On September 19, the NYC chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America will present a program on hearing access in theaters, movie theaters, and museums. Speakers include Lisa Carling, Director of TDF Accessibility Programs; Jerry Bergman, advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing; and Francesca Rosenberg. the Museum of Modern Art’s Director of Access Programs and Initiatives.

Lisa Carling helps design and implement services that make theatre performances more accessible to people with disabilities on Broadway, Off Broadway and nationwide. She runs a department that provides autism friendly, open captioned, audio described and sign language interpreted performances, as well as seating for theatergoers with mobility disabilities. She directs a grants program in partnership with New York State Council on the Arts that provides funding to eligible performing arts organization for captioning events that are open to the public. Lisa oversees the TDF Veterans Theatergoing Program, which ensures that vets who need accessibility accommodations receive them. As a speaker, she shares her experience in the arts accessibility field on theatre industry panels. Lisa is a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Award for Excellence in Accessibility Leadership 2022 and holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

Jerry Bergman has been a member of the NYC Chapter of HLAA since 2010. He is a former member of the chapter Board of Directors and is past president of the HLAA NYS Board of Directors. Jerry is a certified hearing loss peer mentor and a past chair of the Chapter’s Get in the Hearing Loop Committee and former member of HLAA National’s Get in the Hearing Loop Task Force. He was the chief advocate for New York City’s hearing loop in construction ordinance adopted in 2017, as well as the City’s open captioning in cinema ordinance adopted last year. For his efforts he received  HLAA’s Marcia Dugan Advocacy Award and the New York Center for Law and Justice’s Access to Advocacy Award.

In her 29 years with the Museum of Modern Art, Francesca Rosenberg and her team have won national and international respect for MoMA’s efforts to make the Museum accessible to all. Most recently, MoMA received awards from the Alzheimer’s Association; American Association of Museums; Museums and the Web; Ashoka’s Zero Project for social impact and scalability; and the Hearing Loss Association of America. Francesca Rosenberg is a founding member of the Museum, Arts and Culture Access Consortium and currently serves on its emeritus steering committee. She is a former Board member of Studio in a School and DOROT. Ms. Rosenberg is the co-author of Meet Me: Making Art Accessible to People with Dementia and Making Art Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired Individuals.

If you would like to join us for this captioned program, click here. After registering, you will receive an email with the Zoom link.

Can’t Hear? We are here for you!

The New York City Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America is a vibrant, diverse community dedicated to helping people with hearing loss lead more satisfying and productive lives. At the chapter’s monthly meetings, speakers address topics such as hearing aids and hearing-aid alternatives, assistive technology, interpersonal strategies, and advocacy initiatives. Those of you who are interested can find information about our organization on our chapter website by clicking here.