Claudia L. Gordon is the first deaf African-American female attorney in the United States. Born in Jamaica, Gordon became deaf at the 8 years old after having sharp pains in her ears. At 11, she moved to the United States and attended Lexington School for the Deaf in New York. In 1995, she graduated form Howard University with a Bachelors in Political Science. She later went to the American University Washington College of Law. She has worked as a staff attorney for the National Association for the Deaf, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as a Public Engagement Advisor and in the White House. She has received the 2005 Hurricane Response Award, the Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award, the 2010 Deaf Life Magazine Deaf Person of the Year award, and the 2011 Amos Kendall Award. The former Miss Deaf American and Delta Sigma Theta member, is a member of many organizations including the National Association of the Deaf Law and Advocacy Center and Black Law Students Association.
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