People

CCAC is you, hundreds of citizens in our unique and supportive large community of captioning advocates. Our work is to ask for quality captioning. We live across the USA (based in the USA) and many other global locations.

We are over 800 “members” and most subscribe to the CCAC private members’ forum which is our meeting place online 24/7. Thousands of others connect to the CCAC as friends, followers and fans on social media, using emails, and at meetings of various sorts.

CCAC’s sole mission is “Inclusion of Quality Captioning Universally.” We share concerns with other disability and human rights groups, groups that promote education and employment, accessible entertainment, open telecommunications. and related.

WE ARE THE CCAC – a short slide show movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5cTKUxgG2M Enjoy! Join us! You are needed too.See other CCAC media on our YouTube channel also.

WHAT DO WE DO? We advocate, educate, raise awareness, participate, collaborate, communicate and inspire! Yes we do!

CCAC members have many different backgrounds and current lives and are many ages. Some are deaf, deafened, or have a hearing loss or different hearing differences.Some have fine hearing and know the value of captioning for many other reasons. Others are captioning providers, working for companies, non-profits, agencies, or related enterprises. Others are people who know the value of captioning inclusion for languages, literacy, and many other applications in the modern world (autism, tinnitus, noisy places, search optimization, etc.). Hearing or not, families, neighbors and co-workers all invited to join the CCAC. Others involved are educators, disability and technology folks, people who support captioning for other learning and cognitive differences. Captioning is our LANGUAGE too – please join and invite others since numbers count!

Most members also belong to and support one or more other good organizations in disabilities, hearing loss and deafness, or technology-focused groups. We are a newer and engaging consumer advocacy network.

The founder and leader is a deafened adult who saw the need (late 2009) for a new community to build bridges and energies for more vigorous captioning advocacy. The CCAC community started informally online with seven associates, and grew so rapidly with interest across the USA and internationally that the official non-profit organization began to take shape in June 2012. It has already gained influence and accomplished much. Much more to do!

The founder’s family has donated the majority of funding to cover annual costs of captioning advocacy to date (2009 to 2017). They compose a three member Board of Directors. CCAC teams of consumers and providers work on various captioning advocacy projects. More teams welcome and volunteers invited.

The founder’s professional and volunteer experiences with other non-profits inform activities and development of the CCAC. The goal is to sustain this unique grass-roots citizen advocacy group until the mission is accomplished. We are not individual stars, we are like you and your neighbors, aiming to create access and inclusion that millions need and deserve every day, via quality captioning on all media, and for live events also.

Lauren E. Storck, Ph.D. – Advocate for Accessibility Equality, Founder and President of the CCAC. A leader depends on the energy of the group – leading from behind. She values “group work” and is happy to get feedback, especially like the following message (2/26/16):

“I wanted to take a minute and this opportunity to thank you for your leadership and encouragement. I have been trying and making an effort to advocate for hearing loss in my community including captioning and it seems that no one else really is interested or cares about this. I know it is a lonely effort but I know it is important to push on and keep my focus on the objective and goal for equal access to programs and services.

Your enthusiasm and drive is important for all of us and thank you!! You are an inspiration.”

Photo of L.E. Storck

Photo screen shot from the popular CCAC film “Don’t Leave Me Out” – find the link for it along top of page. .

CCAC people on the Team for CCAC Grants for Live Captioning are others who deserve thanks – Elsa Dinis-McVeigh, Lauren Storck, consumers; and Patti White and Kimberly Turnage, providers.

Active current CCAC members who advocate regularly are too numerous to mention here. Join the CCAC today and quickly meet them all in the CCAC forum online.

Many thanks to volunteers and their energies since the start of the CCAC. Consumers and providers alike are most often “VBP” – very busy people. To join the CCAC – see the pages on this website. Note that there is a suggested donation. If it’s a hardship, let us know – let’s talk. No one is excluded due to financial constraints. CCACaptioning@gmail.com

Prepared for HLAA Webinar Spring 2016:

Lauren E. Storck is the founder and President of the CCAC (CCACaptioning.org), an official non-profit organization of hundreds of citizen captioning advocates and many others who support the CCAC mission, working in many different fields.. In past lives she lived and worked in New York, London UK, and Boston, MA, after earning her Ph.D. in Psychology. As a clinician, teacher and consultant (Clinical Faculty, Harvard Medical School 1987 – 2003) her publications span a variety of issues, including group, social, and international dynamics, leadership and online behavior, aging, women’s issues, captioning studies and hearing loss. She has been deafened for 15 years. CCACaptioning@gmail.com.