Chair, Kendall School's 150th Anniversary Reunion

A Native Washingtonian was born with painting brushes in hand on November 1942. Both of her parents were in the art field, as her Mother was a fashion illustrator, and her Father was a founder and art director in an advertising agency. Her sister, Carol, also an artist and activist, switches living in the San Francisco area and Alaska. Lois is hard of hearing, and the loss was from Mother’s having Rubella measles during her pregnancy with her.

Lois graduated from Kendall School in 1961 and Gallaudet University where she received a BA degree in 1967. Her competent job and traveling adventure were as a layout and composer artist for a magazine, currently re-located to Reno, Nevada where she lived for seven years. She took a position in Cape Cod, Massachusetts as a peer counselor and outreach/outpatient director for two years until the budget was slashed by budget cuts. Next, she got a job offer in Lakewood, California as the chemical dependency therapist for deaf patients at the hospital. While working there, she realized that she needed a higher education degree in counseling. Her decision was to move to Washington State to continue her education at Seattle University specializing in addiction counseling. She stayed in Washington State for 18 years as a consultant, addiction counselor and Trainer of Trainers specializing in prevention and treatment of drug dependencies and substance abuse. Also, she was an ASL/Interpreting instructor at the community college in Olympia.

In 2001, she returned to Washington DC with her partner, who is currently continuing her education at Gallaudet University to take care of her beloved Mother. She remains involved with precious pleasure with deaf communities and events here and all over the USA.