10 of 31| Dr. Liza E. Offreda | Washington, D.C | Deaf Women Herstory Month 2020

Image Description: Formal picture of white Italian female with brown wavy hair, wearing a suit jacket, smiling and looking in to the camera

Photographer: Sabina Shysh

Dr. Liza E. Offreda was born and raised in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  She currently resides in Washington, D.C. where she is the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Gallaudet University.  Dr. Offreda is the only deaf female coach at Gallaudet University and the very first person in the department to receive her doctorate.  As a first generation American, she discovered the love of sports through her father who was born in Italy and introduced her to the game of soccer.  Dr. Offreda played for the USA Deaf Women’s Soccer team for 10 years competing in 4 different international tournaments (2 Deaflympics and 2 Deaf World Cups).  She retired from the game after 4 gold medals and was recognized as one of the best players in the world in 2016.

Dr. Offreda also serves as the Senior Woman Administrator and Title IX Coordinator for the Athletics Department at Gallaudet University.  She is passionate about mentoring and developing young female student-athletes and creating an environment free of gender stereotypes and gender inequality in Athletics.  As a former English teacher, Dr. Offreda is also passionate about literacy and brings her soccer team to read-aloud stories and inspire young deaf children. Dr. Offreda also serves as secretary of USA Deaf Sports Federation and was the Team USA coordinator at the Winter Deaflympics in 2019.

Dr. Offreda received her B.A in English Education at Montclair State University; M.A in Deaf Education at Gallaudet University; and Ed.D in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership at Northeastern University.

You will find Dr. Offreda walking her dog, having a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop, attending Broadway shows in New York City, discussing Shakespeare’s work or traveling to Italy!