Our Team
We take great pride in our dedicated team of trustees and staff who work tirelessly to support our deaf community. Our team is composed of passionate individuals, each bringing their unique skills and expertise to ensure we deliver the best services possible.
Board of Trustees
Our trustees include two profoundly deaf individuals, two parents of deaf children, and a registered BSL interpreter, with 80% of the team having a disability. They bring valuable lived experiences, from personal experience of deafness to supporting deaf children and breaking communication barriers. Their skills span social work, IT, finance, community engagement, interpreting, marketing, event planning, and leadership, enabling us to effectively meet the diverse needs of our community.
Our Staff
We currently have a team of two, paid, part time staff, who support and are supported by a team of freelancers and volunteers. We will be recruiting a third team member to fill a part time admin and community support role, in 2025, so if you're interested in working with us, get in touch: info@accessbedford.org.uk
Manager
Jo Emmerson
Jo has been working for Deaf Access Bedfordshire since 2022. As the daughter of a deaf adult, mother to a child with hearing loss and with hearing loss herself, Jo has numerous ties to the community.
Jo's background is in Community Engagement, and having run her own successful business prior to joining our team, she is also well-versed in being a multi-skilled multi-tasker.
She has been central to securing several grants for the charity and is passionate about bring BSL classes to Bedfordshire both to improve understanding in the hearing community and also to support families of deaf children to ensure every deaf child thrives with full access to language from birth.
Project & Activities Assistant
Grace Smith
Grace joined the team in 2024 as a volunteer admin assistant, but quickly made herself indispensable in the design and delivery of projects for the charity.
Grace is profoundly deaf following the contraction of meningitis as an infant. Grace uses a cochlear implant to assist with communication and is working towards her Level 3 BSL qualification.
Grace has a background in fashion design and is putting her creative skills to use in the creation of new team t-shirts as well as revamping the charity's Social Media presence.