Claire Cummings
Chair
Claire was born profoundly deaf and, after graduating with a Biology degree, worked for FYD as National Projects Manager and then qualified as a Secondary English Teacher and Teacher of the Deaf. She has been teaching for over 25 years, including teaching in a Secondary Deaf School, delivering adult literacy courses, more recently as an Advisory Teacher of the Deaf in Surrey and in Stockport as a Specialist Teacher of the Deaf from September 2024.
Claire is passionate about deaf people having full access to language from birth, BSL being offered to all deaf children alongside English and for all services and events to be fully inclusive to deaf people and BSL signers. She was a part of the team behind the BSL Act Now! Campaign in 2021-2 and was privileged to witness BSL Act pass the final reading in the House of Lords on 27th April 2022 - it received Royal Assent the next day.
Inspired by growing public acceptance of BSL through Rose Ayling-Ellis participating in Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, Claire set up BSL Celebration which aims to showcase and celebrate BSL in public. BSL Celebration worked with MDC in a very successful partnership to hold Manchester BSL Fest in 2024 and to raise the profile of BSL and an understanding of how to be inclusive of deaf people around Manchester.
Claire has now moved back to her Greater Manchester roots and is honoured to serve Manchester Deaf Centre as a Trustee. MDC is a special and wonderful service and Claire is excited to work with the Board to keepMDC evolving and growing to meet the deaf community's current and future needs.
In her spare time Claire gets away from it all by sailing and hiking.
