Elaine Smolen - Deafness/Hard of Hearing - Teachers College, Columbia University

Elaine Smolen is currently pursuing her PhD in deaf education at Teachers College, Columbia University.  Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she worked for over six years as a head teacher at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/New York, where she prepared four- and five-year-olds for kindergarten. A certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS Cert. AVEd), Elaine provides early-intervention evaluations, family-centered Hearing Education Services, and teletherapy for students in New York City and beyond.  She also helps train new educators of the deaf by mentoring student teachers and scoring teacher candidates' edTPA portfolios as part of their state certification processes.  She has presented on self-advocacy and language development at several national conferences.  Elaine's research interests include family involvement in education, language acquisition, and the linguistics of spoken and signed languages.

Elaine attended The College of New Jersey, where she received a master’s degree in deaf education and elementary education and a bachelor's degree in English. She holds teaching certification in the areas of deaf education, elementary education, and English.  Elaine enjoys reading, baking, going to the beach, and traveling.  She also loves taking advantage of New York's cultural events and sees as many open-captioned and sign-interpreted Broadway performances as she can.