Steve Hamerdinger is an American deaf professional and advocate for deaf and hard of hearing people. He is the current Director of Deaf Services for the
Alabama Department of Mental Health
Alabama Department of Mental Health is the state agency responsible for serving Alabama citizens with mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities, and substance use disorders. The department was formally established by ACT 881 in 1965.
Education
Steve Hamerdinger earned his B.A. from Temple Deaf College in 1977. He completed coursework on Educational Psychology and Human Development at University of Kansas, and completed a Master's of Arts in Counseling in 1989 from
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 ...
.
Professional work
At the
New Mexico School for the Deaf
The New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD) is a state-run school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, providing education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students from preschool through grade 12. Established in 1887 by the New Mexico Legislature, New Mexico legis ...
, Hamerdinger worked as a child therapist beginning in 1989, establishing a then novel in-school mental health program. His work there focused on deaf children and their families.
He helped establish the New Mexico Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He was also a past president of th New Mexico Association of the Deaf Before moving to Alabama in 2003, Hamerdinger was the Director of the Office of Deaf and Linguistic Support Services at the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
In 2009, Hamerdinger was appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a representative at the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership Network on Mental Health and Deaf Individuals.
Hamerdinger, is a past-President of the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association.
As the current director of Deaf Services in the Alabama Department of Mental Health, Hamerdinger works to make sure that services can be provided to deaf people with mental illnesses in Alabama. The services his department offer include consulting, advocacy, and teaching and continued education. The purpose behind their program is for deaf people to be assisted with their mental health by counselors who also know
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
.
Awards
In 2021, Hamerdinger was presented with th Boyce R. Williams Award Award in recognition of a lifetime of exemplary contributions that lead to the improvement in the lives of deaf people in the rehabilitation and behavioral health arenas.
He is the recipient of the 201 that recognizes individuals for exemplary work in government service for specialized programs for deaf and hard of hearing populations. He was also awarded the Alice Cogswell Award in 2010 which is used to recognize persons who have made respectable contributions to the deaf community. In 200 Deaf Life magazine named Hamerdinger the "Deaf Person of the Month."
He was presented with the Knights of Flying Fingers award by the National Association of the Deaf and Mental Health Subcommittee in 2016 and elected to the board of directors of NAD in 2018.
Personal life
Hamerdinger was born in Maryland to hearing parents. He attended public schools in Prince George's County until he was a Junior at Parkdale Senior High. He then dropped out of school, due to lack of support services, as was common in the early 60s. He was admitted to Gallaudet University by testing the next year.
He currently lives in Montgomery, Alabama. He frequently uses comedy routines as a method for coping with and helping others cope with mental illness.