KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Deaf & Hard of Hearing: Advocating for Inclusivity & Communication

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

SummaryThe deaf and hard of hearing community is a substantial and diverse part of the population, yet they often face systemic barriers in daily life, work, and major transactions like buying a home. This episode dives into these challenges, from the misconceptions of audism to the importance of proactive advocacy. Discover practical communication strategies, legal accommodation requirements, and the profound impact of creating a truly inclusive environment for everyone.Bullet Point TakeawaysThe Importance of Advocacy and Education: Learn from individuals like Angela Wrather, a hard of hearing real estate agent, who advocates for fellow professionals to become more competent in working with deaf and hard of hearing clients. The goal is to ensure this community has equal access to information and resources, particularly during complex processes like real estate closings.Effective Communication is Key: Discover essential tips for communicating with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. This includes speaking clearly without shouting, facing the person directly in a well-lit area, avoiding distractions, and using visual cues. Learn to be patient and rephrase sentences rather than simply repeating them.Beyond the Spoken Word: Accessible Accommodations: Explore the variety of accommodations that can bridge communication gaps, from American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and real-time captioning services (CART) to visual emergency alerts and captioned videos. Learn why booking these services in advance is crucial for high-stakes situations like business meetings or legal closings.Overcoming Systemic and Social Barriers: Understand the challenges deaf and hard of hearing professionals face, such as test biases, a lack of culturally competent mentorship, and feelings of isolation in hearing-dominated workplaces. These barriers can lead to burnout and highlight the need for a more inclusive and understanding professional world.Human Stories of Resilience: Be inspired by powerful personal journeys, like that of Aaron Hale, a blind and deaf veteran who became a record-breaking endurance athlete and a successful real estate investor. His story exemplifies the pure grit and resilience that can help individuals overcome adversity and achieve their dreams.Topics:Deaf and Hard of HearingCommunication StrategiesWorkplace AccommodationsReal Estate AccessibilityAudism and InclusionCall-to-ActionReady to make your world more inclusive and accessible? Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and learn how to better communicate and connect with the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the DEI podcast for EXP Realty. This is CultureCast with Cody. If you're watching this, you have made it all the way to episode 10, which I can't believe. And I'm here with my really special guest today, Kimberly Mooney, who is co-chair of EXP Capable, which is our newest up-and-coming resource group for folks with disabilities and their allies and their friends and their families. So Kimber, do you want to tell people about yourself a little bit? Yes, hi. Thank you for having me.

My name is Kimberly Mooney. I am a realtor brokered by EXP and I am hard of hearing. So I was already part of a small group within workplace that focused pretty much primarily on deaf and hard of hearing people. And it was just kind of a lot of conversation there. I think we looped Cody in and got the ball rolling and EXP capable was born. There it is. And it's part of what we call our DEI Foundations program. So if you're not aware of what that is, it's a subset of one EXP where the DEI team will look out for people who have an idea for a resource group that's a topic that's not already covered by one EXP. And we try to find leaders that are passionate, driven, and doers, you know.

So we find those folks and we prop them up into a new workplace group and then we start helping them with events and crossover with other groups and how to create engaging content. And then the goal is that if these folks can prove that they're the right people to steer this ship, that they have amassed a following and folks are interested, then we go before one EXP and they get a vote and they become a real one EXP funded resource group for the whole company. Yes. We're well on our way to down that path with EXP capable.

You guys are killing it. Oh, yeah. We're pumped. It's incredible. Every time I get a notification that someone's asking to join the group, I just do like a little Yeah. We're going and I love it. Yeah, it's so good.

And you come to us to us from other places at one EXP too. Do you want to tell people about the other groups you're affiliated with? Yeah. So I am actually a New Mexico state leader. for the Young Professionals group here at EXP. And I have been with them for just under a year now. I'm so thrilled to be associated with them because the community there is unmatched. I just have never had so many people I've never really met in person so supportive of me.

But thanks to EXP's many events that they have in person, I've been able to meet a lot of them now on the past year. And that's, it's been remarkable. That's great. I love the community that they build. And it may be that you wouldn't have found this opportunity for capable if it weren't for your connections with that original ASL, deaf and heart of hearing group and with young professionals. So we just encourage everybody workplace as a real powerful tool to grow your sense of community

and culture. And you never know when you're going to have an opportunity like this, right? Absolutely. Yeah. Well, when I first got started with EXP, I was kind of hesitant to join groups within workplace, because I'm like, well, I already have enough on my plate. But once I started joining groups, I had developed these incredible relationships with people, fellow agents, staff within the brokerage, just so many different people.

