Faculty Directory

The School of Deaf and Deafblind at George Brown College brings together industry leaders to shape program and course content. Many of the faculty at the college are still active in their industries today, so they combine day-to-day working realities with academic theories and approaches. We take pride in hiring teachers that are well respected and offer students excellent instruction, industry mentorship and provide valuable additions to their professional networks.

Faculty Members

Faculty Bios:

David T. Bell-Patterson, MA 

Dave (he/him) has taught in the Honours Bachelor of Interpretation (ASL-English) program part-time since 2019, leading courses on interpreting theory and practice, business, and professionalism, as well as sociolinguistics and interpreting essentials. He's worked as an interpreter and interpreter educator throughout Ontario for over a decade, and has worked in language, education, and government for the last 20 years. In addition to being a graduate of the College's interpreting program, Dave also holds a BA in Linguistics and Language Studies and an MA in Theoretical Linguistics. His research focuses on language immersion and learning and on pedagogical approaches to interpreter training.

Nancy Blanchard, B.Sc., M.Sc.

Nancy Blanchard is a faculty member in the School of Deaf and Deafblind Studies at George Brown College and the emphasis of her work is with students achieving an advanced diploma in ASL-English Interpreting as well as Honours Bachelor of Interpretation (American Sign Language - English) degree. Since September 2002, she has taught in ASL & Deaf Studies, ASL-English Interpreter and the ASL & Literacy Instructor Programs.

Nancy has a Bachelor of Science degree in American Sign Language and a Masters of Science in Deaf Education. She is a native of Deaf culture and American Sign Language and has extensive experience in second language teaching in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York City, Tokyo, Japan and Toronto, Ontario. Nancy is also a Deaf Interpreter registered under the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada. Also, she provides ASL-English translation services. Nancy also provides training on Instruction and Assessment with ASL as a second language and provides consulting to interpreters, ASL instructors, organizations and referral businesses.

Corene Kennedy, AOCA, M.Ed., COI

Corene Kennedy is a nationally certified American Sign Language (ASL) – English interpreter holding the Certificate of Interpretation (COI) through the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC). Corene graduated from Sheridan College's Interpreter Training Program in 1993 and has been providing freelance interpreting services ever since. Corene earned her Masters of Education in Educational Studies (MES), Leadership and Educational Improvement degree with research interests focusing on community-program partnerships to support praxis and entry to practice for novice interpreters. Prior to her career as an ASL-English interpreter, Corene was a professional artist having graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (previously known as OCA) in 1988.

In 2004, Corene joined George Brown College's ASL-English Interpreter program as a fulltime professor, and was nominated in 2005 for the Crystal Apple Award, honouring outstanding professors at George Brown College, and in 2007/08, she was ranked among the top 15 George Brown College instructors.

Active in the field, Corene holds memberships with The Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC), the Ontario Association of Visual Language Interpreters (OASLI), the Ontario Association of the Deaf (OAD), the Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT), the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), and the World Association of Visual Language Interpreters (WASLI) and Critical Link (CL). She has served on both Provincial and National committees, holding various portfolios, one of which was as a message equivalency rater for the AVLIC's test of interpretation (TOI).

Christina Moreau, OCT, BA., B.Ed., M.Sc., MA 

Christina Moreau has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Brock University, a Master of Science in Deaf Education from Canisius College, a Bachelor of Education in Primary from University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Sign Language Education from Gallaudet University. She recently received her certification in CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference in Sign Language).

She joined the ASL & Deaf Studies department in 2019. She has teaching experience going back to 2003. She is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) and Sign Language Institute Canada (SLIC). She is also a member of ASL Community of Niagara (ASLCN) in Niagara Region. She, with another colleague, have developed a curriculum for ASL & Deaf Studies Program for Academic year 2021-2022.

Wayne Nicholson

Wayne Nicholson has been a professor in the ASL-English Interpreter and the ASL-Deaf Studies Programs since 1998. Wayne has worked as a Deaf interpreter for more than 20 years in the Deaf community on the local, national and international levels. He has been actively involved in the Deaf community in several roles but namely being the president of the Ontario Association of the Deaf (OAD), an organization that advocates for the better future of the Deaf community. OAD oversees the Deaf Outreach Program, a resource sharing organization for those who are living with HIV or AIDS or living with people that have HIV or AIDS. He is also an active member and current president of the Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters (CASLI). He is a graduate of Gallaudet University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with courses in relation to ASL. He also has a Masters of Arts in Education with a concentration in Community Colleges from Central Michigan University.

Simon Paterson 

Simon is an alumnus of George Brown College's American Sign Language and Literacy Instructor Program (2008). He has been involved with the ASL and Deaf community for many years as an active member, advocator and ASL instructor. Since 2015, Simon has worked as a part-time Professor in the ASL and Deaf Studies of the School of Deaf and Deafblind Studies at George Brown College.

