The Board
Who We Are
Kyle Kiser
President
Kyle graduated from Lamar University in 2012 with a Masters of Science in Deaf Education and Deaf Studies. Since then he has taught in various education settings from public schools, community colleges, and online educational programs. He is currently an ASL Instructor with Central Piedmont Community College that also offers an Interpreter Education Program for those who are interested in becoming ASL interpreters. Recently he was featured in a book called, “Humans in the Classroom: Exploring the Lives of Extraordinary Teachers” by Haili Hughes. He has a strong passion for teaching ASL to his students and investing time collaborating with other ASL teachers. He’s very honored about his new role as NC ASLTA President and has very exciting goals and aspirations for the North Carolina ASL Teaching community and students.
Rey Castillo
Vice-President
As a child of Deaf parents, Rey spent most of his educational years at NCSD in Morganton. His decision to go into teaching college-level ASL was a profound result of a personal life-saving experience when a first responder nurse could communicate with him in ASL in a time of emergency. Rey is a recent graduate of the M.A. in Sign Language Education program from Gallaudet University and has taught ASL at Blue Ridge Community College since 2020. As an NCSD alumni, he serves as the President of the NCSD Alumni Association. When Rey isn’t teaching ASL or on stage performing, you may find him pursuing his greatest hobbies in concert photography, fishing and hunting.
Joy Schultz
Secretary
After graduating with a Masters of Science in Deaf Education from NTID in 2004 with ambitions to teach high school science, Joy realized that what she really wanted to do was to teach ASL. A few years into motherhood, Joy started teaching ASL at UNC-Wilmington in 2009. Six years later, Cape Fear Community College saw the need and decided to create an Interpreter Education program. Joy then spearheaded the new program from the ground up as the program director. It was at that time she realized her love for teaching ASL and inspiring future interpreter-students was the perfect combination right in front of her.
Raisa Phillips
Treasurer
After emigrating to America nearly 30 years ago, Raisa completed several degrees: Math, Bilingual education/Deaf Studies, and accounting coursework from different colleges. Raisa realized that she could not stay in one field. Currently, she has worked as a Support Manager for National SLPI: ASL Services for the past six (6) years, where we move toward the global level of providing the services for assessing ASL as a Foreign Language. Raisa is a single parent to three CODAs. She loves to hike, craft and travel, and is excited to serve you as Treasurer second term!
Sharon Lott
Professional Development Chair
Sharon is the ASL Training and Evaluation Coordinator at NTID/RIT. She is a National SLPI: ASL Trainer for rater and trainer with extensive experience in providing training as far as Ghana and Kenya, Africa. Sharon has over 30 years of experience in teaching ASL at numerous colleges and universities in NC and NY. Locally, she has taught at Central Piedmont Community College, Lenior-Rhyne College, Western Piedmont Community College, Gardner Webb University and Appalachian University. She possesses Professional Level ASL certification from the ASLTA. She also holds a Masters degree in Career Development and Human Resources and Gallaudet's Masters in Teaching Sign Language, which she graduated in 2013. She is on the North Carolina Association of the Deaf (NCAD) board and NCASLTA board. She has 3 children, Leslie, Kristina and James. She's a proud grandmother to Lathan.
Kate Shealy
Public Relations/Social Media Manager
Even though Kate holds a BA in Graphic Design from Gallaudet University, she is always learning how to navigate the digital world every day with the constantly evolving technology. The popular courses she teaches at ENCSD are career management and digital courses, which helps students to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver. Kate also works as the school yearbook advisor for over 24 years. On the side, Kate serves on the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI) Team. During her free time, Kate enjoys hiking/walking and spending time with her family including two grown children and husband whom she’s married to for over 24 years. Kate looks forward to sharing her expertise in the digital/technology field while serving as a PR which is a new position to the board.
Kim Hendrix
Member at Large
Kim is a deaf ASL professor with a BA in ASL and a MS Ed in Deaf Studies. She has been teaching for 28+ years. Kim currently teaches K-12 and university levels. She holds her ASLTA certification and is a new member on the ASLTA board. Kim is happily married and has 2 boys and 3 fur babies. On the side she enjoys fashion, reading and decorating.