Growing up as a hearing child of deaf parents, Jess has been immersed in deaf culture since birth. While this was a part of every day life for her, she has always enjoyed teaching others about the deaf culture/community. In elementary school, she taught her third grade class how to sign a song for a school performance. In high school, she took American Sign Language (ASL) classes for an “easy A” and would often teach her class the lesson plans for the day. Later in college, she placed out of all four years of ASL to earn her foreign language credit before graduating with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology.
Signing as an infant, and fluent in ASL by the age of four, Jess has always been an advocate for teaching Baby Sign Language because she experienced the benefits firsthand. After realizing the need for instructors in the community, she decided to pursue her love for teaching others the beautiful language by becoming a Certified My Smart Hands instructor. Residing in Winston Salem since 2005, Jess is excited to make a long-term difference in the lives of children and their parents by using her unique perspective of both the hearing and deaf world to bridge the communication gap through Sign Language.
My Smart Hands 