Group: Artistic Collaborators

Rachel E. Douglass is a Deaf graduate teaching assistant at North Carolina State University, getting her Masters of English with a concentration in Literature. She was also the first Deaf student involved in the “Morocco: Arabic, Sign Language and Culture” program, where she spent the summer studying Moroccan Sign Language. Rachel grew up in Utah where she worked as an ASL tutor and a special ed paraeducator. Rachel spent her childhood in dance and musical theater but was encouraged to quit because of her progressive hearing loss. This sparked her passion to make the arts and humanities an inclusive place for creatives of all backgrounds and ability levels. Rachel could not be more excited to join ShaLeigh Dance Works as a Creative Expert for enVISION.

Susan Cataldo has served as the Deaf Services Specialist for the Raleigh Regional Center with the North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2020. A graduate of the Interpreter Training Program at Troy University, Susan has worked as a Deaf Interpreter for more than a decade and is a dedicated advocate for communication access and Deaf community engagement.

In 2024, Susan joined enVISION: The Next Chapter as a Creative Expert, contributing her lived experience and professional expertise to the project’s disability-led creative process. She also provided American Sign Language (ASL) training for ShaLeigh Dance Works company members, helping artists deepen their understanding of Deaf culture, communication, and accessibility practices.

Originally from Virginia and a graduate of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., Susan has called North Carolina home for more than 27 years. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys traveling, scrapbooking, and spending time with family and friends.

Nicolle Alleman, is the DeafBlind Services Specialist for the Raleigh Regional Center with the North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Nicolle is DeafBlind and communicates using tactile American Sign Language and Protactile. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Social Work degrees from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.

Nicolle served as a Creative Expert for enVISION: The Next Chapter in 2024, contributing her lived experience and expertise to support the project’s commitment to disability-led collaboration and accessibility. In addition to her creative contributions, she led DeafBlind awareness training for ShaLeigh Dance Works company members, helping deepen their understanding of DeafBlind culture, communication, and access practices. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the American Association of the DeafBlind and is a member of the NC Deaf-Blind Associates. Nicolle currently represents the DeafBlind community on the North Carolina Interpreters and Transliterators Licensing Board.

Isela Garcia is a Hard of Hearing Latina who navigates and celebrates both Deaf and hearing cultures. Fluent in four languages—American Sign Language (ASL), English, Mexican Sign Language (LSM), and Spanish—she brings a rich multilingual and multicultural perspective to her work as an interpreter, educator, and accessibility advocate.

A graduate of Gallaudet University with a Bachelor of Arts in Interpretation, Isela currently serves as a Part-Time Sign Language Interpreter with NC State University’s Office for Equal Opportunity and works extensively as a Deaf Interpreter for Deaf and DeafBlind communities. She is especially passionate about theater and musical theater interpretation, helping make the performing arts more accessible and inclusive.

As a Creative Expert for enVISION: The Next Chapter, Isela collaborated with ShaLeigh Dance Works to explore the integration of ASL within dance-theatre performance. Through workshops, creative consultation, and embodied language exploration, she guided artists in incorporating ASL into choreography while deepening their understanding of Deaf culture, accessibility, and authentic representation. By sharing her lived experiences and expertise, Isela helps bridge communities, amplify Deaf voices, and advance a vision of the arts where accessibility is embraced as an essential creative practice.

Karin Desalu is a Deaf advocate, educator, and community leader who joined ShaLeigh Dance Works in 2023 as a Creative Expert for enVISION: The Next Chapter. Drawing on her lived experience and professional expertise, Karin has helped shape the project’s exploration of Deaf culture, communication, accessibility, and perception.

Karin serves as a Deaf Service Specialist with the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing at the Wilson Regional Center and is the Eastern Regional Representative for the North Carolina Association of the Deaf. She holds degrees in General Education and Human Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals and has dedicated her career to supporting and empowering Deaf communities across North Carolina.

As a member of the enVISION creative team, Karin brings valuable insight, perspective, and advocacy to the artistic process, helping ensure that Deaf experiences are authentically represented and meaningfully integrated into the work. Her contributions continue to deepen the project’s commitment to disability-led collaboration and accessibility as artistic practice.

“Me being deaf isn’t the problem. There is nothing wrong with being deaf; it’s society that is the problem.” – Rose Ayling-Ellis

Yazmyne Jenkins is a Durham-based accessibility advocate, disability consultant, and administrative professional with more than 15 years of experience in customer service, technology support, office administration, and community engagement. A graduate of North Carolina Central University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in History, Yazmyne brings both professional expertise and lived experience as a Blind woman to her work. Her background includes disability employment services, human resources support, assistive technology, customer relations, and workplace accessibility, with specialized knowledge of JAWS screen reader technology and accessible workplace practices.

