[image description: A banner with a pale red background and silhouette shapes connected by lines. On the right is a circular picture of baby Levi smiling while being kissed on the cheek by his dad. Levi and his father are both light-skinned with brown hair. Dad has dark stubble and glasses. In the center, extending to the right, is a white rectangle with text saying, “Levi’s Story”.]

We are sharing Levi’s Story to celebrate GiveBIG 2021, which takes place May 4 and 5. You can make a donation to HSDC today to support children like Levi and their families.

Make a GiveBIG Gift

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, that foundation threatened to crumble. PIP Specialists could no longer meet families in their homes. PIP’s staff had only one thought: how can they stay connected with the families they serve?

Levi and his family have been working with PIP Specialist Cassie Owens for a little over a year, and doing exclusively virtual visits since March 2020. “It has been different and challenging, but a very valuable experience,” says Dani, Levi’s mom.

With online school, work, doctor’s appointments, and lengthy hospital visits, the typical hourlong home visits no longer fit the family’s lifestyle. Over the past few months, they have been testing Flexible Activity-Based (FAB) scheduling with PIP. Virtual home visits have been broken up into shorter twenty-minute sessions that take place a few times a week.

Levi’s parents lead the sessions, picking specific activities based on Levi’s needs, while Cassie joins them over Zoom to offer guidance. Recently, Cassie joined the family during lunchtime so they could practice talking about food. Levi currently uses a feeding tube. His parents want to start exposing him to food in his mouth, so they discussed the taste, smell, and texture of different foods using new American Sign Language (ASL) words they’ve been learning.

Levi’s parents know that he is in the critical period of language growth. The more ASL and English that he is exposed to now, the stronger his language foundation will be as he grows. With support from Cassie, their hard work and dedication is putting Levi on the path to a happy and healthy future.

“We love working with Cassie and feel lucky to have her in our lives,” Dani says. “She helps us by giving us words to communicate with our son in everyday life. During hospital stays, she would text us videos of medical signs so we could explain what was happening to him during different procedures. We feel like we got our voice back with ASL.”

Cassie, Levi, and family may be meeting remotely, but their connection is as strong as ever.

PIP is a free service for eligible households in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. Visit the Parent-Infant Program webpage for more information, or email education@hsdc.org to get in touch.

[image description: Geometric blue background with white text on left: “Getting Know: Ariele Belo, HSDC’s New Co-Director. Black/white photo of Ariele Belo, on right, is a brown female with dark hair, wearing floral dress and smiling.]

Ariele Belo is a “What’s the Point” kind of person, what you see is what you get kind of human whose trademark is her wicked sense of humor, her keen sense of observation, and her ability to hone in on problems and find efficient solutions in quick order. She works hard and she plays hard, and the most important things in her life revolve around her community, friends, and family. She’s an avid outdoor enthusiast (she worked for REI for years when she was younger), a passionate advocate for the deaf community, and a huge supporter of small businesses, funneling dollars back into the local economy just makes sense to her. Her connection to Seattle goes deep and she takes pride in her hometown and this shows in everything she does from where she shops to where she spends her leisure time on the weekends (Discovery Park is a favorite as you’ll see). As a person who is passionate about everything she does, it is no surprise that being the Co-Director at HSDC is far more than just a job, it is the realization of a life-long dream to make a difference in ways which aligns with her values and also has a measurable, observable impact in her community. Her time over the many years at HSDC, as an advocate, as a Director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, and now as Co-Director was and remains a calling to do good works and it is a vocation she takes immense pleasure in.

Let’s get to know her a little better. We asked her a series of questions to gain some more insights into our new Co-Director.

Ariele, Co-Director
ID: Black/white headshot of Ariele.

Starting the Day Right: Your Typical Coffee Order?

Ariele: Double espresso shots with steamed oat milk and sprinkle turmeric on top. I make them at home.

At a Glance: What’s on Your Desk Right Now?

A: On my desk are two monitors, essential oil-infused spray, green succulent plants in a gray pot, and a pretty green leaf bowl filled with little things.

Ariele in an action at her busy, but organized desk with a client.

Stress Busters: Would You Rather Get a Massage or Go on a Hike?

A: I like both. Both are great self-care.

Scenic Destinations: Would You Rather Go to Leavenworth or Ocean Shores?

A: Leavenworth. They have a beautiful scenic route to drive, especially in the fall. Their buildings are beautiful.

Caffeination: Which is Better, Starbucks or Dunkin?

A: I prefer local coffee shops.

Ariele at the Sounders game with her family.

The Ball vs. The Stick: Sounders Game or Kraken Game?

