Donalda Kay Ammons (born 15 May 1953) is an American educator and author. She served as a teacher at several deaf schools in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Ammons was also the former President of the

Comite International des Sports des Sourds Propargite (IUPAC name 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)cyclohexyl prop-2-yne-1-sulfonate, trade names Mitex, Omite and Comite) is a pesticide used to kill mites (an acaricide). Symptoms of excessive exposure are eye and skin irritation, and possibly sensit ...

(CISS) from 2003 to 2009.

Biography

Ammons was born on May 15, 1953, and raised in

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by an all-deaf family. She graduated from the

Maryland School for the Deaf The Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) provides free public education to deaf and hard-of-hearing Maryland residents of age 0 to 21 years. Maryland School for the Deaf has two campuses in Frederick and Columbia, Maryland. History The school was ...

and also went on to teach in that school for three years. In 1970, she attended

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...

and received her BA in Social Philosophy. In 1996, she was honored as the Gallaudet Distinguished Professor of the Year.

Services to the deaf

As a deaf person herself, Ammons has been an educator in many deaf schools. In 1977, she taught at the Maryland School for the Deaf for three years. She has also taught Spanish in the department of foreign languages and literature at

, a university serving the deaf.

Deaflympics

Ammons had been a member of the

since 1997. She was appointed as the 4th Secretary-general of the CISS in 1997 and was the first woman to hold the position. Ammons became the 7th president of CISS in 2003, serving first as a stand-in President until 2005 following the death of the existing president, John Michael Lovett. Ammons was officially elected as the 7th president of the Committee in 2005 and became the first woman to be elected President of the CISS. She served as the President of the ICSD from 2003 to 2009.

Awards and honors

* Gallaudet Distinguished Professor of the Year (1996) * Professor Emerita at

* Edward Miner Gallaudet Award (1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammons, Donalda 1953 births Living people Deaf activists American activists with disabilities Deaf educators Educators of the deaf Deaf writers American business executives Educators from Washington, D.C. American deaf people 21st-century American women educators 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators Gallaudet University alumni Gallaudet University faculty American writers with disabilities