Directors

  STEVEN COLLINS

Steven Collins

President

Dr. Steven D. Collins has been active in the DeafBlind community for the past 35 years. He has attended several DeafBlind camps across the country and is a member of Metro-Washington Association for the DeafBlind. Dr. Collins is a Fulbright Scholar and has been working with international families with vision loss as well. He has published chapters and is a co-editor for the Deaf Interpreter At Work. Steven currently serves as a faculty member at the department of Interpretation and Translation at Gallaudet University.

KIM BEST

Kathi Jefra

Secretary 

Kim is a Real Estate Agent in the state of Delaware who started taking ASL classes to help support a friend who’s niece was born Deaf. She was a mentor at Delaware School for the Deaf for several years. Kim has been involved with the DeafBlind Camp of Maryland since 2009 and has volunteered as an SSP, worked on the planning committee and now serves on the Board.

KATHI JEFRA

Kathi Jefra

Treasurer

Kathleen Jeffra received a B.S. in Elementary Ed/Early Childhood Development from College of Notre Dame of MD and has extensive experience teaching students from preschool to adult, especially in a religious setting. It was in the classroom that she became interested in American Sign Language when 2 young boys who were CODAs joined her class. Kathi began working at Christ Deaf Church and Deaf Shalom Zone in 2013 and became involved with DeafBlind Camp that same year. Since then she has contributed as an SSP, with administrative and logistics support for the camp, assisted with fundraising activities, and joined the Board of Directors in 2017.

LISA (JORDAN) WIRKUS

Lisa (Jordan) Wirkus
Lisa is an ordained United Methodist pastor and a certified sign language interpreter. She credits the DeafBlind Camp of MD as being one of the most influential experiences in her life, since she responded to the call to ministry and improved her signing skills greatly by volunteering with the camp. In addition to this camp, Lisa also directs the Young Adult Deaf Camp designed for Deaf adults with developmental disabilities at West River every summer. In her spare time, she loves being outdoors, playing tennis, and spending time with family and friends.

INGRID MARTINEZ

Meet Ingrid Martinez, board member of the DeafBlind Camp of Maryland. Ingrid has been involved with the camp since 2002 including roles as SSP and SSP Co-coordinator. Born and raised in Maryland and a hearing legally blind individual, Ingrid brings a different perspective to our camp family. She is a graduate of Towson University's deaf studies program (class of 2003), earned two master's degrees from Gallaudet University (2006 and 2014), and is the current Vice President of the DeafBlind Camp of Texas. Ingrid is passionate about helping others, both in her personal life and career choices as a counselor and current speech-language pathologist for the elderly population. She is thrilled to extend her passion as a proud member of the DBC of MD Board!