A: Sounders game. I have a season pass and have gone to the Major League Soccer Cup to see them win. 

Frozen Seattle: Favorite ice cream shop in town?

A: Frankie & Jo’s (Plant-based ice cream shop).

Social Hour: Would you rather show up late to a party or leave early?

A: Late to party so I can stay until the end; the end is always the best.

An Environmentalist’s Dilemma: It’s Okay to Recycle a Pizza Box, yes or no?

A: No, it goes to the compost bin.

Queen of the Courts & Fields: Womens Basketball or Womens Soccer?

A: Hard to pick, knowing I used to play both sports. I am an athlete myself.

Feet in the Streets: Best parade in Seattle?

A: Seafair.

Farm to Table: Best Farmers Market in Seattle?

A: Pike Place Market is always the best since they were the first in Seattle. The Ballard farmer’s market is the place I go if I need a few things.

Local Explorations: Best Park in Seattle?

A: Discovery Park

Between the Pages: Book on your nightstand right now?

A: Book of Night by Holly Black.

Lost & Found: You Lose Your Phone. Where is the most likely place you will find it?

A: The Find My iPhone app will find it for me.

This or That?

Capitol Hill or Queen Anne?

A: Queen Anne.

Northern Lights or Bioluminesce?

A: Bioluminesce.

Lake or River?

A: River.

Ruby Beach or Cannon Beach?

A: Cannon Beach.

Port Angeles or Port Townsend?

A: Port Townsend.

Vashon Island or Bainbridge Island?

A: Vashon Island.

Ariele at camping.

Ariel Tweto with a plane.

Oh My Stars: What celebrities have you met? Which one was the most memorable?

A: Ariel Tweto, Alaskan aircraft pilot. She was on the reality TV show called “Flying Wild Alaska.”  I watched all of the shows. I was behind her in the line at the Vivace coffee shop here in Seattle. When I saw her, I had to say something to her so I tapped her from behind. She turned around, then I started to gesture to ask her if she was the aircraft pilot. I was surprised she replied in sign language and learned she used it to communicate with deaf people in her town in Alaska.

Would You Rather: Read a Book by Your Favorite Author or a Book About Your Favorite Person?

A: Read a book by my favorite author.

Yay or Nay: Russell Wilson leaving the Seahawks?

A: Yay! We are doing well this year without him. It is the team that matters.

What Do You Do?: You have an important meeting with someone you’ve never met. It’s just the two of you. They have something on their face. Do you tell them or do you ignore it?

A: I would tell them regardless in hopes they would tell me if there is something on my face too.

Good Night, Irene: What’s on your bedside table right now?

A: Tiger Tail Ball Roller Ball – Deep Tissue roller balls.

Nice to Meet You: What do you notice the most when you meet someone new?

A: Their facial expressions and body language when they are in conversation.

Best View: What’s your favorite sunset/sunrise watching spot?

A: Golden Garden Beach.

Let’s Go!: Favorite PNW Getaway?

A: Whistler, British Columbia.

Ariele taking a break from skiing to admire the view of the majestic Whistler, BC!

ID: Blue banner with a photo of Karen on right. Karen, white female with grey hair, wearing glasses and colorful dress, looking down and cradling a baby. Text on the banner: “Karen Philo-House, a Legacy of Language from the Parent-Infant Program to Retirement and Beyond.”

A HSDC Legacy

Karen Philo-House, one of our most beloved and long-term staff members of our Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center (HSDC) family, retired as a Parent-Infant Program (PIP) Specialist this past May. She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy whose impact in our community cannot be overstated and will be felt for decades to come. We all owe her an enormous debt for her contributions to furthering HSDC’s mission and making our community a better place for Deaf, DeafDisabled, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened individuals. 

Karen’s Story Time over Zoom during the pandemic.

ID: Karen, holding a colorful book, wearing glasses & coral cardigan over multi-colored shirt.

We often say HSDC is a unique organization because while other organizations serve a population for a specific time period we are able to serve a population for a lifetime, from birth onward. This means witnessing the long arc of some truly remarkable journeys. Some even join the HSDC family as staff to leave a legacy of their own and continue to pass it forward. We see this time and again-, those who come through the Parent-Infant Program go on to live extraordinary lives and give back to the community. Karen is one of many.

Karen, well known for being humble, is also known for her dedicated service in the community and her relentless advocacy for families with Deaf children. She never wavered from her commitment to these families. This passion carried her through the decades in pursuit of one all-encompassing goal: Make sure every Deaf child who comes through the doors at HSDC has access to language at home and in the classroom, and make sure families receive support in this.

