HERB LARSON Herb Larson retired from his position as Director of the National Center on Deafness at California State University, Northridge in January, 1999, after more than 42 years in the field of education. During his years as an educator and administrator, Larson traveled extensively giving workshops and speeches, participating in meetings and attending conferences and conventions. Larson is a past President of the Board of Directors of the Greater Los Angeles Council on Deafness (GLAD) and currently serves on the executive board of the Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles. He has served on the TRIPOD board, the National Captioning Institute board as well numerous other advisory boards and committees. Larson was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to serve on the California Rehabilitation Advisory Council. Larson hosted the Emmy award-winning national cable television program “Off Hand” for nearly 10 years and received an Emmy for Best Host of a Series in 1989. His guests ranged from TV and motion picture actress Shirley Jones to science-fiction author Ray Bradbury. He has appeared in several TV documentaries as well as TV shows and sitcoms. He has acted in several theatre productions and has directed plays such as “Billy Budd”, “The Four Poster”, and “Our Town”. He served as Master of Ceremonies at several “Miss Deaf America” productions throughout the nation. He continues to be called upon to emcee special events at state and national conventions and conferences all over the country. The recipient of numerous awards, Larson was recently awarded the Lifesaver’s Award for the year 2000 by the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. He was awarded the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) distinguished Service Award for outstanding efforts on behalf of the American deaf community. He received the Alice Cogswell Award from Gallaudet University Alumni Association for valuable service on behalf of deaf people, and the Jim Brady Television Award for advancing the acceptance, dignity and full participation of people with disabilities. The Los Angeles County Office of Education recently honored him by naming their entire deaf and hard of hearing program after him. He serves as a consultant for television and film as well as in educational and administrative capacities. He has testified before Congress for bills to enhance educational opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing people.