Shirley Helm

In Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Foreign Service Office Management Specialist Shirley Helm dedicated over 4,000 volunteer hours to advancing opportunities for the country's deaf community through American Sign Language (ASL) education and advocacy. She developed her own curriculum, secured grants to bring in a deaf American instructor via Zoom, and launched independent programs that transformed beginners into fluent signers. Two of her students became the first Deaf Tajiks accepted into the FLEX exchange program. She personally escorted them on their first journey to the United States to attend a Gallaudet University summer camp. Beyond the classroom, Shirley organized Deaf Awareness Week at the embassy and traveled to remote regions to train teachers and inspire young learners.