Deaf Independent Living Association, Inc. (DILA) has promoted Stephanie James to Director of Community Programs to oversee its Residential and Community Programs. After graduating from Towson University in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Deaf Studies and Family Science, Ms. James started with the agency in August of 2014 as the Job Coach/ILA and was given the additional responsibility of case managing clients on the agency’s rolling access grant. After one year she was quickly promoted to Residential Program Manager in September of 2015.
Throughout college Ms. James worked for Delaware State Senators George Bunting and Robert L. Venables, Sr., volunteered with the Deaf Shalom Zone in Baltimore, MD and interned with CCBC’s Interpreter Preparation Program in Catonsville, MD. She is an active member of her community as a member of St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family on their farm in Delmar, DE.
Her passion for the Deaf community and belief in the rights and abilities of individuals with developmental disabilities is what drives her to work for them. Ms. James states, “The mission and guiding beliefs of DILA are exactly aligned with my personal beliefs and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for this agency.” DILA serves the nine counties of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and is getting ready to branch their residential program into Delaware.
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