Karen Aguilar – Vice President of Communication Access/Director of Chicago Hearing Society

Karen Aguilar received an undergraduate degree in Pre-law from Michigan State University and a Masters of Jurisprudence in Health Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Ms. Aguilar is Vice President of Communication Access for Anixter Center, and Director of the Chicago Hearing Society, its division. Chicago Hearing Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1916, with a Hearing Health Clinic, Interpreter Services Department and Community Outreach and Advocacy Department that houses the Youth Connections Program, Domestic Violence Program, DeafBlind Program, sign Language Classes, tax assistance and various support and educational programs.

Ms. Aguilar’s past work includes serving as Coalition Director for CHOICES for Parents, a statewide coalition of parents and professionals that provides information, support, resources and advocacy to families whose children have a hearing loss. Her work also includes creating a center based early intervention program for families while providing developmental therapy, on-going service coordination and family support individually and in a group setting.

Ms. Aguilar has trained the legal community about the rights of persons who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing, and educated the Deaf Community about their rights under state and federal laws in her work with the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf. Ms. Aguilar has been signing since childhood and is a nationally-certified state-licensed sign language interpreter. Ms. Aguilar has served on statewide and national committees and boards and has presented locally, nationally and internationally. Her work is published and she has received numerous awards for her work.