HOWARD HINES JR. a native of Chicago Illinois and a graduate of JSU (78) and New York University (81’) respectively. He is an employee of the City University of New York (CUNY) and presently serving as an assistant director of student support services where he is responsible for providing a myriad of services to one of the university’s overall disabled population in Brooklyn New York where he also resides.

When Howard is not working as a college administrator his life is filled with various activities involving the deaf community. He is a devout advocate of deafness and a freelance sign language interpreter as well and also works with the interpreting ministry at his church the St. Paul Community Baptist Church where the Reverend Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood is the pastor. Howard also serves as the president of the NYC Chapter of NAOBI (National Alliance of Black Interpreters) and works as an adjunct professor teaching sign language classes for numerous colleges in the NYC area.

Howard is the first African American male to interpret a Broadway performance in his debut of “Fences”, starring James Earl Jones. Other Broadway and Off Broadway shows include “Six Degrees of Separation”, “Bring In Da Noise/Bring In Da Funk”, ” Ma Ma I Want To Sing”, and many others. He is known throughout the deaf and hearing community as a Musical Sign Language Artist and performs throughout the United States. Presently, his most recent work is interpreting the production of Fat Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehaving” at the Papermill Play House in Millburn New Jersey.

His freelance work has included working with such dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela, President Clinton, and Spiritualist, Iyanla Vanzant. Most recently Howard had the opportunity to interpret for the African Ancestral Burial Celebration in NYC.

Howard’s message to the world is that he views himself as a conduit between both the hearing and deaf cultures through the medium of music and sign language simultaneously. He quotes “You do not have to be deaf to appreciate sign language and you certainly do not have to hearing to appreciate music”.