This belief stems from her own personal experience; Some may not know that Karen’s connection to HSDC didn’t begin as a staff member, it started at the beginning, as a Deaf child in PIP. The program today, previously under Karen’s oversight, is still designed to support families with Deaf children under the age of three through education, advocacy, and learning American Sign Language and having exposure to written English. It is one of the longest-running programs HSDC offers, free of charge, and its impact on the community is significant.

I’m glad I got to work at HSDC- they offered me the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. It was worth it.

Karen

Karen is so much more than a professional who was good at her job during her time at HSDC. She was (and remains) a beacon of hope for families. The first few years can be a difficult time to navigate as a family with a Deaf child, the stakes are high. It is critical to ensure Deaf children, from birth to three, have access to language and connection. The ability to meet families where they are with empathy and guide them with her expertise gives parents the confidence that with sign language and access, a wonderful world awaits their child. They can see for themselves the end results in Karen and know it is true.

Long before she worked in PIP, she began her career at HSDC as an Independent Living Teacher in 1984. Years later (and with a new master’s degree in hand), she became an ASL teacher in the Parent-Infant Program. When the program had a job opening for a PIP Specialist she applied and became the first Deaf PIP Specialist at HSDC. Her legacy for making a difference and leading others was well underway.

Karen, the baby guru.

ID: Karen, wearing glasses and colorful dress, cradling a baby.

Karen has seen the evolution of PIP over the decades; She remembers, as a child, when PIP was an oral program. Over time she has witnessed it change from an emphasis on oral communication towards using Signing Exact English before adopting a Total Communication approach (simultaneous signing and talking). This eventually gave way to using American Sign Language. Now the program proudly embraces a bilingual and bicultural environment that combines American Sign Language with written English. Through all the changes over the years, the heart of the program remained (and remains) the same- a desire to see every Deaf child thrive with access to language and connection.

Karen, the guru of toddlers as well.

ID: Karen on right, wearing glasses and black sweater with colorful patterns, hugging a student on left.

Like the PIP program itself, HSDC as an organization has seen many changes and Karen has been right there for many of them. Not all changes were easy to navigate. Karen recounts an especially difficult period when a neighboring organization and Deaf community hub Community Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CSCDHH) closed its doors. It proved to be a rocky time in HSDC’s relationship with a grieving community that rightfully mourned the loss of a culturally significant place in Seattle.

The world at large is a different place for Deaf people today than it was three decades ago. Jobs for Deaf people were scarce; very few employers were willing to hire Deaf people. Then, employment meant choosing between working for a printer or for the U.S. Post office. Today, Deaf people work in a wide variety of fields and professions from aerospace engineers to constitutional law lawyers who write compelling legal briefs in English and present arguments in sign language before the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, many employers are still unwilling to hire Deaf people and so much work remains. PIP is a key part of that work, with big-picture gains; PIP’s ongoing commitment to Deaf children’s language access and education gives Deaf children a stronger foothold later in life.

Karen in action!

ID: Karen, wearing glasses, black sweater, pants, and yellow lanyard. She’s showing an art by a student in a classroom.

Today, as a self-professed bookworm, Karen’s love of language shines bright and she is reading more than ever. Not one to rest, she remains deeply engaged in serving her community. She will contract with the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) in Washington State for their Family Mentoring Services program. This role will leverage her skills to coordinate mentors who work with Deaf youth from birth to 16 as well as their family members. Also, at both the national and state level, her Lead K committee is pushing to pass an education bill that furthers the mission of sign language access for Deaf children in each state. This bill has successfully passed in sixteen states, and Washington is well-positioned to be next. Karen additionally continues her work with the DeafBlind community, as she has since 1981, as a DeafBlind interpreter, an SSP, and as a Communication Facilitator.

It’s not all work in her retirement, some time is reserved for play. She is already traveling more, as her recent trip to Alaska demonstrates, and the purchase of a travel trailer means she will hit the road soon, visiting different states and connecting with old friends. She has begun to learn two new languages and knowing her, we can say with confidence she will read through a continually replenished stack of books.

It’s not quite goodbye for us. She will continue to work with PIP families, teaching them sign language as she always has as an independent contractor. We look forward to witnessing the rest of her journey because truly, HSDC is not just an organization and our employees are not just staff, what we do is a calling with a higher purpose and our employees are lifelong family members committed to the ongoing support of extraordinary humans who make our world a better place.

“I’m glad I got to work at HSDC- they offered me the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. It was worth it.” You can’t ask for much better than that at the end of a long, successful career.

