Manager
Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind
Deaf-Blind Program - Staff Bios
INTERPRETING SERVICES
Richelle Frantz
Manager
Richelle (Hammett) Frantz was in Program Development for 17 years before moving to Seattle. She’s enjoyed visiting the NW for many years, and is now pleased to be living here!
Richie received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and her master’s degree in Human Resource Management at the College of Management & Technology at the University of Maryland.
Formerly the Director of the Wisconsin Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Richie supervised six regional offices around the state. In 1999, she moved from Wisconsin to New Mexico to set up the New Mexico Deaf-Blind Program.
From 2001 until 2006, she had the opportunity to assist the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind in establishing Deaf-Blind Services there.
Richie joined the Seattle Lighthouse in July 2006 as a staff interpreter and has been actively involved in the Deaf-Blind community since her arrival. She is now the manager for the Interpreting Services Department, which provides both spoken language and signed language interpreting services.
She was formerly the Vice Chair for the Deaf-Blind Member Section of the RID, and is currently serving on the National Task Force on Deaf-Blind Interpreting.
When not working, you might find Richie traveling, exploring, hiking, or simply playing in the garden.
Return to Staff Bio Contents Page | Return to Deaf-Blind Program