The National Association of the Deaf has met one of the wishes of the Deaf community: to terminate or resign the National Association of the Deaf’s president, Lisa Rose. After many days of refusing to resign, and finding every ways to block the board members of the National Association of the Deaf from calling a special meeting to have President Lisa Rose terminated by making sure that the secretary and treasury positions vacated so that the meeting cannot proceed finally submitted her resignation which was then obviously accepted by the board members at an important conference (national leadership training conference) in Austin, Texas, that was cancelled by the interim CEO which that resulted in angering many Deaf people especially the ones who already have brought airflight ticket, booked hotel room, and whatnot which most of them couldn’t get a refund since many of them couldn’t afford the flight ticket’s insurance. By having the option to get a refund from the airline for a reason like this, you would need to add insurance to your flight ticket, and that would incur extra fees. Think of it like an airline warranty.
Many Deaf members of the National Association of the Deaf have decided to take matters into their own hands by proceeding with the conference under a different name, the Deaf Collab of 2025, without the National Association of the Deaf’s sanction (approval). The majority of National Association fo the Deaf board members showed up at the conference regardless that the National Association of the Deaf’s interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins cancelled the conference with an excuse by stating that it is for everybody’s safety when it is allegedly to prevent the board members of National Association of the Deaf from having an meeting to terminate the President Lisa Rose. Because if it was really for the safety of herself, the board members, the staffs, and the members of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) then the interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins would have also cancel an One World, One Country, One Night, One Deaf Community event hosted by the Greater Austin Foundation of the Deaf (GAFD) which the NAD’s interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins serves on the GAFD’s board but that didn’t happen because they announced that GAFD (Greater Austin Foundation of the Deaf) bash was still on. So, cancelling the National Leadership Training Conference (NLTC) apparently wasn’t for safety; otherwise, the GAFD bash would’ve been cancelled as well, and because of that, the members of the National Association of the Deaf have been lied to as usual. The National Association of the Deaf has deeply lost the trust of its members for a very long time now because it hasn’t been transparent with them.
One of the perfect examples I can think of is a few of the NFL’s Super Bowl partnerships where there was a shady thing going on with the NAD’s former CEO, Howard Roseblum, and Alexis Kashar with her Love Sign/RoseByAnder, which resulted in the departure of a long-time National Association of the Deaf’s CEO, Howard Roseblum. Before he left National Association of the Deaf, he and the organization, National Association of the Deaf had to sign NDA (nondisclosure agreement) to keep the whole thing that went with the former CEO Howard Roseblum, and Alexis Kashar with her company Love Sign/RoseByAnder confidential from anyone including the members of the National Association of the Deaf so we will never know how did it get there or what did they do. I have written an article about this whole thing, so if you want to read about it, then go here: https://www.joshiesworld.com/super-bowl-lviii-halftime-fiasco-with-nad-asl-performers-and-others/
Now back to it, even the National Leadership Training Conference (NLTC) in Austin, Texas was cancelled by the National Association of the Deaf’s interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins almost right after the vice president Stephanie Hakulin announced that the National Leadership Training Conference (NLTC) was still on, not for the safety reasons which that was clearly apparent, as she allegedly tried to save the National Association of the Deaf’s President Lisa Rose from being terminated by the board members when they convene the meeting at the National Leadership Training Conference in Austin, Texas. As I mentioned above, doing so angered the members of the National Association of the Deaf, especially those who had paid for the entire trip, and the trip was cancelled within a week. When the interim CEO, Bobbie Beth Scoggins, announced that the conference was cancelled, she suggested that members try to get a refund, move the payment to the National Association of the Deaf’s 58th Biennial Conference 2026 in San Francisco, California, or make a donation to the National Association of the Deaf. The Deaf community decided to take it into their own hands and proceed with the event in Austin, Texas, under a different name, Deaf Collab: Austin 2025, since the National Leadership Training Conference name cannot be used, as it belongs to the National Association of the Deaf. Even the board members of the National Association of the Deaf, including vice president Stephanie Hakulin, and some of the National Leadership Training Conference speakers showed up at the Deaf conference organized by many members of the National Association of the Deaf. It was heartening to see the Deaf community come together to find a venue for the Deaf Collab: Austin 2025 in place of the National Leadership Training Conference and to volunteer to do all the work the National Association of the Deaf abandoned.
