Janna Sweenie

Janna Sweenie was born Deaf in Council Bluffs, Iowa and has lived on the East Coast of the United States for more than forty years. She graduated with honors from the Iowa School for the Deaf, earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from CUNY Lehman College as the institution's first Deaf graduate, and completed her Master's in Deafness Rehabilitation at New York University. In 2002, she achieved a "Superior Plus" rating on the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview, the highest level of ASL certification.

For more than half a century, Janna has taught, tutored, and written about Deaf Culture and American Sign Language. Her work spans university education, vocational rehabilitation, Broadway interpretation, opera accessibility, and published scholarship. She has served as faculty at New York University, LaGuardia Community College, Montclair State University, the College of New Rochelle, and the Lexington School for the Deaf.

Download Janna's complete Curriculum Vitae.

Janna Sweenie work timeline

Education & Credentials

M.A. in Deafness Rehabilitation

New York University, 1997

B.A. in Psychology

CUNY Lehman College, 1992 (First Deaf Graduate)

SCPI Certification

Rated "Superior Plus" in ASL, Lexington Center, 2002

Primary Education

Iowa School for the Deaf, Grades 1-12

New York University

Janna has been teaching American Sign Language at New York University for over 35 years, beginning in 1991. In 2014, she created the ASL Level 5 course and taught the first class in 2015, making NYU the first major university with an ASL program to offer instruction at that level. She is a two-time recipient of the NYU Steinhardt School Applied Psychology Department Administrator Award and received the USG Star Award for Excellence in Administration in 2016.

From 2017 to 2020, Janna served as Program Coordinator for American Sign Language in the NYU Department of Applied Psychology, having previously served as Interim Director in 2017. Under her leadership, the ASL program expanded dramatically in scope, influence, and stature. She created and wrote all syllabi for all levels of ASL, establishing a "Universal Cycle of Learning" across the curriculum. She invented the grading rubric used for all ASL courses, rewrote all course descriptions for registration, brought ASL classes back to Summer sessions, re-established faculty observations with active feedback, and scheduled all teaching assignments.

Under her tenure, graduate students were permitted to register for American Sign Language study. She restarted efforts to connect the NYU ASL Program to the Foreign Language Exchange with Columbia University and advocated for establishing an ASL Interpreting program.

In Spring 2022, in a decision suggesting Ableism over Inclusion, NYU hired a Hearing replacement as ASL Program Coordinator. The following year, Janna again made history: in Spring 2023, she became the first Deaf NYU adjunct instructor to teach dual Tutorials for NYU Gallatin in a single semester, offering "Black Sign Language" and "Deafness in Performance." In Fall 2023, she became the first Deaf NYU adjunct instructor to advise an Independent Study project focusing on Deaf Culture in American Sign Language, Level 5.

View the NYU ASL Program information.

ASL Opera Project

Since 2003, Janna has served as founder, lead interpreter, and Program Coordinator for the ASL Opera project, where she and David Boles bring American Sign Language interpretation to the international opera experience. The project represents a commitment to making "high art" accessible to Deaf audiences worldwide.

Broadway & Theatre

Janna has interpreted for Broadway productions including Flower Drum Song (2003), 42nd Street (2001, 2002, and the national tour in Philadelphia), and served as interpreter advisor for The Producers, Hamlet, and Wonderful Town (2004).

She has worked extensively with the Theatre Development Fund's Interpreting for the Theatre program at The Juilliard School, serving as Deaf Advisor and Class Project Advisor for productions including Phantom of the Opera, Thoroughly Modern Millie, 42nd Street, Rent, Jane Eyre, and Jekyll & Hyde. She also served on the Deaf Involvement Panel for The Juilliard School and on the interpreter selection committee for the TDF/Juilliard program.

ASL Linguistics for Practitioners

Advanced Textbooks for Interpreters and Educators

A textbook series co-authored with David Boles, MFA. These advanced textbooks bridge the gap between theoretical linguistics and practical application, providing the rigorous frameworks that advanced signers, interpreters, and educators need.

Beyond the Hands reveals non-manual markers as a complete grammatical system, examining how the face, head, and body govern sentence types, discourse structure, and meaning in ASL. Depicting Space addresses classifier morphology and spatial grammar, teaching signers to think spatially while signing temporally. Arm Angles in American Sign Language examines how the shoulder, elbow, and upper arm function as primary articulators, carrying semantic weight that affects meaning, register, and comprehension.

Beyond the Hands

Beyond the Hands

With David Boles · 2026
Depicting Space

Depicting Space

With David Boles · 2026
Arm Angles in American Sign Language

Arm Angles in ASL

With David Boles · 2026

Browse Language & Deaf Culture →

Publications

Major Publishers

  • Picture Yourself Learning American Sign Language, Level 1 (with DVD) - Cengage/CoursePTR, January 2008
  • Hand Jive: American Sign Language for Real Life - Metro Books/Barnes & Noble, October 2006

David Boles Books

All books co-written with David Boles.

Social Services

Since 2002, Janna has served as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in the Queens VESID/ACCES-VR Deaf Services Unit of the New York State Education Department. Her work includes intake, case management, transition services, rehabilitation technology, job placement, supported work services, and extended employment services for both ASL users and Hearing consumers. Her transition responsibilities span the Lexington School for the Deaf, JHS 47, New York School for the Deaf (Fanwood), and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf at Gallaudet. She serves as CUNY-LaGuardia ACCES-VR liaison and presents "Deaf Culture 101" workshops for Venture House, Northwell Health, and the International Center for the Disabled.

Her earlier social services career includes positions as Director of Employment Services and Director of Job Placement for the New York Society for the Deaf, founding roles as Operations Manager at Co-op City, Case Manager at The Rombouts Housing Center, ISS Clinician for The Weinberg Project, and Program Manager for The Forsyth Street Project.

A Career of Firsts

Throughout her career, Janna has repeatedly broken barriers as the first Deaf professional in numerous roles:

First Deaf Graduate of CUNY Lehman College (1992)

First Deaf Program Supervisor for Tanya Towers, NYSD (1992)

First Deaf Managing Editor of GO INSIDE Magazine (1993-2006)

First Deaf ISS Clinician for The Weinberg Project (1994)

First Deaf Program Manager for The Forsyth Street Project (1995)

First Deaf President of the Greater New York Chapter for Deaf Women United (1997-1999)

First Deaf Case Manager at The Rombouts Housing Center (1999)

First Deaf Operations Manager for NYSD at Co-op City (1999)

First to Create ASL Level 5 at a major university (NYU, 2014)

First Deaf Dual Tutorial Instructor at NYU Gallatin (2023)

First Deaf Independent Study Advisor for Deaf Culture at NYU (2023)

Video

Watch Janna in her video series at Hardcore ASL live on Boles.tv, where she shares her perspectives on Deafness, disability, and Deaf Culture.

Janna Sweenie Jetsons timeline

Gallery

Janna Sweenie in the rain Janna Sweenie in snow Janna Sweenie Janna Sweenie Janna Sweenie Janna Sweenie Janna Sweenie Janna Sweenie animated The Mysterious Sweenie Mario Janna: International Sign Language Tutor

Connect

Learn ASL at Hardcore ASL. Experience opera accessibility at ASL Opera. Explore Janna's world at Jannauary.com. Join the David Boles Discord server for ongoing conversation.