Withers named director of DSDHH

Jan Withers has been named director of the Division of Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DSDHH).

“I’m very pleased to announce that Jan Withers has agreed to be director of the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing,” said Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom. “She has been interim director for a year, is a really good fit for this job. She has many years of experience in human services at a number of levels.

“During her time with the division she has been instrumental to our work with the people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Her work to coordinate policies on issues like housing and transportation has shown precisely the kind of big picture thinking that will make her a great division director.”

Withers worked in the mental health arena as a therapist for the Foothills Area Program in Morganton. Her experience also includes work in education as director of Student Support Services at the North Carolina School for the Deaf. She also spent a number of years as an independent consultant helping professionals and agencies become better at working with people who are deaf and hard of hearing, particularly in mental health settings. She joined the DSDHH in 2002 as a program planner.

Withers is a graduate of Davidson College and received an MA in Counseling from Gallaudet University.

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Last Modified: May 5, 2006