Gallaudet alumnae Dr. Nancy Hlibok Amann, ’93 & G-’96, and Annette Reichman, ’83, to become superintendents

Gallaudet alumnae Dr. Nancy Hlibok Amann, ’93 & G-’96, and Annette Reichman, ’83, have each been selected as superintendents of schools for the deaf.

On April 13, Amann was named as the site superintendent for the California School for the Deaf (CSD), Riverside, and on May, 2 Reichman was named as the superintendent for Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB).

Amann will began acting in her new role CSD, Riverside on July 1. One of two state-operated schools for the deaf in California, the Riverside campus serves 400 students from 11 counties in the southern part of the state. Amann’s appointment was announced by Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of Public Instruction.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Amann into the wonderful community at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside,” Torlakson said. “She is a highly trained and capable educator with tremendous experience. I look forward to her leading the school to achieve its mission of promoting student achievement and embracing the school’s core values.”

Amann earned a B.A. in government and a M.S. in administration from Gallaudet, and a Ph.D. in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona. Amann is currently Director of Special Projects and Development at Deaf Community Services of San Diego, Inc. Prior to this position she was the assistant superintendent of the ASDB.

“I was shocked, thrilled, and overwhelmed,” Amann told iDEAF NEWS of her selection as superintendent. “It’s a joy knowing that I’ll be back in the deaf education field.”

At ASDB, Reichman will assume the superintendent role on July 25 as the first deaf and visually impaired person in the school’s 104-year history. In this position she will oversee two schools for the deaf, one school for the blind, a statewide birth-to-three early childhood and family education program, and five regional cooperatives. ASDB’s network serves over 2,000 children who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind from birth to grade 12.

After a highly competitive application process, Reichman was unanimously chosen by the ASDB Board of Directors. Board President Mark Syms described her qualifications.

“Annette Reichman is a remarkable leader whose impressive background, first-hand insights, and dynamic vision for both deaf education and blind education make her uniquely qualified to lead ASDB into a new era of education excellence.”

After earning a B.A. in psychology from Gallaudet, Reichman received an M.S. in rehabilitation counseling with the deaf from the University of Arizona. She has devoted her career to the deaf community and was one of the three final presidential candidates for Gallaudet in 2015.

Since 1999, Reichman has been employed by the U.S. Department of Education, first as the chief of the Deafness & Communicative Disorders Branch, and for the past 11 years as the director of the Office of Special Institutions. Prior to this, Reichman held various leadership roles, culminating as agency director at the Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, Inc.

“As superintendent, it will be my charge to ensure that every student is given the resources he or she needs to be successful in their chosen career and personal life,” Reichman said. “I can think of no higher calling, nothing more satisfying, than empowering every ASDB student with a high-quality education.”