Patricia Smolko is a Lecturer in the department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona. She provides instruction and support to students enrolled in the Special Education-Deaf and Hard of Hearing teacher preparation program. She has been in the field of deaf education for more than 30 years. In addition to her work with DHH children, young adults, and families, she also has experience supervising teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She has worked in both self-contained and itinerant positions and worked with local community outreach and after-school programs. Professional interests include language and literacy development in the DHH population and creating quality teacher preparation programming that reflects the changing diversity of student populations.