And it's been so helpful to me. It's given me just even more purpose. And obviously with EXP capable and young professionals and the deaf and hard of hearing group, it's just so enlightening what we can do if we all put our minds to it. It's so true. And you bring the right. skill set to this, right? You're somebody who's good at all this. And

by the way, I just want to plug here. Kimbrey is a marketing genius. At shareholders, she was giving out. Her card is a slap bracelet. Yes. I still have one right here. Listen, I'm somebody with ADHD and I need a fidget toy.

And this has met. I've almost destroyed this thing, actually. I mean, this is, what did you? You said it's like crack for millennials, right? Oh, yeah. It's literally. It's nostalgia. It's a slap bracelet, so you're just, like, fidgeting with it. I laughed because there was, like, two or three different sessions that I could just hear people, like, slapping it on their arm over and over, and I was like, it's working. It is working. It is working. Yeah, yeah. I definitely will never forget your name now that I've had this bracelet in my hands for months, right? well good and those ones i actually waited until the last minute so i didn't get to like order them

pre-made so i had to like cut the stickers out for each one and like put them on there it took me like four days to make just like 150 of them but they turned out really cool ladies and gentlemen that's called work ethic oh yeah it was oh gosh so let's talk about work ethic so let's talk talk about EXP capable. So as the co-chair of EXP capable, can you share some of the main objectives of this initiative and how it supports the deaf and heart of hearing community within EXP Realty? Yeah. So, I mean, obviously in Workplace, you can read all about our entire mission, but overall, we are designed to advocate for people with all abilities and disabilities. So we want to partner allies and family members with resources and people who, um, people who,

live the disability on a daily basis. So aside from just being hard of hearing myself, my youngest daughter has cerebral palsy. So there's a lot that I'm learning by myself dealing with that. And as of right now, it does affect my real estate career because you're absolutely having to find resources. So this group is designed to advocate for those people with any kind of visible or invisible disability, we want to make sure everybody is seen and heard. And when they have a need or a want for something that EXP can do to improve, that's kind of what the group is there for. That's fantastic. And to create conversation, too. Yeah, it does really start some great conversations as well. Yeah, I'm, you know, when when the idea for this group came up, it really

struck a nerve with me. I'm someone who has lived with dyslexic. my whole life and my father is a quadriplegic. So from a young age, I helped take care of him. And, you know, it's been something that has affected our life in a pretty profound way, right? Because my dad had a job where he had to use his body, right? He's a mechanic, you know, in an auto parts store slash like an automotive and towing business. Okay. Um, it's Alvageard.

So transitioning to now I'm in a power wheelchair and I, you know, can not feel anything from the neck down and have limited movement of my hands. What does that job look like now, right? And that's part of the mission of XB capable is when folks are figuring out I have a disability, how can I do this job? that we have the resources there to be able to help and say, we've got some ideas of how you could do this job, right? We can help you get the accommodations you need. Yes, and we have the people who want to do that for you. It's not, you're not being selfish, you're not being needy.

We are excited to create resources. We are excited to understand. Because personally, I mean, I know what it's like to be hard of hearing, but I don't know what it's like to be fully deaf. I know signed English, I'm learning ASL, and it's incredible to see how, you know, their communication is so fluid, but there's still such a need for different resources. So this group being in existence is so awesome. Yeah. So let's talk about within the deaf and hard of hearing community, like what are some of the challenges a real estate professional would have being deaf and hard of hearing in the workplace?

And what can we do is he be capable to help address that? Yeah, so, I mean, obviously, first and foremost is communication. A lot of times hearing people misunderstand when you say, like, I'm hard of hearing or even I'm deaf, some deaf people can speak and they sound totally fine. So people assume that they are totally fine. And that's not always the case. So one of the biggest things is communication, the ability to get your point across and to understand somebody else's communication to you. In real estate, the whole thing is rooted so

deeply in having great communication with your clients, with title companies, with lenders, with other brokers, you know, with your community and being deaf or hard of hearing, having a slight delay in that communication or even not being able to relay your point or not being understood. That's a huge problem. And, you know, I know, I know, EXP is working tirelessly to create new resources. ExP Capable is making huge waves in that way, incorporating better quality closed captions to videos and trainings. I know that EXP has incorporated ASL interpreters for main speakers at big events,

and they've allowed people the opportunity to bring their own interpreter to smaller sessions where, you know, it's still, it's still a difficult thing to do to have interpreters in every room at these events, but we're doing everything we can to make the opportunities available for people. Yeah, it's really fantastic. And I was floored when I found that out about us being able to bring our own interpreter. When we say that, that's no small thing, right? These interpters get a full pass to go wherever you go for free, right? You don't have to show any documentation. Every session, every mixer, every everything you can go.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's great. How do you see, like as a hard of hearing individual yourself, what sort of tactics do you use to make the real estate landscape more navigatable for you? A lot of my interaction with clients, I do through email and text if we're not face-to-face. That way I have it in writing, one, for liability reasons. And two, so I can read what they're saying and understand better because sometimes if I'm showing a home and I have buyers behind me and they ask me a question, if I don't understand it, at first, my first few times was kind of embarrassing to turn.