As an expert collaborator for enVISION: The Next Chapter (2024), Yazmyne contributed invaluable insight into blindness, accessibility, independence, and the ways people navigate and understand the world beyond sight. Her perspectives helped inform the creative development of the project and challenged artists and audiences alike to reconsider assumptions about perception and communication.

Yazmyne’s recorded interview, captured and mastered by sound designer Erik Ramquist, during the creative process for enVISION: The Next Chapter later served as the foundation for What We Cannot See, a dance-theatre work created by ShaLeigh Comerford with students at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Through her ongoing advocacy, professional leadership, and willingness to share her lived experience, Yazmyne continues to advance conversations around accessibility, inclusion, and disability culture.

Yazmyne is available for speaking engagements, accessibility consulting, community education programs, disability awareness training, and collaborative artistic projects. She is currently seeking opportunities in Human Resources Administration, Accessibility Services, Disability Services, and related support roles where she can combine her professional experience with her passion for accessibility and inclusion.

Ed Rizzuto is a disability advocate, educator, and community leader based in Durham, North Carolina. In 2017, Ed and several friends co-founded Durham’s vibrant Vision InSights Support and Advocacy Group, creating a welcoming space for people who are Blind or Visually Impaired to build community, share resources, and support one another.

Ed earned his law degree and practiced law in California before relocating to North Carolina in 2015. Since then, he has devoted his time and energy to advancing accessibility, inclusion, and disability rights throughout the state. He serves on the Board of Disability Rights North Carolina and Durham’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission and teaches self-advocacy, accessible technology, and independent living skills through the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind.

Ed first became involved with enVISION: Sensory Beyond Sight, attending rehearsals and providing valuable feedback that helped shape the work’s approach to accessibility and Blind and Low Vision representation. He officially joined the creative team as a Creative Expert for enVISION: The Next Chapter, contributing his lived experience, insight, and advocacy to the project’s ongoing exploration of access as artistic practice.

In addition to his advisory role, Ed has performed with ShaLeigh Dance Works in community-based performances and movement installations, including the opening celebration for Downtown Cary Park and the Rally for Disability Justice commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Olmstead Decision. Through both advocacy and artistic participation, he continues to champion a future where disability rights, accessibility, and belonging are fully realized.

A lifelong lover of music and movement, Ed brings the same joy and curiosity that fueled decades of rock-and-roll concert dancing to his work with SDW. He lives in Durham with his amazing family—Kennedy, Brendan, Benjamin, and Quinne—and his beloved Seeing Eye dog, Giffored.

Chemae Mebane, born in Coupeville, WA and raised in Oxford/Raleigh, NC, attended North Carolina A&T State University and now resides in Raleigh. She attends the Career and Training Center under the Vision Services of the Blind and Wake Tech for Human Resources Management. She performed in high school theater and served as house production manager and back stage crew. She is a member of the International Thespian Society. She loves the beach, singing and listening to music and books. Dance is important to her and gives her a way to express herself. She loves to dance to all types of music. Her mission is to help advocate and improve equity and inclusion for the visually impaired community within business and in life.

“When you watch a performance by ShaLeigh Dance Works, you aren’t just witnessing choreography, you’re experiencing a movement philosophy that bridges art, activism, and empathy. At the heart of it all is ShaLeigh Comerford, a choreographer whose life’s work centers on inclusion, storytelling, and human connection.”

Brice Smith was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. He graduated from North Carolina State University where he studied Communication, Public Relations, and Nonprofit studies in 2012. He is a test engineer at SAS Institute, where he tests SAS products against web accessibility standards and trains other SAS employees how to use screen readers. Before joining SAS in 2015, he worked for a corporate communications agency to provide services for a variety of nonprofit senior living and affordable housing communities. He also taught blind and visually impaired students throughout North Carolina as a part-time assistive technology instructor with Invision Services, Inc. In his free time, Brice enjoys lifting weights, tandem cycling, and traveling. He joined ShaLeigh Dance Works in 2021 as a creative collaborator for the creation of enVISION: Sensory Beyond Sight.

Hillary began dancing as a child in NYC despite degenerative blindness. She studied modern dance at the schools of Graham, Ailey, Interlochen, Perry-Mansfield, and Zina Romette. In 1970 she was introduced to Haitian and African dance, the perfect rhythmic platform she needed to express herself given blindness. She has studied with the greatest masters and traveled the world in pursuit of the African root of other dance forms like tango. Hillary graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in the Arts, trained as a chef at the CIA, Hyde Park, NY, and has certification in Nonprofit Management from Duke and Wake Tech. For 25 years, she owned and operated two restaurants and A Wandering Feast Catering. She is a proud mother of two plus her guide dog Nettles. Currently, Hillary has been working as a consumer advocate to eradicate stigma and promote inclusion for those with disability in the Durham community.