So, the conference was still on regardless, and because of that it allows the National Association of the Deaf board members to convene a meeting to accept the National Association of the Deaf’s president Lisa Rose’s resignation after she finally submitted her resignation, not only that, these two vacated positions, the secretary, and treasury resignations has been rejected so that they could come back to their roles after the heavy pressure by the interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins, and now former President Lisa Rose for both to resign for the allegedly purpose to stop the board members from being able to call for a special meeting to terminate the President Lisa Rose because in the National Association of the Deaf’s bylaws stated for the board members to call for a special meeting they would need the secretary or treasury to be presented in their meeting. Without them, they cannot call for a meeting, and to have President Lisa Rose terminated, they would have to call for a special meeting. All board members except President Lisa Rose, obviously, and along with her allies in the National Association of the Deaf’s interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins, and the governance chair/region one representative Jacob Leffler who jumped in to halted the operation of the organization in an attempt to prevent the board members from finding a way to terminate Lisa Rose as the National Association of the Deaf’s president. The majority of the National Association of the Deaf’s members and board members have long wanted Lisa Rose to resign as president of the National Association of the Deaf. There were many videos made by the Deaf community calling the former president Lisa Rose out, demanding that she is to be resigned, and if not then demand that the board members to terminate her presidency which they succeed in thanks to the Deaf community coming together to continue the conference under the Deaf Collab: Austin 2025 in replacing the National Leadership Training Conference (NLTC).
Because that Lisa Rose have finally gave in and resigned after many months of trying her best to hold onto the power, the National Association of the Deaf’s vice president Stephanie Hakulin have became the National Association of the Deaf’s president which is historic because before Stephanie Hakulin was elected as the president, she was elected as the first black woman to be vice president of the National Association of the Deaf. Now that Lisa Rose is no longer the president, Stephanie Hakulin marks another milestone in the National Association of the Deaf as the first black president! Now, with the wishes of the Deaf community, has Lisa Rose resigned from the National Association of the Deaf? Not so quick: Lisa Rose was not the only Deaf community’s wish/demand to the National Association of the Deaf. That is another wish from the Deaf community that has been met; now the remaining wish is for both the National Association of the Deaf’s interim CEO, Bobbie Beth Scoggins, and the governance chair/region one representative, Jacob Leffler, to resign immediately as well. As of now, the interim CEO, Bobbie Beth Scoggins, and the governance chair/region one representative, Jacob Leffler, haven’t resigned. Like the former NAD’s now former president, Lisa Rosa, both interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins and Governance Chair/Region One representative Jacob Leffler are doing everything they can to hold onto their power. It seems that these three, interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins, Governance Chair Jacob Leffler, and now former President Lisa Rosa, all care about their position’s title and the power that comes with them in the National Association of the Deaf more than the paying members, stockholders, and the health of the National Association of the Deaf. I absolutely agree with the majority of the National Association of the Deaf members, stockholders, and the board members that both of the interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins and the governance chair/region one representative Jacob Leffler to be resigned as soon as possible for the best interest of the National Association of the Deaf which is the oldest civil rights organization here in the United States of America. The Deaf community has tried to give them many opportunities to resign voluntarily so that their reputations wouldn’t be tarnished as much as they would be if they were forced to resign at the Deaf community’s request. The National Association of the Deaf’s interim CEO, Bobbie Beth Scoggins, already has a tarnished reputation after being fired from the Texas School for the Deaf for her mismanagement of their finances. So, her refusal to resign as the National Association of the Deaf’s interim CEO is worsening her already tarnished reputation. It’s a shame they are stubbornly refusing to resign, as it seems they want to hold onto their titles and the power at the National Association of the Deaf. They could have bowed out and gracefully resigned to maintain their reputations. The more chances that the Deaf community have given them to resign with the remaining dignity that they have, the more it has angered the Deaf community for their rufusal to do so, and once they are either resigned or terminated by the board members they now will have the reputation of power hungry, tarnishing the creditibility of the National Association of the Deaf as an organization, and dragging down the organization with them because they want to keep the power and the titles that they currently have within’ the National Association of the Deaf.