around and be like, I'm so sorry, what? Now, I'm like, oh, I didn't hear you. Just tell me one more time. Like, or let me look at you so I can see what you're saying. Yeah. I rely a lot on reading lips. And I didn't know that I had relied on that so much until high school when I failed a hearing test.

And they were like, you have pretty profound hearing loss. How are you getting through school with good grades? Because I can read lips because I can read the writing really well. And I had to, I mean, I had to accommodate what I could. So I've utilized those tools well into my adulthood and my real estate career. But I would say that written communication is so important. And I encourage, I have friends locally who one just dealt with a deaf seller. And she was like, I need you to come.

And his wife is fully hearing, but he can't hear. can you like come and do a little bit of like interpreting for me and i know sign english which is not the like formal version of sign so i did my best and we got through it for the first couple of appointments but after that i said you know just ask if you're if they're comfortable writing and texting and emailing because they know how to do those things and it's a resource that you can use to have more accurate communication and you know closed captions if you're going to send them a video do something where they can see what you're saying and not just try and hear or you know struggle to understand yeah that's a really good point that's a really good point and uh you you noted about how

expe is is working on our improved closed captions and that's something we're taking really really seriously and part of the reason we're taking it so seriously is because we've got the voices of expe capable behind us to say this is what real actual not theoretical people would like right yes um And something that we've seen a lot is that some of the closed captions that we use, to be honest, we've been using a sort of whatever YouTube has available to us that's free, right? Right. And those closed captions are done through Google Translate, which if I say the word Google Translate to you, those words, you know how it doesn't have a great reputation. Oh, no. So, you know, there was a, uh, the, uh, this podcast,

when we tried to do the auto captions for an earlier episode of this, every time I would say my last name or someone would say my last name, they would translate it as jokes on, right? Like jokes on you. And then it expects you to go in and manually change that every time. And that's, you know, 10, 15 minutes of work. It is. It's a lot.

And that adds up quickly. Yeah. So we're looking. at our options. Unfortunately, you know, there doesn't seem to be a fantastic solution. So for now, what we're doing is on sessions like this one is we're going in afterwards and we're manually redoing the captions to make them accurate. We think that that is valuable because now we're deaf and hard of hearing people can actually know what we've said and not jokes on you, a rank and hanging orange monkey monkey, right? Like it's actual, it's real words, right?

Yes, yes. And I mean, it's in the deaf and hard of hearing group on workplace, that was one of the biggest issues that so many people presented even prior to EXB capable. People were complaining, you know, it's hard to attend these trainings in the university because there's no captions and they're speaking so quickly and like flipping through slides. I can't hear that and I don't know what's going on or I know I'm missing something, but I don't know what I'm missing. And that seems like a really big gap.

So I know that that was one of the first things that EXP capable and DEI has stepped up and worked to improve, which. Yeah, we're really working on. I don't think any company has the real final real solution for this, because this is one category where it's proven AI does not do a great job. Oh, yeah. because essentially what YouTube does, the free captions, that's AI that's trying to figure this out. It's an earlier AI than AI like we think of chat GPT these days, but even ones using a more powerful

algorithm are having a hard time understanding spoken language. Oh, yeah. In the same way that you have a difficult time getting, I'm not going to say her name because she's sitting here, but the Amazon spokeswoman, it's that woman whose name starts with an egg. and ends with an Alexa. It's hard to get her to understand you because it's the same sort of algorithm that's trying to figure it out. Oh, yeah.

But all of that to say, it's not a challenge that's so difficult that we're going to give up, right? We are really pounding the pavement trying to find the right, affordable solution that actually works. Yeah. And we're going to get there. Which is, I think, unmatched, because I know that there are other brokerage. who have interpreters at smaller events or even like local meetings and things like that. And sure, we can foot the bill for some of that stuff.

