Meet our grantee:

Senior Fellow Storm Smith

Storm Smith

As a leader within the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, Storm Smith has been an ambassador, creative influencer, and dynamic motivational speaker committed to creating change within the entertainment and advertising industry. Currently, Storm is an Art Director at BBDO Worldwide, one of the top and most well known advertising agencies known. Storm’s most recent BBDO’s influential campaign ad for International Women’s Day “It’s Time to Redefine” was featured in AdAge, AdWeek, Creativity, PR News Wire, The Drum and more. Storm was invited by Apple Inc. to collaborate and produce “Everyone Can Code” videos (access in ASL, and embedded with captions and transcript) for people (including educators and youth) with disability including Deaf and Hard of Hearing around the world to learn how to code on Swift Playground app. Aside from the creative work, Storm had the opportunity to developed strategies with Ford Foundation alongside other thought leaders in the industry on the “Road Map for Inclusion” report. Storm’s countless contributions and appearances have earned her numerous awards, including a prestigious award from the City of Los Angeles for her contribution & commitment to Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, presented by the councilman.

As part of her Sr. Fellowship with the Collaborative, Storm Smith will partner with a major production company to test a new technological innovation that will make film/TV more accessible for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.

Nowadays, we have different forms of amazing advanced technologies to improve lives. That’s where I come in with the advanced [innovative] captions in media, including mobile, movie theaters, streaming service and TV. It can be accessible to all of us regardless of the spectrum of hearing status and other types of disabilities. We need to reframe adversities as our tools to succeed, not as barriers that prevent us from being part of something significant.