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Deaf Awareness Month: A Curated List of Content by Deaf and CODA Creators and Public Speakers (Part 2)

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 second 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 with loading time for those who are reading/listening to this on mobile, or a slow internet connection.

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 2

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

One of the first things I learned about sign languages, and Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and CODA culture 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.

For each person in this article there’s a short bio about them, links to their social media and two or three embedded videos.

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)

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

Meryl Evans

Meryl Evans is a LinkedIn Top Voice, accessibility and digital marketing consultant, author, and IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC). Despite knowing the power of video, Meryl initially shied away from creating it due to her accent. But the wonderful response to her first videos led to her to continue creating more. Her insightful TedX talk during the pandemic highlighted that it was an opportunity to change some things for the better.

Meryl is very active on LinkedIn and is a pleasure to chat with and follow. Her LinkedIn feed is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about accessibility, but especially those in marketing and content creation.

Meryl’s Socials

Meryl Evan’s Videos

  • The pandemic’s influence on accessibility | Meryl Evans | TEDxPlano
  • Meryl Evans: Accessibility for the Deaf / Hard of Hearing and Progress Over Perfection

Nakia Smith - AKA "Charmay" Black American Sign Language Interpreter and Deaf Advocate

Nakia Smith is a Deaf translator, actor, and content creator with over 400,000 followers on TikTok and 88.1K followers on Instagram. She’s a proud Texan with “Texas Forever” in her TikTok bio. A speaker and advocate of Black American Sign Language, she interpreted the streaming movie Sinners on HBO Max. When asked about why that role was important to her, Nakia replied:

“…representation matters. If you’re teaching or showing sign language without acknowledging BASL, you’re erasing a whole community’s voice.” ~ Nakia Smith (From an interview by Alex Gonzalez, Dallas Observer, July 14, 2025)

Just like spoken languages have dialects, sign languages can have dialects with their own rich and distinctive vocabulary, grammar, and accents. Black American Sign Language (BASL) is a culturally significant dialect of American Sign Language (ASL). To learn more about the history of BASL read the American Blackstory’s February, 2022 article ” DAY 24 — CHARMAY & BLACK AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE”

Nikia’s Socials

Nikia Charmay Smith’s Videos

  • TikToker Teaches Black American Sign Language
  • How To Sign In BASL (Black American Sign Language) | Strong Black Lead (Still Watching Netflix)
  • Announcing release of Sinners on HBO Max
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nakia Smith (@itscharmay)

Dr. Natasha Wilcock, Deaf NHS Doctor and Business Woman

Natasha Wilcock is a Deaf doctor with the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. In her 2024 TedXNHS talk Natasha voices while a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter signs. BSL is a distinct language from American Sign Language (ASL). To tackle the issues that Deaf patients and Deaf staff face, Natasha founded IDA to offer education and training led by Deaf healthcare professionals

Natasha’s Socials

Natasha Wilcock’s Videos

Rikki Poynter

Rikki Poynter is a is a content creator, writer, accessibility consultant, and public speaker. In 2016 she started the “No More Craptions” grassroots campaign to advocate for human generated captions on social media. She has been creating content on her YouTube channel consistently since 2010. She’s also known for her “Shit Hearing People Say (Things You Don’t Say to Deaf & Hard of Hearing)” which went viral and has over 560,000 views on YouTube.

Rikki is also a survivor of child abuse that stretched into adulthood because of her being deaf, ableism affecting her ability to be financially independent. Contracts with tech companies for short films showcasing the accessibility of their tech starting with Samsung (see video below) gave her the ability to leave in June 2023 at the age of 32.

Rikki’s Socials

Rikki Poynter’s Videos

  • Shit Hearing People Say (Things You Don’t Say to Deaf & Hard of Hearing)
  • Surprise! I’m In A Samsung Commercial!

Ryan and Ellen, aka Sign Duo

Ryan and Ellen are an inter-abled couple who’ve been together for 11 years. They got engaged in September 2024. Their channel follows their relationship as “a signing couple showing the world that Deaf and Hearing relationships work!”. They create videos about relationships, travel, Ellen’s experiences learning ASL, plus a few about their dog. Ryan has a series of videos on his experience as a Deaf man ordering food at drive through restaurants. Ryan went through surgery five years ago, so there’s also an informative series of videos on how he experienced that as a Deaf person.

Sign Duo’s Socials

Ryan and Ellen’s Videos

  • Deaf Man vs. Drive Thru: They Threw Away My Food!
  • Why Eye Contact is Important For Deaf and Hearing Relationship
  • My Deaf Fiance Taught Me Sign Language | The Story of My Name

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If you haven’t read [part 1, you can do so here](https://www.gingerkiwi.blog/blog/2025/09-05-deaf-awareness-month-part1.

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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