But at the end of the day, one, that adds up financially to be a very big deal, a very big number, and is not necessarily doable for everyone. And two, it's not a guaranteed fix. So I know that EXP is looking at all the things that we can do and what's going to actually work, what's going to have the biggest impact, what's affordable, what can we do consistently. And that alone is with the help of EXP and EXP capable and DEI. I mean, we're making groundbreaking transitions for the deaf and heart of hearing community. Yeah, we really, we really want to put our money where our mouth is when the mission statement of one EXP is to be the most diverse, inclusive, and equitable real estate brokerage in the world.

And that this is one of those categories where we have to do better than our peers. And I think we are hard at work to carve out that path. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And even just taking the small steps, we all understand it's going to be a process. But it's awesome to see the steps being taken. So let's talk about advocacy for the disabled community. Yeah.

Why is that still important in 2023? Why do we still need to advocate for the disabled community? disabled. I mean, you know, it's 2023, so you would think that people just know that there are people different than us, and that doesn't make them less or bad or wrong. It's just how can we work together to make the world a better place. I think that it's easy to just push that aside. And, well, I don't have that problem, so it doesn't personally affect me, and I'm not going to worry about it. But, and honestly, even being hard of hearing, I didn't really. seek a ton of resources because I can accommodate myself, I'll be fine.

But then I had a little one with cerebral palsy, and I instantly was like, no, the whole world needs to bend over backwards. What can we do? Like, there's so many other things we can be doing and the opportunity with EXB capable to create those conversations, to bring awareness to invisible disabilities, especially, like you had mentioned dyslexia, ADHD, that's, I mean, a vast majority of the population has some kind of invisible disability that they're struggling with. And a lot of people have told me in conversations that it's embarrassing to admit that I have dyslexia or I'm embarrassed that I

struggle with math. Like, I'm an adult. I should be able to do those things. But why is that embarrassing. It's 2023. We should be able to say, I have a hard time. This is what I need and actively get the health and the resources we need to fix it. It's true. It's true. And, you know, I think a couple of points I would make about this. I think exposure to good examples in the media of disabled people is important. And often we don't see disabled folks featured prominently or in ways that are authentic, right? In media, we'll see a sensationalized portrayal of someone who's deaf

or a sensationalized portrayal of someone in a wheelchair. But we don't get real stories, right? It's very rare. So it's something else that EXB capable is working to do is we're going to highlight to you in our group examples of good representation, right? There does exist good representation out there. Oh, yeah.

You know, Netflix, the shows, Down for Love and Love on the Spectrum. These are the most heartwarming, authentic shows about autism and down syndrome I've ever seen in my life. So we are getting there, right? Yeah. Well, and there's movies now that are incorporating actors with different disabilities and highlighting them as real people.

They really exist and they really are human. And we can treat them like humans because, you know, just because they have a different function than we do doesn't make them less or not worth anything and I know there's a Barbie just came out with a Down syndrome Barbie I'm loving that there's models and you know actors who are all different variety of disabilities and they're showing up and sharing their stories and I think it's remarkable yeah it's really it's really fantastic and in the same way that Hollywood's had the conversation about people, you know, appropriating others' cultures for a role.

Yeah. We're seeing an uptick of getting really authentic people who actually suffer from a disability to play those characters. Yeah. And that's a beautiful thing. The other thing I'd say about why it's important to advocate for the disabled in today's landscape is we live in a very, very partisan society. And the issues that get the most attention and the most push,

are those that fall on partisan lines. But disabilities, the rights of the disabled is perhaps one of the most bipartisan issues, right? Both sides, every side agrees, the whole spectrum of sides agrees that we should do right by those who are disabled. The problem with that is in the partisan society, when we're focused on what my side wants, what your side wants, let's fight each other, but stuff is still happening on both sides, that stuff in the middle gets forgotten about. Yeah, absolutely. Well, and to be able to share actual people's stories and resources and start conversations,

even just in our somewhat small workplace group here at EXP, it's a step in the right direction, and it's truly something that I don't know of at other brokerages or in other industries, that there is such a welcoming safe space to share questions and concerns or, you know, I have a client with this issue. What do you suggest? How can I handle this more appropriately? How can I accommodate them in a way that isn't belittling? Because it can be so easy to be like, oh, you can't read that. Okay, I'll just tell you what it says. Well, yeah, maybe that's the solution, but maybe they would rather you work through it with them in a different way. you know and having that conversation can kind of seem uncomfortable but now with ex-be capable we have

a place where you can say what tips do you give for helping people with dyslexia to understand these contracts before they sign because it's a legally binding contract you shouldn't just sign on the dotted line because it's there yeah right so i love that we're able to do those things and share those things with with everyone at ex-b it's great and it you know it's it's a you make it real solid points about white advocacy is important. And it's another one of those topics that I talk about a lot in my career as a DEI professional, but people not learning about something because they're afraid that they would make someone uncomfortable if they tried and got it wrong. I'm here to tell you, this is another example of if you try and you get it wrong, then now you know how to do it the next

