Amaris Ikner Padgett is an American Sign Language (ASL) innovator. In 2009, she was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder that causes skin tightening outside the body that progresses to tightening and hardening of internal organs – in this case, her lungs. Her professional passion is interpreting for the deaf community. But her condition limited the range of motion in her hands and made it difficult to use them to communicate. As an alternative, she created new ASL techniques and programs. She is also working on programs that expose underserved youth to cultural and artistic experiences.
