# Employee lifts voice, integrates Deaf culture into latest CPI project 

/ Published Jan. 30, 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio, 
Teresa Brunotte had what many would describe as a typical childhood. She grew up playing sports, engaged in friendly sibling rivalry with her brother, and loved to watch movies. She was an equestrian and a member of 4-H, often competing in local and national horse shows. After high school, she went on to college.

Now, Brunotte is a successful material planner with Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime. While she’s excelled in many pursuits, it hasn’t been without struggle.

At the age of two, she contracted spinal meningitis and lost her ability to hear – a common after-effect of the disease. It was a challenge she learned to meet head on.

“I had to relearn everything,” Brunotte said of the struggle to communicate. “I am the only deaf person in my family, but my parents and brother learned American Sign Language too, because I responded better to signing than lip reading.”

“They made sure I had normal childhood experiences,” she added, “They never treated me differently. My mom would interpret for me so I could still enjoy movies and my dad supported all my endeavors.”

Born and raised in Central Ohio, Brunotte attended mainstream public school before transferring to the Ohio School for the Deaf, from where she graduated in 2002. She went on to Columbus State Community College, then Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., earning a Bachelor of Science in Family and Child Studies in 2008.

                Teresa Brunotte, material planner, Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime                            Employee lifts voice, integrates Deaf culture into latest CPI project                            Teresa Brunotte, material planner, Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Courtesy photoVIRIN: 230629-D-D0441-1002

Inspired by a former teacher and deaf woman, Mary Ann Corbett, Brunotte said she originally wanted to be a role model for deaf children as an early childhood educator.

“I never met any deaf adults before her. She opened doors as I explored deeply into the Deaf culture and community that I never knew existed,” Brunotte said. “She introduced me to so many resources. For example, I never knew I could call my grandparents and family until she introduced me to TTY. My parents and I learned so much from her. For that, I am forever grateful.”

Brunotte applied to several jobs in the education field after graduation but at that time, she said, there was not much available due to the recession. She reached out to the Gallaudet University Career Center to explore options, one of which was the Workforce Recruitment Program, a federal program designed to connect government agencies and private companies with college students and recent graduates with disabilities for internship and job opportunities.

“I decided to see what would happen and just allowed it to lead me,” she said.

Brunotte flew to Washington D.C. several times for interviews and met with several recruiters. A few months later, she received an email from the DLA Training Center offering a short-term internship opportunity in Columbus as an editor’s assistant and she accepted.

After a month and half, Brunotte was offered a full-time position and two years later in 2011, she was accepted into DLA’s corporate internship program, now known as the Pathways to Career Excellence program.

While she may not be serving as a role model in education like she once planned, she is doing so at DLA Land and Maritime, leading the change in Deaf culture.

For nearly 13 years, Brunotte has excelled in her work, overcoming daily communication barriers – fueling her desire to build awareness and implement process improvements for equal employment opportunity within the agency.

“It’s not just for me – it’s for the whole Deaf community. We’ve discussed the frustrations of missing information, even small things that may seem like nothing to others,” she explained. “We want to be able to do our jobs as effectively as everyone else. We are willing to roll up our sleeves and do twice the work and work twice as hard to be equals, but we can’t if we are missing bits of information.”

“If there’s no interpreter available for a TEAMS meeting for example, then I miss all that,” she added. “Team members will take some notes for me but I’m still missing a lot.”

Brunotte took this challenge for action during a recent Continuous Process Improvement project to complete her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. She used her knowledge and experience as a deaf employee to advocate for others and improve the ASL Interpreter Request System.

The project involved collecting and analyzing data to identify gaps or problem areas, then creating, implementing and monitoring approved recommendations to close those gaps.

With only one contracted vendor and no full-time ASL interpreters, Bonny Haynes, a Lean Six Sigma Analyst and Brunotte’s coach throughout the Green Belt course, said interpreter shortage is a frequent issue.

“Our vendor tries their best, but they are also short staffed,” she said.

Haynes added that Brunotte’s project led to an approval to hire two full-time ASL interpreters at DLA Land and Maritime.

Brunotte and her project team also recommended a community calendar to streamline scheduling, which will be implemented and monitored for success over the next several months.

In addition, supervisors of deaf employees may now request a Zoom license to facilitate virtual communication. Brunotte said Zoom video quality is superior to TEAMS and the captions are more accurate, allowing deaf employees to better understand what is being discussed.

As part of her Green Belt certification, Brunotte was required to brief command on the project.

“This was unique because we don’t often see deaf employees briefing command,” Haynes said. “We don’t currently have any deaf employees serving in supervisory positions or positions that would normally require high level briefs, so this is exciting.” 

Brunotte said she was quite nervous briefing a room full of people, including DLA Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson, who thanked Brunotte for her work on this important project and commended her on a job well done.

“I debated whether to sit or stand, but I decided to stand in front of them,” Brunotte said. “We stand where people can see us signing and we can have eye contact – that is the culture of the Deaf community.”

“I was honored and humbled to present before the deputy commander, and I started to feel more confident and comfortable as I stood there. I saw their eyes on me, and I had their attention,” she said. “I showed that deaf people can present and give speeches too. We have so much to offer.”

Haynes said that Deaf culture at DLA was something discussed a lot throughout the project.

“It is something we need to continue working on,” she said. “In coaching Teresa through this project, I’ve learned a lot. I made a mistake, for example, using the words ‘hearing impaired.’ I had no idea that was considered derogatory. Deaf or hard of hearing are the appropriate terms.”

Brunotte added that she loves to talk and wants people to feel comfortable talking to her.

“Often, people will look at and conversate with the interpreter, saying ‘tell her this’ or ‘tell her that’ but it’s *me* they are having the conversation with,” she said. “So, I miss out on that personal connection when this happens. People are surprised sometimes to find that I do have a sense of humor and how easy it is to chat with me. It doesn’t have to be hard.”

Brunotte will continue to coach and mentor her peers on the importance of disability awareness. She is pleased with the progress thus far but said there is more work to be done.

Her advice to DLA Land and Maritime peers and coworkers: “Always be inclusive to people with disabilities. We deserve to be a part of this workforce supporting the warfighters.”

Her advice to others with a disability: “Don’t test the water, just dive in! You never know where it will land you. Take advantage of every resource available. If it doesn’t work out, another door will open.”

With her Green Belt certification in hand, Brunotte now has her eyes on promotion. She hopes to become a material planner supervisor or trainer, or even explore another field within DLA. Either way, she will always lift her ‘voice’ as an advocate for equality.

Whatever the future holds – Brunotte will dive in.

*Editor’s Note: In honor of her dedication to the EEO mission, Brunotte earned the Achievement in EEO by an Employee award**at DLA’s**56th Annual Employee Recognition Awards ceremony Jan. 25 at the McNamara Headquarters Complex in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.*