What does it take to dedicate 46 years of a career to transforming education, research, and communication for the deafblind community? In this landmark anniversary special, Amy Stevenson from DeafBlind Ontario Services sits down with pioneering educator and researcher Professor Marleen Janssen from the Netherlands. From starting as a teacher at Royal Kentalis in 1980 to establishing the world’s first Master’s education program on deafblindness at the University of Groningen and spearheading groundbreaking academic literature, Marleen reflects on a lifetime of building bridges between theory, practice, and global collaboration.
About Marleen Janssen
Professor Marleen Janssen is a globally renowned academic and former Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Groningen. A DbI member since 1980, she has served as the chair of the Deafblind International Communication Network and received the royal decoration Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion alongside the Deafblind International Lifetime Achievement Award. Alongside her extensive research and over 60 international publications, she has co-edited landmark academic volumes for Oxford University Press to capture global best practices and systems change in the deafblind field.
Special thanks to the Deafblind Ontario Services team and Amy Stevenson for producing and hosting this 50th-anniversary podcast series.