Dr. Brittany Frederick, a native to the Chicagoland area, lived in Jacksonville, IL. — home to Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) — as an adolescent. She spent most of her time with ISD students who taught her to sign, and later attended the school to formally study ASL under the instruction of Jeannie Jones. Dr. Frederick became an ASL interpreter upon completion of a BA in ASL/English Interpretation from Columbia College Chicago. She received an MA in Education from Illinois College while working as an interpreter, translator, transliterator, and transcriber for ISD until deciding to pursue a doctoral degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Gaining teaching experience as an adjunct for DePaul, Dr. Frederick applied the experience towards fulltime teaching and directing ASL programs at other institutions. Fall 2024, she returned to DePaul as the ASL Program Director, ASL Club Advisor, and Instructional Professor of ASL.