The California Association of the Deaf (CAD) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization founded in 1906. CAD’s mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the linguistic, human, and civil rights of all Deaf Californians. CAD operates as an inclusive organization open to all subgroups within the Deaf community without discrimination, and affirms that the acquisition and use of American Sign Language is an essential human right.
The CAD Board of Directors (2025–2027) includes:
- Humberto Guzman — President
- Mike Anderson — Vice President
- Ryan Fingerle — Administrative Secretary
- Diane Gamache — Correspondence Secretary
- Hugh Lafler — Treasurer
- Shari Kido — Membership Director
- Josh Jensen — Head Trustee
- Chris Preston — Trustee
- David Smario — Trustee
The Board includes four Executive Board members and one representative from each of three Affiliate Chapters.
- CAD maintains bylaws and governance documents referenced on its official site.
- Board meeting agendas and minutes are available via the Governance page.
- Specific bylaw PDFs are not directly listed on the public site (as of 2026-06-05).
¶ Constitution / articles of incorporation
- No separate constitution or articles of incorporation were identified as publicly posted (as of 2026-06-05).
- Board meeting minutes are maintained and considered important legal documents of the association.
- Open-session agendas are accessible through the Governance page.
- Full minutes are referenced but not individually listed as public downloads (as of 2026-06-05).
- CAD references three Affiliate Chapters, each represented on the Board of Directors.
- Specific chapter names are not listed on the public site (as of 2026-06-05).
- Related Deaf organizations in California (listed on CAD’s resources):
- Southern California Association of the DeafBlind
- Northern California Association of the DeafBlind
- Bay Area Black Deaf Advocates
- SoCal Black Deaf Advocates
- Bay Area Asian Deaf Association
- Southern California Asian Deaf Association
- 1906: CAD founded (originally the California Association of the Deaf) with James W. Howson as its first president.
- Early decades: Continuous leadership through multiple presidents, including Douglas Tilden, Alice T. Terry, Toivo Lindholm, and others.
- 1970–2005: Leadership under Kyle Workman, Gerald “Bummy” Burstein, Marcella M. Meyers, Ron Rhodes, Richard L. Ray, and others, supporting statewide advocacy and community events.
- Recent decades: Presidents Julie Rems-Smario (2013–2017), Kavita Pipalia (2017–2023), David Eberwein (2023–2025), and Humberto Guzman (2025–Present).
- 2021–2022: CAD highlighted ongoing advocacy and community activities (as noted in its 2020 and 2021 highlights sections).
¶ Conferences and events
- CAD organizes statewide meetings and conferences.
- Information about upcoming events and statewide meetings is available on the Events and Conference pages.
- Email: info@cad1906.org
- Mailing address:
- California Association of the Deaf
- C/O Norcal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- 4044 N. Freeway Blvd
- Sacramento, CA 95834
- Online form: Contact Us