American Journeys: Lived Experiences in Deafblind
Education
Mussie Gebre, mgebre@dbcitizens.org
Eduardo Madera, eduardomadera@gmail.com
Jamie Taylor, 2JamieTaylor@gmail.com
Deafblind Citizens in Action
Image: Mussie Gebre, George Stern, Eduardo Madera, & Jamie Taylor (all representatives of
DBCA) meet with Karen Peltz Strauss, Rosaline Crawford and Greg Hilbok from the Federal
Communications Commission in July, 2014.
The following are stories written by three members of DeafBlind Citizens in
Action (DBCA), who recently met with several federal agencies in Washington, D.C.,
including the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), with whom they shared
their stories journeying throughout the educational system. In the first section, Jamie
Taylor tells us her story. In the second, Eduardo Madera offers us a window into his
school years. In the third and final section, Mussie Gebre reflects on his experience
with the public school system. These individuals are all deafblind. DBCA is a newly
created 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering deafblind people to live
independent and productive lives.
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