Mission Statement

DeafACT, inc strives to unite the Deaf and hearing communities by encouraging awareness of each other's culture; we accomplish this goal through educational theater performed by children using American Sign Language.

The DeafACT Team

Franky Ramont-Giacona Officer, Producer	Franky is currently the Producer for DeafACT. She formerly directed children's theatre performances with DeafACT including, "Peter Pan" and "Couch Potato Santa." On the theatrical stage, her credits include performance in autobiographical shows based on actual experiences, "Live Love Experience" and Eve Ensler's "Vagina's Monologues" based on womens' experiences throughout the world. In addition, she has performed one-woman shows with artistic genres such as lyrics, poetry, and comedy. In the professional scholarly realm, Franky is a Senior Lecturer in the ASL program at the University of Texas at Austin. She also enjoys traveling and presenting about a wide range of topics related to Teaching ASL, Deaf Studies, Interpreting, and Deaf Education.
Annie Marks Officer, Associate Producer	Annie is proud to be a part of DeafACT and has worked in several different roles with the organization since it's first production in 2006. Currently, she is the Associate Producer and loves being involved in several different aspects of the shows. Annie graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2008 with her B.S. in Deaf Education/Deaf Studies. She currently works for UT and is preparing to pursue graduate studies in the next few years.
Joe Glacona Officer, Treasurer	Bio coming soon
Elise Whitworth Officer, Marketing Director	A new board member of DeafACT and Austin local, Elise looks forward to help expand the organization by creating partnerships, coordinating fundraising events and other marketing efforts. Most especially, she looks forward to seeing her own young children join DeafACT productions! Elise was born deaf, the youngest child of six, and raised in Orange County, California. After graduating from CSDR in 1992, she attended Gallaudet where she studied Journalism and Business Management. She has ten+ years experience in managing internet based businesses and is a certified event planner. Elise is currently the CEO of Satdaya, a web consulting and internet marketing firm.
Terri Coahran Community & Business Relations	Bio coming soon
Matt Marks Multi-Media Assistant	Matt is a teenage prodigy having been the sound engineer for various productions, volunteering for SXSW production crew, and owning his own Entertainment company, Spin it! Ent. He is an experienced DJ, working parties, weddings, and events since he was sixteen. He enjoys all aspects of technology and is proud to work with DeafACT.
Don Miller Director	Don currently works at Austin Community College as a professor in the Deaf ESOL department. He is also the co-owner of Academic ASL Approach, Inc. (A3) where he consults with K-12 and college classrooms. Don has been involved with theater all of his life. He is best known for his performance in the theatrical production, ÔMusign: The Second GenerationÕ at Gallaudet University. Don also performed as Rene Magritte in ÔPipe Dream,Õ was the Stage Manager for ÔFoolsÕ, dancer in Gallaudet Dance Company and Wild Zappers. He was also a Director for ÔSleeping BeautyÕ- elementary students and Assistant Director for ÔRomeo and JulietÕ- high school at Maryland School for the Deaf. Don most recently co-directed DeafACT's Spring 2009 production of the rockin' musical, 'Grease'. He enjoys hiking and traveling with his dog, Jake.

History

DeafACT, inc was founded in August 2005 by six motivated people who saw a need: the Austin hearing community had minimal exposure to American Sign Language and Deaf culture. Through signed plays, Deaf children can express themselves artistically while sharing their culture and language with hearing volunteers and audiences. Our hearing and Deaf board members have worked together over the past few months--creating an effective organization, acquiring funding, and locating volunteers--to fulfill our mission.

DeafACT Founders

Orginial Board of Directors