peachtree Road Race since 1988, DragonCon since 1987, The Atlanta Olympics and Paralympic Games in 1996, and numerous parades since 1995. She is a member of NAOBI-Atlanta, RID, and GARID. She is on the advisory board for Electrical Eggs, Ltd., and Silent Towne.
She introduced Disability Services & Awareness to DragonCon and other science fiction & fantasy conventions.
Shawn is a graduate of Georgia State University with a major in Computer Information Systems. Over the last 20 years he has worked in Information Technology as a Network Operations Manager and Manager of Enterprise Infrastructure. Since being married to an Interpreter, he has been immersed in the Deaf community and has made numerous Deaf friends and acquaintances. He has worked with Deaf Inc. since its inception to give back to the Deaf community with his time and I.T. talents.
Crystal Hardy is graduate of the American Sign Language/Interpreting Program at Valdosta State University and Masters of Science, Clinical Mental Health Program at Mercer University. Over the past 5 years, Crystal has worked as an educational interpreter and video relay interpreter. She also works as a professional clinical mental health therapist for a community service board serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing clients, an eating disorder clinic, and some private practice work in Atlanta, Georgia. She has a heart for meaningful service and watching people authentically connect with others.
Thai Morris is RID Certified: CI & CT;QMHI. She is a graduate of the Sign Language Interpreting Program at Georgia Perimeter College, in Atlanta, Georgia and worked as an educational interpreter for 7 years before becoming a staff interpreter with a Deaf-owned company for 2 years. When that agency closed, she established her own interpreting agency, Morris Interpreting Services, Inc. Since then, she has been working as a freelance interpreter, teaching workshops, and mentoring student interpreters. In December 2004, Thai founded a non-profit organization called Deaf Equal Access Foundation, Inc.,(D.E.A.F. Inc.), www.deafinc.net, as a way to give back to the Deaf community, by providing interpreting services for events that are not covered under ADA and as a way to provide mentoring for student interpreters.