On the final notes: Former Vice President, now President Stephanie Hakulin, and the National Association of the Deaf board members
Stephanie Hakulin, I would like to congratulate you on becoming the president of the National Association of the Deaf, which is historic for the National Association of the Deaf as the first black president of the National Association of the Deaf, and not only that, you became the first black woman to be vice president for the National Association of the Deaf so you are making the history! I want to make a disclaimer, I am a white person, a white male who is DeafDisabled (Deaf with other disability), but having the opportunity to witness that you became the first black woman to be vice president, and now the first black president of the National Association of the Deaf, puts a smile on my heart! This Deaf community is inclusive, as they aren’t only Deaf but also Deaf+/DeafDisabled, DeafBlind, Late-Deafened, Deaf nonverbal, and more, in different beautiful colors, and across all ranges of love, including LGBTQIA+ and straight Deaf people. I wish you nothing but the best in your new journey as the National Association of the Deaf president, and not only I but the Deaf community has your back if you ever need it!
As for the majority of the board members in the National Association of the Deaf, I congratulate all of you for doing all the best that you can do for the best interest of the National Association of the Deaf as an organization, and I appalud all of you for doing the right thing by working to have the former National Association of the Deaf President Lisa Rose to be terminated until she ultimately decided to submit her resignation which you all did the right thing by accepting her resignation because that was overdue in my opinion. What all of you did by doing everything that you could to grant the wish of the Deaf community to have the president, Lisa Rose, out of the National Association of the Deaf is a noble thing that you all did, and that may be the start of having the Deaf community’s trust in the National Association of the Deaf once again. However, there is still a long way to go before the Deaf community can trust the National Association of the Deaf once again, but that is a good start! The Deaf community has many demands and wishes for the National Association of the Deaf. Still, one thing is that you, all board members, along with the new President, Stephanie Hakulin, start learning to be more transparent with us, the Deaf community. The National Association of the Deaf hasn’t been transparent with us, the Deaf community, for decades. It got worse with the NFL Super Bowl’s fiasco with the former CEO Howard Roseblum and his relationship with Alexis Kashar and her company Love Sign/RoseByAnder because they and the National Association of the Deaf signing the NDA was the last straw because when you are a public charity and civil rights organization we Deaf community have the rights to know what is going on in the National Association of the Deaf. We pay for memberships, make donations to the National Association of the Deaf, and advocate for the National Association of the Deaf to secure government grants. So, with that, we deserve at least transparency from the National Association of the Deaf, wouldn’t you think so? Yes, there is a long list of issues within the organization, but transparency is one of the most important ones that you all have to work on as an organization.
With that said, again, I congratulate all of you, and I wish all of you nothing but the best. I know it’s going to be a very long road because there are still demands that the interim CEO, Bobbie Beth Scoggins, and the Governance Chair/Region One Representative, Jacob Lefflers, resign, which, as of now, they have not. The National Association of the Deaf cannot continue until these demands from the Deaf community are met; from there, the organization can finally start cleaning up all the mess and become the organization we, the Deaf community, can trust once again!
Now, I am going to share some videos for everybody to watch, and be warned: there are a lot of them.
If I have made any errors in this article, or if you would like me to correct any information, please get in touch with me here so I can take a look. There is more stuff, sources, and videos in my other article – the MultiTopic 10-10-2025 one: https://www.joshiesworld.com/multitopic-10-10-2025/#The_National_Association_of_the_Deaf_is_in_disarray
Feel free to leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the whole mess with the National Association of the Deaf, from the beginning to this day! In a couple of days or so, if I find any more interesting videos to share or if you have any vlogs or videos you would like to share for this article, please let me know, and I will add them! I would greatly appreciate it if you could share this article on your social media, as I believe it is one of the most important articles for everyone to know about.
Joshua “Joshie” Sullivan.
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