Program Facilitators

Najma Johnson, MA, a BlackDeafBlind Trans non-binary folx, born and raised in

Buffalo, NY, Najma co-founded Together All in Solidarity (TAS), an umbrella

anti-violence community collaboration that functions as a network for

marginalized communities within the Deaf CommunityFormerly as TAS, now as

Together, We Will (TWW) Najma has provided support and consultation in

various capacities from organizing to diversity and inclusion policy development,

trauma-centered work and anti-violent workplace training.

Niesha Washington-Shepard, MA, DI

She is a Black Deaf interpreter, anti-racism and social justice activist, LGBQTIA advocate, consultant, educator, and trainer in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV metro region). Niesha Washington-Shepard is a Louisiana native who currently lives in the DMV metro area. When she is not working, she spends her spare time offering her consulting and translating skills to local coalitions that advocate for the DeafBlind, Deaf, hard of hearing, and late-deafened populations in the DMV metro regions.

Mary Jane ‘MJ’ Grant is the youngest of two daughters born to Deaf parents in Sanford, Maine. With deep connections to both family and community, MJ has dedicated herself to fostering relationships and encouraging open dialogues.

Beginning her professional interpreting journey in 1997, MJ later deepens her involvement by mentoring aspiring interpreters as an instructor at the University of Southern Maine. In 2010, her commitment to community gave birth to Mary Jane Grant Sign Language Interpreting Services.

Beyond her work as an interpreter, MJ's passions also lie in the realm of conscious healing. She envisions a future characterized by holistic and shared growth. Her life's mission revolves around forging connections, a principle that is further highlighted in her role as a mother to four children and a caregiver to her mother, who is living with dementia. MJ’s life story serves as an evocative chronicle. By sharing wisdom gleaned from her journey, she aspires to become a catalyst for positive change in broader conversations.

While MJ still resides in Sanford, Maine with her family, her journey has wings and she is enthusiastic about participating in collective dialogues.

Aaron Brace began interpreting before he should have— 1 year after learning his first sign.  That’s how it was at RIT in 1981.  Since then, he has spent most of his career trying to unlearn the self-preservation habits he learned in those early days.  He is grateful to the the Deaf communities of Rochester, NY and the San Francisco Bay Area for making him the interpreter he is today.  He has worked in academia, including as a designated interpreter for a Deaf professor, in theater, and at numerous conferences (local, national, and international).  He is proud to have been involved in the early days of the Allies Conference, and is honored to be back for more learning— and unlearning.