Tawny Holmes Hlibok is a Deaf education attorney, policy leader, and tenured Associate Professor of Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University focused on advancing Deaf-centered education, language policy, and civil rights. She has led national initiatives across early intervention, K–12, higher education, and workforce systems, including a federally funded early hearing detection and intervention program and White House–level policy work. Tawny is particularly committed to strengthening sign language ecosystems and building Deaf leadership—ensuring Deaf people are positioned not at the margins, but at the center of decision-making and systemic change.