We send Karen all of our love and gratitude as she continues her journey with the same humility, passion, and commitment she has always had. How lucky the world is and how lucky we all are. 

If you would like to donate in honor of Karen’s retirement and a fund that supports preschool children, here’s the link https://www.hsdc.org/ways-to-give/#donation

What’s happening right now at HSDC?

Lindsay: HSDC has had a lot of changes over the years, but this one is a doozy. We are shaking things up. Leadership needs to be equitable and reflect the values of the community we serve in order to be successful. We have hired long-time staff member Ariele Belo to step into a newly created, Co-Director position. We will lead our organization together. This leadership model dramatically shifts away from hierarchical leadership where power is stored at the top and begins an exploration into collaborative leadership where power is shared.

Why Do This?

Ariele: We were challenged to re-imagine how leadership works to increase equity and improve outcomes for the population we serve. We were and are living in bold times. Bold times require bold action. We are also challenged to look at our values. If we are to be more equitable as an organization and in our leadership we need to make sure our values align and support this effort.

The other piece to this is: HSDC’s mandate is very broad and we serve a population from birth onward. We can’t do it all under one person. We talk about HSDC as a ship sometimes. This ship is too big and we have too far to go to rely on one captain to steer it. Our mandate and scope will be better served and achieved with two at the helm.

Lindsay: We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results. We also can’t keep losing our leaders and our talent due to burnout. One of the clearest indicators of this is what we see out in the field in terms of burnout- the rates of leaders in nonprofits experiencing burnout and leaving the field are extraordinarily high. I’m really passionate about this. This burnout rate is higher for nonprofit leaders that in the for profit industry. This burnout hits women more than men and BIPOC members more than Caucasian, or white, employees. The data shows us that sustainable leadership can no longer depend on a single person to do this work over the long term. It is a better use of resources to invest in a two-leader model to not only reduce burnout, but also to pool resources, leverage different types of knowledge, broaden the representation of leadership, and to also act as a buffer in the event someone leaves- there is someone already there keeping this ship afloat.

Lindsay announced Ariele’s new role as one of HSDC’s new Co-Executive Directors at Cheers and Connection 2022.

ID: Left to Right- Buddy, a white male with grey beard and hair, wearing a tweed news cap, camel sweater over blue shirt and grey pants, signing “TADA” to Ariele and Lindsay on right. Ariele, wearing teal dress and Lindsay, wearing black cardigan over black dress. All of them are sitting on blue chairs. Round brown table with few plants between Buddy and Ariele. Pink, blue and purple background.

Why Now?

Ariele: This journey began two years ago. The world was on fire and still is. Black Lives Matter has gained long overdue recognition. The pandemic hit, affecting folx from all walks of life but especially our community. We recognize our BIPOC DeafDisabled, DeafBlind, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing community members are especially impacted by lack of access, compounding the experience of racism and system inequities. That’s where we need to step up; We are called to do things differently. We are committed to doing things differently through changes that are visible and have a real systemic impact. The pandemic and Black Lives Matter brought into sharp focus that this absolutely must be an explicit priority for our organization.

Ariele has been the director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services at HSDC for almost 20 years before becoming new Co-Director of HSDC.


ID: Ariele, wearing black turtleneck, interacting with a black woman with black hair pulled back in a bun and white sweater with red flowers pattern, seated across from her in the office.

Lindsay: There is a lot to steer this organization through. One concrete example of what is not working and what needs to change course, before the pandemic hit, we had over fifty staff and in 2020/2021 this dipped to thirty-five. Whether people left due to burnout or for other reasons, clearly we need to do things differently. Sixty-eight percent of the people Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services provides services to are BIPOC, and our staff needs to reflect this if we truly want to be representative of the community we serve. We need to make our agency a place where clients can come to feel safe and supported and make sure this is a workplace where people thrive as employees and as human beings, committed to making this world a better place.

How Did You Create this Model?

Lindsay: That’s the thing, we didn’t! It was already there, right in front of us.  Deaf Services gives us many of the answers we have to these big challenges HSDC faces. We are so lucky to serve a population that provides a beautiful built-in model of what collaborative leadership looks like and how it can be successful. We are also lucky to have Deaf Services under the stewardship of Ariele for the last twenty years. She has always had a front-row seat to what works and what doesn’t.

Ariele: This wasn’t a decision we made, this is what we were called to do by the community telling us what needs to happen. And our community is broad and comprises people from all walks of life across 13 counties in Washington state, giving us a truly clear, thorough insight into what we need to do to be better.

Teamwork in action!


