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📷 by Razi Zarchy

About me

My name is Leah Geer (Zarchy).  My English pronouns are she/her/hers, my Spanish pronoun is ella, and in ASL, pronouns are ungendered, so for personal pronouns use this 👉handshape, and for possessive pronouns, use this ✋handshape. I am an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at California State University, Sacramento. I received a PhD in linguistics from The University of Texas at Austin. I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and identify as Latina. After high school, I attended New Mexico State University where I majored in Kinesiology. After becoming increasingly interested in motor learning and development, I attended Gallaudet University for a Master's degree in Linguistics, allowing for a fusion of interests in motor skill acquisition combined with signed language acquisition. Inspired by the early intervention focused curriculum I co-authored in 2020 (see below), I'm now pursuing a new speciality in supporting deaf and hard of hearing infants, toddlers, and their families. I earned a Graduate Certificate in June 2023, and I anticipate completing the new MA in 2025.

In July 2020, I co-authored a routine-based ASL curriculum designed for families with young deaf children called ASL at Home along with supplemental curriculum materials available at our webstore or our Teachers Pay Teachers store. Our second edition was released in June 2023 made possible by the generous support of our Kickstarter backers. Purchase information is available on our website!

In case you're wondering, "What's with the two last names?" Here's a brief explanation.

For publications and presentations I go by "Geer" because that's the name I'd already published under before I got married. At Sacramento State, I went by "Zarchy" from the time I got married until my husband completed his doctoral degree, at which point he became "Dr. Zarchy" also. To prevent confusion, I'm currently in the process of transitioning back to "Geer" for everything but there are still some students and colleagues who know me as "Zarchy." So, if you want to find my presentations or publications, search under "Geer." If you hear about a class taught by "Dr. Zarchy," there's a good chance that's me, but it's best to double check! Going forward, students should look for courses I'm teaching under "Geer." 

CV

See my CV here!

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Email

leah [dot] geer [at] csus [dot] edu

Student hours: Fall 2023