With leaders spanning sports, medicine, law, art, advocacy, education, and more, Purple's 2009 Dream Bigger Trailblazers have accomplished much. Overcoming obstacles and naysayers, these leaders achieved their dreams. Watch their stories or meet them live at a Purple Dream Bigger event near you.
Tate Tullier
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Dream Bigger Baton Rouge
6.21.09
Traveling the globe to take pictures, Tate Tullier has a job many would envy. And yet his story starts with big dreams in a small Southern town.
Howard A. Rosenblum
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Dream Bigger Chicago
8.29.09
Howard Rosenblum is a Deaf civil rights attorney with Equip for Equality. The non-profit he founded, Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf, assists thousands of Deaf people across the Midwest to gain full access to the justice system.
Dr. Carolyn Stern, MD
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Dream Bigger Rochester
6.28.09
Dr. Carolyn Stern has spent her life treating and educating deaf patients on health issues, trained interpreters regarding interpreting in medical settings, educating other doctors, hospitals, and allied healthcare professionals on accessibility, and ensu...
Tayler Mayer
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Dream Bigger Los Angeles
6.13.09
Founding the seminal deaf blog/vlog aggregator DeafRead.com and the online video community DeafVIDEO.TV, Tayler Mayer has spent much of his professional career seeking new ways to apply his technical skills to connect the deaf community online while achie...
Ashley Fiolek
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Dream Bigger St. Petersburg
9.19.09
A national champion motocross rider, Ashley Fiolek has flown over 85-foot jumps, plunged through the mud, and nursed many broken bones in her pursuit to destroy stereotypes for both the deaf community and women motocross riders. Ashley's tenacity and focu...
Jeremias Valencia
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Dream Bigger San Diego
8.15.09
Pro Basketball player and Deaf Sports Leader, Jeremias Valencia pushes players to "never give up on their dreams." Valencia's Deaf Sports Academy provides more than 20 teams of preschool through grade 8 kids with accessible coaching and encouragement....
Kevin Nolan
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Dream Bigger Boston
9.26.09
Kevin Nolan's striking blue eyes mask a passion for equality that would lead him first to fight for his own basic civic rights, and eventually to his political campaign to win a seat from a seasoned incumbent who'd held it 20 years. This political fireb...
Dr. MJ Bienvenu
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Dream Bigger Baltimore
9.12.09
With a degree in English and a Ph.D. in Linguistics, Bienvenu has fought for bilingual education for all. A true "ASL advocate," she's pursued government-recognized legitimacy of ASL, while teaching about its beauty and its central role in Deaf Culture....
Anita Buel
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Dream Bigger Minneapolis
10.3.09
Experiencing the horror of a cancer diagnosis, Anita Buel thoughtfully considered treatment options with her family. Surviving the first, and then a second, bout with cancer, Buel strived to make healthcare more accessible, and co-founded "Pink Deafies,"...
Ella Mae Lentz
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Dream Bigger Oakland
8.22.09
Graduating from Gallaudet University with a degree in Drama and English, Ella Mae Lentz would go on to become one of the nation's strongest advocates for ASL and the concept of Deafhood. Co-authoring books on ASL and constantly pursuing equal status for D...
