Hearing-Impaired Workers Find a Home at Starbucks

Everyone feels happier and more comfortable when they are recognized by their environment for their individuality, which is why Starbucks’ new location is so important.

This location is not just another coffee shop in Washington D.C. It may be another Starbucks, but the sign is spelled S-T-A-R-B-U-C-K-S in the hand symbols for American Sign Language (ASL).

The stores is run by 24 deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing employees and the store is designed towards accessibility and generating employment prospects for the deaf community.

In addition to the workers, the store has been specifically modeled to celebrate deaf culture. One wall is covered by a mural by Tiqiao Wang, a deaf artist who is a prominent member of the Gallaudet University faculty, which is just blocks away.

While exclusively employing staff who are all conversant in ASL, their focus on accessibility of technology and service is unparalleled. The store was modeled to maximize natural lighting and lines of sight, keeping in mind the needs of the hard-of-hearing.

Adam Novsam, a Starbucks utility analyst, was given a tour two nights before the store was set to open. As he walked down H Street to see the vibrant colors of the mural which celebrates deaf culture, he said, “The vibrancy moved me. It made me stop in my tracks. And it gave me tears.”

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Employees take an order at Starbucks first U.S. signing in D.C. (Joshua Trujillo/Starbucks)

Ronna Fisher

Dr. Ronna Fisher, AuD, CCC-A, FAAA is the founder and president of Hearing Health Center, which she established in 1984 in memory of her father, who suffered from untreated hearing loss and died at 53. That personal loss has shaped her entire career. Under her leadership, Hearing Health Center has been voted the best hearing practice in Illinois three years in a row by Hearing Review. In 2005, she expanded her mission by founding the Fisher Foundation for Hearing Health Care, a nonprofit dedicated to making auditory care more accessible. Dr. Fisher earned her doctorate in audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists.

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