Tanya Wyatt-Dennis

Tanya Wyatt is a Detroit Deaf Native. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Madonna University and a Master's degree in Social Work from Wayne State University. She was the first Black Deaf woman to graduate from Wayne State University in the Advanced Social Work program. After graduation, she become a School Social Worker for Detroit Public School Community District. Tanya is a licensed School Social Worker for Detroit Public School Community School District and also holds certifications as a Trauma and Loss School Specialist, School Social Work, and Field Placement Instructor. She has 25 years of social work experience under her belt and has impacted many lives of the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf and Blind in the Deaf communities across Wayne, Macomb and Oakland Counties.

Ms. Wyatt also worked as a hospice medical social worker for 18 years with Deaf and hearing families preparing psychosocial assessments for terminally ill patients and conducting intake interviews, counseling patients and providing care and grief support during illness and after death for family members. Ms. Wyatt continues to work with hospice organizations in hoping to help tear down some of the obstacles and barriers that are preventing the Deaf/HOH people from receiving adequate hospice care and overcoming language barriers in palliative care. Bringing Deaf awareness to hospice care and removing cultural barriers in many areas such hospice organizations, hospitals, nursing homes, etc and educating them about the importance of becoming more aware of deaf patients' needs, learning how to utilize interpreters for hospice, and educating patients their rights.

In addition to working for DPS and in hospice care, Ms. Wyatt is an adjunct faculty at Oakland Community College, where she teaches courses such as ASL classes for the Interpreter Training Program.

Ms. Wyatt co-founded Deaf Solutions, Inc., alongside her partner, co-worker and good friend, Tia Richardson. The organization was established in 2011 to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing community, breaking language barriers for deaf children and their hearing families. The mission of the organization is to provide innovative and insightful programs that empower the Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals to be productive in society by taking an active role in their lives which will lead to self-advocacy and healthy lifestyle mentally and physically, in addition to being advocates for themselves in a forever changing society.

Tanya is involved in many other community activities to enrich the lives of those around her. Ms. Wyatt recently was appointed for the MichCounts Steering Team helping the Michigan Department of Civil Rights department to facilitate and collecting important data from the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind to provide accurate data on needs concerning the community. She is a proud member and sister of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. She serves on the Head Start Disability Services Advisory Board, Association Council for School Social Worker, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Mental Health Workgroup, Member of ADHOC “Action” Team for National Counselor of the Deaf Association and National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Board of Directors for Detroit Black Deaf Advocate. She is truly a well rounded individual.