ID: Lindsay on left, wearing a grey t-shirt over black long sleeve tee and pink pants. Ariele on right, wearing multi-colored stripes sweater and blue jeans. They both are standing on a bench.

How is This Going to Work?

Ariele: The best way we can explain it is a three-pronged leadership model: leading from the front, leading from the back, and leading side by side. There will be times when one of us takes the lead in things and in other things, leads from behind supporting the efforts of our co-director.

Lindsay: And then there will be times, many times, when we will both need to be in the room, leading side by side. No matter how we are leading together, front/back/side by side, we will always be leading together. Divide duties by a strength-based approach to leadership.

Ariele: Having the ability to leverage each other’s strengths and areas of expertise will strengthen HSDC in ways we couldn’t before because of the constraints of a hierarchical one-leader model.

What does it feel like to be in these shoes, to come full circle as a PIP graduate and now as the Co-Director of the same agency all these years later?

ID: Black/white photo of Ariele as PIP student in 1975, sitting on a ground and hugging her knees.

Ariele: I like to challenge myself. I owe a lot of thanks to the Parent Infant Program, which everyone lovingly refers to as PIP for short; this helped my parents when I was a child and supported them. I am also grateful to the family doctor who reassured my parents that having a Deaf child wasn’t a bad thing, there were services out there, and everything was going to be okay, and then he connected them to PIP. I’m also appreciative of all the other families who supported my parents when I was in PIP. Because of all of this, my parents knew I could do anything and encouraged me to challenge myself, push myself higher, and stay involved. I have always known the importance of education, politics, and being informed about what’s happening in the world and what is going on out there. And like my parents, it has always been important to me. 

Lindsay: I just want to add how much we owe our PIP Specialists and everyone who has been involved in the early childhood education program over the years. Their work makes a difference. It is so gratifying to see. I love that Ariele is just as passionate about PIP as I am and just as committed to ensuring its continuation and success. And now we have an additional program, The Rosen Family Preschool, that didn’t exist when Ariele was in the PIP program. We know that by continuing to build upon a solid foundation of language, American Sign Language and English, people can thrive, and not only will our children be kindergarten ready they will be community ready.

How will you fund two positions?

Lindsay: We of course have to be mindful of how we use our resources. We are a nonprofit. We don’t want to duplicate services. But we would be remiss not to take advantage of Ariele- her great passion, vision, experience, and education. It would be a mistake not to use these things in bigger ways.

Ariele: This is where you come in. As community members, stakeholders, funders, and as donors.
There are many things we would like to do, many opportunities exist for HSDC to support the community as well as our staff.

Increasing program resources is an important area of focus.
Focusing on our human resources is equally important; we will be working towards equitable pay for our staff as a starting point. If we want to be a more equitable agency we need to ensure our staff can afford to live in the Puget Sound region.
We are shifting priorities to ensure that we are collaborating with other agencies. We have to. We can’t do it all. We don’t have enough resources. We must work smarter and we must work together.

There are many things we would like to do, many opportunities exist for HSDC to support the community as well as our staff.

Lindsay: We need more funding so we can support the system; we are nonprofit and so everything we bring in, that money goes right back into the community in the form of direct services and resources.  That’s the entire purpose of our organization, to have services available and to serve the community. We can serve better when we have better-funded programs and well-paid staff. And many of the challenges we face as an organization can be solved by adding more people and placing them in the right place. We are united in this goal, ensuring that everyone who comes through the door is treated fairly and I can’t say this enough, this includes our own staff.

Lindsay shares her ideas for the future of HSDC.


ID: Close up of Lindsay, wearing black top with pearl necklace, sitting in an office.

What is your biggest dream for HSDC?

Ariele: I have two that are important to me. One is that HSDC is a place where not only do clients receive equitable services but the staff is receiving equitable pay. Two, I want us to hone in on the issues that are affecting our community and take action at the legislative level. We need to be directly involved in policy-making. We need to be talking to the legislature. We need to be a part of getting bills to the floor. We need to make sure that every single piece of legislation about our community is done with our community’s best interest in mind and is representative of our community and is appropriately addressing community needs; the best way we can do this is to make sure that information is accessible to our community members and is shared with them.

Lindsay: My goals are the same as Ariele’s. On the immediate horizon is getting our strategic plan ready for implementation. Hire more diverse staff. We also know there are many missed opportunities at the legislative level that HSDC needs to take more initiative with and become more aware of when politicians and legislature are pushing policies that make a difference in our community and or actively creating policy that harms it. While we cannot lobby, we do owe our community information and education on what is happening so they can be better informed and get involved!