time. There is no shame in learning in that manner. And we have to, We have the resource group here that's going to regularly keep your feed full of tips of how, right, to approach folks with disability. And it's also a place where you can go and ask those questions in a judge and a free zone. What's the most effective way for me to approach a client who has dyslexia? Well, I can tell you there's a specific set of fonts that work particularly well for folks with dyslexia. There also is the accommodation of maybe you move that deadline out of. or two, right? To give them time to read it. It's there's there's there's lots of things you can do and we're here to give you those answers and I I love the group for that. Yeah. So got a very try try again energy

within the group. Like if you don't get it right this time, that's all right. You know, nobody's mad, but let's fix it. Let's do better next time. And then let's all do better next time instead of just learning from only our own mistakes. We can learn from each other. That's right. And when you're trying, especially when you're first trying something for the first time with approaching a new topic, you've got to take that first step and just try. Because if you fall on your face, it's completely okay. We have arms and legs that are built to help us stand back up after we fall on our face. Absolutely.

Yeah. That's it. And with the XP capable, you've got a group of people that can help you stand back up after you follow your face. Yes, exactly. Yes. Yeah, it's great. So as a champion, particularly for the deaf and hard of hearing community, can you share some of your personal experience that shaped your advocacy, work with the equity? Yeah. So my younger brother and I both when we were younger went to a sign language academy. He was pretty fluent in ASL when he was like a toddler.

And he's not deaf or hard of hearing, but a lot of his friends were because he went to this school. It's a charter school here in Albuquerque. It's incredible. They have a really awesome story, but he had the opportunity to go and learn kindergarten and first grade alongside deaf and hard of hearing students and kind of a little bit understand their culture, but also learn a lot about their language and their day-to-day life. And watching him at such a young age understand that there are people out there who are very different in a lot of different ways. ways, like you said, a whole spectrum of different ways that, but he was so nurturing to that, and it truly made me feel a little less embarrassed that I was hard of hearing or a little less embarrassed to turn around and be like, actually, I didn't hear you. Can you say it again?

And that spoke so much to me. And now being in real estate, working with people on a regular basis who have dyslexia, heart of hearing, all number of disabilities. It's truly inspiring to be able to even remotely relate to them and try and offer them my full heart and my service, which I pride myself on doing with every transaction, but when it comes to those people, it's like especially near and dear to my heart and being hard of hearing myself. It's a very different world out there when different sounds like trigger your brain to do different things or I hear the beginning and the end of a word so I just kind of piece it together what you're saying and having to learn those things and understand those things about myself really opened my eyes and my

heart to learning and understanding about others and creating a more understanding and patient environment and not just real estate, but just in life for deaf and hard of hearing people especially to feel the same as me and feel as much joy in real estate as I do without feeling like they're not doing enough or it's too hard for them to handle. Yeah, that's, that's fantastic. I'm so proud of everything you've done with the XB capable and I just can't wait to see what you guys do next. So I really, the last question I want to ask is, what is next for EXP capable?

What do you think are the next initiatives you want to push for? Where are we going? You know, we talk a lot about wanting to do events virtual and live. Personally, I love being an advocate here locally, but also at big events like EXPCon is coming up. And I'm so excited about that because they get to share EXP capable with people who have never heard of it before or didn't know. was available to them and highlighting that we're here and we're a great place for you to start your journey of understanding. And I think, you know, just more education and hopefully some really great new virtual and in-person events. Those are the next steps. I love it. I love it.

And as always, the EI team is here to support you. The culture cast audience is here to support you. If you guys are hearing something that sounds great to you and you want to join EXB capable, You can do that follow the banner that's going across the bottom right now to find EXP capable on workplace. And it's going to be super easy for you to get plugged in. You can always reach out to the co-chairs of any of our resource groups. You got Kimbrie, you got Abigail Ransom. I'm happy to announce this is episode 10 of CultureCast.

Episode 11 is featuring Abigail Ransom. We're featuring both of you in the month of October. And on the next episode, we're going to be talking about mental health and disabilities, how having a disability can affect your mental health and the converse of that as well, right? I think there's great tie-in here with ESP capable and our other group that's about health, the Healthy Mind Collective. So look forward to seeing how we tie all of that together. Thank you again for being here, Kimbray. It's great and we'll very likely have you on again in the future.

All right. Thanks for joining everybody. We'll see you on the next episode. Bye.