Washington, DC – Sami Y. Hamed, a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) 2002-2003 Public Policy Fellow, was appointed by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to serve on the Board of Directors for the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB). 

“I am honored and humbled to be the youngest Latino in Arizona's history to serve on this prestigious board of directors. I will use my experience in Washington, DC to help ASDB lobby more effectively and to raise awareness on issues of importance to the hearing and visually impaired community,” said Hamed. “A key priority of mine is to increase outreach efforts to deaf and blind youth in rural areas including Latino and Native American communities.”

Hamed, who is legally blind, attended ASDB in Tucson, Arizona from K-12. Upon graduation, he attended Pima Community College and then transferred to the University of Arizona.  In May 2002, Hamed graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. Currently, Hamed is completing the CHCI Fellowship Program in the office of Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-D).

The Arizona State Constitution established ASDB in 1912 as the program for educating deaf and blind children and youth in Arizona, and services were initially provided only at the Tucson Campus. Enrollment reached 100 students for the first time in 1933. Since then ASDB has grown into a statewide agency providing educational services to about 2,000 hearing impaired and visually impaired students and youth at two site-based campuses (the Tucson Campus and the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf [PDSD]) and five Regional Cooperative programs.

Established in 1978, CHCI is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to developing the next generation of Latino leaders. To meet its mission, CHCI provides leadership development programs and educational services, including a nine-month public policy fellowship, a congressional summer internship, and college scholarships, to Hispanic youth.