Zoh Qureshi 

Zoh is a Professor in the ASL-Deaf Studies Program at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario. He obtained his undergraduate degree in International Business from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. Qureshi received his two master’s degrees in Public Administration and Sign Language in Education from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. He is active in a variety of cultural organizations including Habitat for Humanity, and Deaf Muslims of Canada. 

He travels widely, reads, hikes, and plays badminton. An important aspect of his life is family.

Cheryl Ramey

Cheryl Ramey is a professor and the Program Co-ordinator in the Deafblind & Intervenor Studies program at George Brown College. She has worked in the field of congenital deafblindness and multiple disabilities for the past 35 years. In the most recent nineteen years, she has shared her skills, knowledge and experience through teaching and mentoring students.

Cheryl’s career began with specialized training in deafblindness at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind and Deafblind in Ontario in 1987, where she worked as a Resource Consultant for Ministry of Education. Cheryl completed the Management Development Program through the University of Manitoba in June 1998.

Cheryl has sat on a number of boards of directors including the Canadian Deafblind Association, National; Canadian Deafblind Association, Ontario Chapter and the Canadian Helen Keller Centre. She was also the facilitator of a nationwide committee who developed core competencies for Intervenors as well as part of the committee in Ontario developing Behavioural Competencies for Intervenors. She was part of a committee with the Canadian Deafblind Association, Ontario Chapter for the development of online courses focusing on deafblindness and Intervention. Cheryl has presented at numerous conferences and symposiums on deafblindness and multiple disabilities including Deafblind International World Conferences (DBI) in Toronto, Portugal, Australia, Italy and France and is a member of the Intervenor Organization of Ontario.

Rhondda Reynolds, BA., M.Ed.

Rhondda Reynolds holds a Bachelor's degree (McMaster, 1989), a diploma in Sign Language interpreting (Sheridan College, 1992) and a Master's degree in Educational Studies, Leadership and Educational Improvement (University of Alberta, 2013) with a research interest focused on Interprofessional Education (IPE). She has been a full-time faculty member in the American Sign Language (ASL) – English interpreter program at George Brown College since 2010, bringing over 31 years of freelance interpreting and mentorship experience to the classroom.

Rhondda is a nationally certified ASL-English interpreter with a certificate of interpretation (COI), awarded by the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC), and continues to interpret in a broad range of interpreting settings. She has served in a variety of capacities for both OASLI and AVLIC and has worked as a Message Feedback Specialist for AVLIC's Test of Interpretation (TOI) preparation workshops. Workshop presentations include training for practicum supervisors, Deaf interpreters, professional interpreters and poster presentations.

Rhondda has served as Vice-President for the provincial association of Sign Language interpreters (OASLI) as well as serving as a Chair and OASLI representative for different committees. Additionally, she maintains an active role in the field through memberships with The Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC), the Ontario Association of Sign Language Interpreters (OASLI), the Ontario Association of the Deaf (OAD), the Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT), the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), and the World Association of Visual Language Interpreters (WASLI) and Critical Link (CL).

Erika Stebbings, MA 

Erika Stebbings is the Program Co-ordinator and a professor in the ASL & Deaf Studies Program (ADSP), School of Deaf and Deafblind Studies at George Brown College. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Social Work and received a master’s degree in Sign Language in Education from Gallaudet University. Erika has worked in various roles within the Deaf community as well as an advocate for many issues related to Deaf schools and the community for more than 20 years in Canada.

Phyllis Vazquez

Phyllis has a BA in Sociology from Gallaudet University, an MA in Special Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto and is currently a PhD student at OISE in the Languages and Literacies Education department. 

Phyllis was the project leader at the College Standards and Accreditation Council (CSAC) at the Ontario Ministry of Education, spearheading a review of the skill level requirements of ASL-English interpreters, and the development of standards for Ontario ASL-English interpreter programs, a project which culminated in the establishment of the 3-year ASL-English interpreter diploma program at George Brown. 

Phyllis was the lead in the development of both the ASL and Deaf Studies program and the ASL-English interpreter diploma program at George Brown. She has been teaching in both programs since 1997. 

With the faculty team, Phyllis led the development of the submission to the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to establish a 4-year Bachelor’s degree in ASL-English Interpretation which was established at George Brown, in the fall of 2016, the first and only one of its kind in Canada. Most recently, Phyllis was involved with the program review and revamp of the ASL and Deaf Studies program. 

Phyllis was the recipient of the Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence in 2005.

She is a member of the American Sign Language Teachers Association, the Ontario Association of the Deaf and the Toronto Association of the Deaf.