Our Team

Deanna Gagne is a professor at Gallaudet University, with expertise in child development, specializing in how children acquire and create language.

Hayley Broadway is a Protactile expert and education specialist with experience in curriculum design, teaching, and working with families of DeafBlind children.

Jenna Gorlewicz is a professor at Saint Louis University, who specializes in designing touch-based communication technologies.

Phoenix Cook is a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics at Gallaudet University, conducting research on language acquisition and cognition in deaf and DeafBlind populations.

Cam is an undergraduate ASL major at Gallaudet University with plans to continue into a master’s program. He currently serves as the in-person lab manager for the Protactile Kids project. Cam is especially interested in how Protactile language fosters communication, connection, and language development for DeafBlind children.

Marjorie Bates is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at Gallaudet University. As a hearing, second-language learner of ASL and Protactile, Marjorie is interested in the cognitive processes (e.g., attention, metaphorical mapping) that contribute to understanding across modalities, including visual (sign, gesture, written), tactile, and spoken/auditory.

She worked on bimodal bilingual projects.

Joe is a PhD candidate in Educational Neuroscience at Gallaudet University, specializing in communication and learning. His research focuses on how language is used during social interactions to foster mutual understanding and knowledge sharing.

Desiree Kirst is a key member of the MAC Lab team at Gallaudet University, supporting the lab's research operations, community coordination, and ongoing studies in language acquisition and protactile communication.

Jamie is a master's student at Gallaudet University pursuing a degree in interpretation with a concentration in combined interpreting practice and research. Looking to develop connections to the DeafBlind community and gain additional research experience, she joined PTK as a research assistant in October 2024.

Lyn Eaton is a hearing masters student at Gallaudet University studying linguistics. They joined PT Kids Lab to foster connections with the DeafBlind community, investigate the tactile modality of language, and gain research experience. They are interested in how people “do language” in diverse ways, and want to pursue cross-modality linguistic investigations. acquisition and sign language learning.

Ashley Jackson is a research assistant with the MAC Lab, contributing to studies on language acquisition and providing support across research projects in the areas of deaf and DeafBlind communication.

Nicole identifies as a lifelong student. Her curiosity and desire to learn from others led her to become a Research Assistant for Protactile Kids. She is currently working remotely from Texas while studying to become an ASL interpreter at Austin Community College. She is passionate about building meaningful connections and understanding how language can empower people, strengthen relationships, foster inclusive communities, and expand accessible communication for DeafBlind individuals.

Kaj Kraus is a PhD candidate in the Department of Linguistics at Gallaudet University. His research investigates how deaf and hard of hearing adults learn ASL as a second language, and explores different linguistic and cognitive factors that may affect proficiency. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and running.

Jessica Ennis is a member of the MAC Lab's Austin Team, supporting field research and data collection efforts related to protactile language acquisition and DeafBlind communication.