Bio of DPN student activist Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, '89

A government major in 1988, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl was heavily involved with college politics and once ran as Jerry Covell’s running mate in a bid for Student Body Government leadership.

A soft-spoken yet charismatic student and a natural leader, she joined forces with the new SBG president Greg Hlibok and outgoing SBG president Tim Rarus when the protest began.

After receiving her master’s from Gallaudet, Bourne-Firl worked as coordinator of professional and community training at the National Academy and as coordinator for conference management at Gallaudet University’s Kellogg Conference Center.

A lifelong activist, she received the National Association for the Deaf’s “Flying Fingers” award for her work with the Americans with Disabilities Act. She is currently a community education coordinator at the California School for the Deaf, where she resides with her family.