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Deaf Awareness Month: A Curated List of Content by Deaf and CODA Creators and Public Speakers (Part 1)

Photo of a wood log lodge with a green roof in the mountains, There’s a Canadian flag flying on a flagpole in the middle.

Introduction

Though I have some hearing loss and tinnitus, and I used to be functionally fluent in ASL, I’m not Deaf/deaf, Hard of Hearing, or CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult). So, instead of writing my own take on Deaf Culture and ASL 101 I’m sharing a curated list of video content by Deaf and CODA content creators and public speakers. Hopefully, this will get you started on celebrating Deaf Awareness Month and learning more about the richness of Deaf Culture and signing languages. This list should be especially helpful for other marketing and communication professionals.

This is the first part of a two article series. I’ve embedded videos for each creator and public speaker in the list, so splitting the full article into two parts will help those who are reading/listening to this on mobile.

But first the story about how I learned ASL and about Deaf culture. …

Photo of a wood log lodge with a green roof in the mountains, There’s a Canadian flag flying on a flagpole in the middle.

Storytime: How I Learned ASL and About Deaf Culture

The summer I started teaching I worked at an outdoor education centre in the Rocky Mountains. On the application form were the usual things you’d you’d expect to find:​

  • Do you have Standard First Aid and CPR, or Wilderness First Aid?
  • What is your level of lifeguarding certification? ​
  • Do you have rock climbing experience?
  • Do you have canoeing certifications? ​

… and then there was “What is your level of ASL American Sign Language?​​”.

You see, years before I worked there, the outdoor ed centre would run a one week Deaf camp at the smaller of the two lodges. Deaf kids, hard of hearing (HOH) kids, and those who are CODAs (children of deaf adults) whose first language was American Sign Language would come to spend a week in a fun environment where almost everyone spoke ASL and/or signed English.​

Because campers at both the small and big lodges would mix and share activities, some ASL started to become part of the culture for the kids and teens. And what do kids learn first from each other? How to say the bad words in a language that not all the adults know!​

So within a few years learning some basic signed English and ASL phrases became part of staff training for everyone. There was even a session on “swearing in ASL”, but also we learned to sing songs in sign language, how to deal with Grizzly bears and Deaf kids, teach canoeing to campers who were Deaf and hard of hearing, and about Deaf culture.​

As more staff took their ASL certifications and learned ASL in staff training, it became part of the adult staff culture too. Some basic signs came in handy communicating over a group of loud kids across a big field. ASL was also very handy on nights off in loud bars and music gigs in Canmore and Banff.​ ​
By the time I started my spring and summer there, there wasn’t a separate Deaf camp session. It was just part of Centre’s mindset and the culture.​ Having an accessibility first mindset and culture benefited everyone – not just the Deaf, hard of hearing and CODA kids.​

A Curated List of Deaf and CODA Content Creators and Public Speakers—Part 1

Tip: Turn on captions [“CC”] for all of the videos.

One of the first things I learned about Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and CODA is that it’s best to learn from those in the community and not from the hearing community. So here’s a curated list of Deaf and CODA content creators and public speakers. I’ve included a few videos from each of them to get you started, along with links to their socials and/or website.

In Part 1:

  1. Chrissy Marshall
  2. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Harris
  3. Haben Girma
  4. Jessica Kellgren-Fozard
  5. Jon Urqhart

In Part 2:

  1. Meryl Evans
  2. Nakia Smith
  3. Natasha Wilcock
  4. Rikki Poynter
  5. Ryan Alex and Ellen Mika (Deaf/hearing couple)

Chrissy Marshall

Chrissy Marshall is a Deaf writer and film director and a graduate of University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. She has over 192,000 followers on YouTube. Chrissy uses ASL and doesn’t “voice” in her videos. She has a lot of videos that help teach hearing and non-signing people ASL, as well as popular songs. Turn on the [CC] to follow along with all of her videos.

Chrissy’s Socials

Chrissy Marshall’s Videos

Turn on captions [“CC”] for all of the videos.

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Harris

Lizzy is a Deaf content creator who’s had multiple videos about sign language and Deaf culture go viral. She’s a new mom to a hearing daughter, is finishing college, and recently interpreted her first play. Elizabeth was raised orally, learned to sign later, and uses “simcom” (simultaneous communication) in her videos—signing with English grammar as she speaks. She enjoys music and frequently has videos of her signing in simcom or ASL. She also has really long nails which she speaks about.

Elizabeth’s Socials

Elizabeth Harris’ Videos

Haben Grima, Deaf-Blind Lawyer, Public Speaker, Author

Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, is a leading advocate for disability rights and equal opportunities. She has been honoured as a White House Champion of Change by President Obama and included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Through her global consulting and public speaking, Haben educates organizations on the value of creating fully accessible products and services.

I’m currently listening to her audiobook: “Haben The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law”. It’s a very good read/listen. Even though I’ve followed her for a while, I wasn’t aware of her childhood stories. The book is the August, 2025 read for my Accessibility Book Club.

Haben uses a refreshable braille display and a braille interpreter to communicate. If you want to learn more about braille and refreshable braille displays I wrote an article in March, 2024 on the topic. “What Are Refreshable Braille Devices?” (The article is on my older, software developer blog. There’s a known glitch with the heading colours on that site. I’m gradually migrating all my past articles to this site.)

Haben’s Socials

Haben Grima’s Videos

  • An interview with Haben Girma, the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law - New Day NW
  • Why I work to remove access barriers for students with disabilities | Haben Girma | TEDxBaltimore
  • Uber Keeps Denying Service to Blind People with Guide Dogs – Join the Protest!

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard aka "Jessica Out of the Closet

Jessica is a Deaf YouTuber with almost 2 million followers. She's really fun and quite British! She speaks on a wide-range of topics including: vintage fashion, LGBTQ+ history and culture, being a disabled lesbian mom. Her wife Claudia is in many of her videos. While they show their toddler son and twin girls, they obscure their faces. In addition to being Deaf, Jessica has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, several neurological conditions, and ADHD. (It's though Jessica's content that I started to figure out my medical mysteries!)

In her earlier videos Jessica signs in Signed Supported English (SSE) using British Sign Language (BSL) signs and English-language grammar. (The first video below discusses the difference.) However, as her channel grew and she got a more global audience she stopped signing as to not confuse her viewers that speak other sign languages. Her channel has human-generated captions.

Jessica’s Socials

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard’s Videos

  • Why I Don’t Sound Deaf // International Week of the Deaf [CC]
  • Who Are The ‘Defective Race’?! // Alexander Graham Bell [CC]
  • 13 Things My Hearing Friends Should Know // International Week of the Deaf [CC]

Jon Urquhart - CODA (Child of a Deaf-Blind Adult)

Jon’s first language was American Sign Language. He has over 350 shorts mostly about ASL and being a CODA on YouTube that are typically cross-posted on Instagram and TikTok. Jon is a professional ASL interpreter and founder of ASLSpring.

Jon’s Socials

Jon’s Videos

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Continue reading part 2 to learn more about sign languages, Deaf/HOH, and CODA culture though video.

Credits

  1. Cover Image: Flag of the Deaf Community
    1. Wikimedia Commons: Bandiera realizzata da Arnaud Balard, 21 June 2021, 15:19:55 Original Source: realizzato da MacMoreno su mia richiesta:diff=121433676&oldid=121433517,diff=121434765&oldid=121432456 Author: MacMoreno.

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