Timothy Thomas is no stranger to Northeast Ohio. Growing up just outside of Cleveland in Brunswick, Timothy left for New York City to pursue acting. While there, he met an actor who worked part-time as an American Sign Language interpreter. Timothy decided to give it a try and became a sign language counselor. He enjoyed the work because it was part-time and provided him the flexibility to attend auditions and still pursue his acting career. Always a business-minded individual, Timothy also started a modern furniture and decor business while in NYC.
While working as an interpreter, Timothy discovered his passion for the Deaf community and after 14 years decided to move back to the Cleveland-area to work at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center (CHSC). At the CHSC, Timothy worked hard and up the ranks, gaining invaluable experience to boost his career. After working as the operations manager of the center, Timothy again left Cleveland for Washington, D.C. to pursue a job opportunity at Purple Communications, a leading ASL interpreting and communications platform. At Purple, Timothy took on the role as Global Business Development Manager and worked incredibly hard to create business and marketing plans, performed market analysis, and created community service plans for the company. After five years and working in various capacities for Purple, Timothy made the move back to CHSC in Cleveland as the Director of Interpreting Services.
Being back at CHSC provides Timothy with the experience to work directly with the Deaf community. He works together with interpreters and businesses to provide interpretation and communications services to those in need. In addition to connecting with communities, Timothy also oversees CHSC’s business operations, including contracts, basic ops, and development. One of the new services launching in early 2019 is remote video interpreting and captioning.
Timothy is excited to be back in Northeast Ohio to serve the community he has grown to admire. “The heart is here,” Timothy says of CHSC. “There are good-hearted people that want to work together to meet the missions and goals of the organization.” When speaking of the city, he states, “Cleveland is booming! It is one of the hottest spots in the country! There are amazing local artists, music venues, it’s just a booming place!”
Although he never thought he’d return to Cleveland, Timothy says of his life and career, “I’m glad I got a different perspective in NY and DC because I got to come back and realize how amazing life is here in Cleveland!”
