2023 IAD Conference Keynote Speaker

Lunch Keynote Speaker
Friday, June 30, 2023
12:00-1:30 PM
Benro Ogunyipe
Executive Director of the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission

Benro T. Ogunyipe is the Director of the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission. He previously served as Senior Accessibility Specialist, Reasonable Accommodation Specialist, and Investigator for the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Office of General Counsel – Bureau of Accessibility and Job Accommodation in Chicago, Illinois for 17 years. In this capacity, he primarily directed, trained, and administered the program and training activities to ensure the department compliance with Titles I & II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the department’s legal obligations under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Benro served for six years as president, vice president, and chair of the board of National Black Deaf Advocates, Inc. from 2007 to 2013. In 2014 and again in 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Benro to the National Council on Disability. Benro was also appointed by three different Illinois Governors to public bodies and was an appointed board member of the National Association of the Deaf.

Benro authored Black Deaf Culture Through Lens of History, a short commentary on the history, culture, and education of Black Deaf People for the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) supported by the U.S. Department of Education. Benro is a frequent presenter on the topics of advocacy, employment rights and discrimination, interpreting in diverse communities, cultural diversity & inclusion, and through the historical lens: the culture, miseducation, and sociolinguistics of Black Deaf people. He was a seasoned guest lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Disability Studies and Columbia College Chicago’s Interpreter Training Program on Multicultural Issues.

Benro received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gallaudet University and a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from DePaul University, School of Public Service.