- Christina Yuknis, M.A. - Gallaudet University

Ph.D., University of Maryland College Park, Education Policy and Leadership: Curriculum Theory and Development, TBA
M.A., Gallaudet University, Deaf Education: Multiple Disabilities, 2002
B.S., SUNY College at Buffalo, Exceptional Education, 1998

Christina began her career in special education as a paraeducator in a classroom with children who had severe and profound disabilities. Everyday was a challenge, but it was rewarding to see the progress toward independence that the children made.

After that, she started working full-time for a non-profit agency, where she had the opportunity to coordinate two respite programs and work in an overnight respite facility. Working with adults presented a different type of challenge that she again found to be rewarding.

Upon graduating with a degree in exceptional education, Christina decided to pursue her dream, to become a deaf educator, and entered Gallaudet University as a graduate student. While at Gallaudet, Christina worked full-time as a job coach for a local non-profit agency and worked at a research assistant in two departments on campus.

After graduating from Gallaudet, Christina began teaching in a local public middle school program for students with learning disabilities. Later, she transferred to the middle school program serving students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. Middle school became her passion, and she truly enjoyed the experiences she had in teaching her students.

At the same time, it was becoming increasingly clear that policies and mandates from administrators and policymakers were doing more to harm than help her children. She decided to take action and entered a doctoral program at the University of Maryland to become familiar with the political structures that impact education. It was also with a heavy heart that she left the classroom and began working in the school system’s policy department.

In 2008, she returned to Gallaudet to join the faculty, which allows her to continue her first love of teaching while also working on research and policy issues. Currently, Christina is working on her dissertation on the revision processes used by deaf middle school students as they write and revise essays. In what little free time remains, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband and shih-tzu.

Areas of certification: Generic Special Education 1-8/6-Adult, Hearing Impaired, Supervisor of Hearing Impaired, Middle School: English Language Arts