Olivia Williams is a leader who is active in supporting and advocating for the rights of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Since an early age, she has made her voice heard by testifying on numerous bills, speaking on panels and sharing the knowledge she has gained through her experience in dealing with her own hearing loss.
Olivia has participated on panels at the National AG Bell Conference, the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program (RIHAP), and for Cochlear Americas. As a member of the Rhode Island Chapter of AG Bell, she has been a representative at the “Walk for Hearing”. She is also an advocate on a governmental level and has testified on state bills in support of bringing closed captioning to movie theatres as well as mandating insurance carriers to cover hearing aids and cochlear implants.
A young adult herself, Olivia is passionate about ensuring that the voices of children and young adults who are deaf or hard of hearing are heard. She is an active leader in the “Dare to Dream” leadership program where she works to raise awareness of issues facing individuals with disabilities. Olivia also works with children at Hasbro Children’s Hospital who are receiving cochlear implants and is a 5th grade volunteer at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf.
Olivia belongs to Brown University’s Interfaith Council. She is an active member of her church's youth group where she helps host fundraisers, serves community meals in underprivileged areas, and attends church related events around New England.
We commend Olivia for her advocacy and dedication toward making a difference in her community and are pleased to honor her as the recipient of the Hamilton Relay 2014 Better Hearing and Speech Month Recognition Award for the state of Rhode Island.
This leadership recognition has been brought to you by Hamilton Relay.
About Hamilton Relay
Hamilton Relay provides contracted Telecommunications Relay and/or Captioned Telephone services to 16 states and the Island of Saipan, and is a provider of Internet-based Captioned Telephone services nationwide. More information is available at hamiltonrelay.com.