It is a great pleasure to present the DBI Young professional leadership Award to Elisa Keesen said Frank Kat, President of Deafblind International, He adds: “The success the children achieve, the knowledge the professionals in the field gain and the scientific investigation into new possibilities would not be possible without her extraordinary commitment.
Elisa has contributed so much to the field of deafblindness in general and especially in Germany. A special talent that is seen by her colleagues is her ability to think about issues from the perspective of the individual who is deafblind. Her interest in always learning more and making a contribution to the field led her to the University of Education in Heidelberg. Her talents were observed by professors and she was hired as a research assistant on a project to look at the educational and social needs of children and youth with deafblindness. She was responsible for interviewing teachers, conducting a national survey and analyzing the data. Her extensive knowledge in the field of deafblindness led her to publish a book “Congenital Deafblindness and the Construction of the World”. This book is one of the rare books on deafblindness written in German and is extremely important to the field.
She shares her knowledge at various conferences. She is seen as a person who has the special competence to connect theories from other fields along with practical applications of deafblindness and through this connection she is able to create something completely new. Truly outstanding!
Elisa is flexible in her professional role – she can be an enriching playmate when working with children who are deafblind, she is a champion for the needs of individuals who are deafblind, a mentor to parents and colleagues and a scientist. In all her roles she works cooperatively with others and meets everyone as an equal partner.
Thanks, Elisa for your contribution and congratulation!!
