Michelle (“Elle”) Mendiola serves as the Director of the Community Outreach & Advocacy (COA) Department. Elle oversees the Youth and Family Connections Program, which includes Parent & Youth support and programming in the home, school and community. Elle’s other job duties include providing counseling, crisis intervention, advocacy, information & referral to appropriate community resources for services, coordinating income tax assistance program and overseeing the Illinois Telecommunication Access Corporation (ITAC) Program and DeafBlind Program funded through the FCC to assist DeafBlind individuals access communication equipment. Elle has given numerous trainings and presentations on different Deaf-related topics. Elle is personally and professionally active in the Deaf Community.