Deanna Gaines
DeAnna North-Gaines has lived in Kansas and Colorado before moving to Oklahoma. She graduated from high school in Oklahoma City. DeAnna is a graduate of Langston University, Oklahoma's only Historically Black College and University (HBCU). She holds an undergraduate degree in Corrections. She is also a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma with a Master's in Special Education.
DeAnna became an "official" disability advocate in 2009 through the Oklahoma Department of Developmental Disabilities.
DeAnna serves on the Board of Directors for the Down syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma and is the chairperson of the Outreach Committee. DeAnna and Courtney are active members of the Supporting Minorities with Disabilities Coalition, which is part of Oklahoma Sooner Success.
Courtney is a Self-Advocate Board member for the National Down Syndrome Society, and DeAnna helps her as needed. Both DeAnna and Courtney are also Ambassadors for the 4-H Congressional District with the National Down Syndrome Society.
DeAnna is on the Board of Directors for Empower Society 21, which was founded in Chicago in 2019.
In her role as a special education teacher, DeAnna often advocates for her students and their families. She has over twenty years of experience in special education, alongside her life experience as Courtney's mother.
