THIS YEAR’S PRESENTER: MJ BIENVENU
ASL Immersion Weekend 2004
April 12th, 13th, and 14th
MJ Bienvenu was raised in Baton Rouge, LA in an all-Deaf family. She graduated from Louisiana School for the Deaf. She received her BA in English in 1974 and MA in Linguistics in 1983, both from Gallaudet University.
She worked in several places before coming to her present job as Chair/Assistant Professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University including the National Association of the Deaf, the University bookstore, and the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School as their first Communication Specialist. At Gallaudet she has worked in the Linguistics Research Lab as a research assistant (for 4 years), and the English Department. In 1987 she became a co-director at the Bicultural Center and later became an independent consultant. During her role as ASL Program Coordinator, she completed her Ph.D in Linguistics from Union Institute and University in 2003
MJ is a renowned ASL teacher and presenter on issues related to ASL, Deaf Culture, Bilingual Education for Deaf Children, interpretation, and oppression/empowerment. She is in a long-term commitment with her partner and has furry children.