05/18/2026
Big news for the Deaf community. 🎉🤟
National Association of the Deaf - NAD just announced Nicholas Kiego as its next Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026. Congratulations, Nick — and congratulations to NAD on what comes next.
Nick steps in from Gallaudet University where he most recently served as Interim Executive Director of Enrollment and previously led Institutional Advancement, building fundraising and alumni engagement for the country's flagship Deaf university. He brings strengths in organizational leadership, community engagement, and resource development to one of the most consequential roles in the Deaf civil rights movement.
Worth naming the how of this search, too: NAD partnered with Innivee Strategies, a Deaf-led, Deaf-owned executive search firm. Innivee Strategies designed the process around the community itself — surveys, focus groups, a public town hall with both finalists in April so the community could ask questions directly. That's the model. Deaf-led firms running searches for Deaf organizations, with the community shaping the leader profile from day one.
Big thanks also to NAD's Board for committing to a transparent, community-grounded process.
NAD has been the nation's premier civil rights organization for Deaf and hard of hearing people since 1880 — 145+ years of advocacy. Looking forward to seeing where Nick takes it next.
Welcome, Nick. 🤟
[Image description: A spotlight graphic with a portrait of Nicholas Kiego smiling at the camera, wearing a navy blazer over a checked button-down shirt. He stands outdoors with a soft, blurred background of bare trees. A white-line frame insets around the photo. Lower-left text reads "Nicholas Kiego — Incoming Chief Executive Officer," with an italicized line: "National Association of the Deaf • August 1, 2026." The Tive logo is in the bottom-right.]
