Disabilities Trailblazer Haben Girma To Speak At MCPL Series

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Haben Girma — the first-ever deaf-blind graduate of Harvard Law School — will be a guest next week on Montgomery County Public Libraries' virtual series, "Contemporary Conversations."

The event will be held over Zoom from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on June 5. Girma will talk about her memoir, "Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law," how she became a disability rights attorney, and her journey from isolation to the world stage.

"We are pleased to bring a person with such passion for advocacy, inclusion, and justice to our 'Contemporary Conversations' series," Anita Vassallo, director of the library system, said. "Haben Girma's journey to becoming a leader in the field of human and disability rights is an inspiration to us all."

A White House Champion of Change Honoree, Girma has helped redefine what it means to have a disability and travels the world to teach organizations about the benefits of inclusion.

She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to scaling glaciers — and, while at Harvard Law, developed a text-to-braille system to streamline communication.

The event on June 5 is free, but registration is required. Sign language interpretation and captioning will be provided. Questions about accessibility or accommodation requests should be directed to Elizabeth Lang at 240-672-8818 or Elizabeth.Lang@montgomerycountymd.gov.