Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – May 2018

Deaf Awareness Week is from 14 -20 May and with this in mind we have chosen Rachel Shenton as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Rachel is an actress appearing in many well know shows but most notably as Mitzeee Minniver in the TV show Hollyoaks.  She also spent two years in the US TV show ‘Switched at Birth’.

Rachel got involved in raising awareness of deafness in the UK when her father became deaf whilst undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Following her father’s death Rachel learnt British Sign Language and in 2011 she became an Ambassador for the National Deaf Children’s Society.  She has completed various events in aid of deaf societies including, skydiving, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and climbing the BT Tower.  In 2011 she helped launch ‘Viewtalk’ a social networking website for deaf people.

In 2018 Rachel wrote and starred in a short film ‘The Silent Child’, about a young deaf girl, which won this year’s Oscar in the Live Action Short Film category.

To find out more about Deaf Awareness Week see here http://deafcouncil.org.uk/deaf-awareness-week/

To find out more about Rachel see here https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2053650/