Mariella Paulino

Mariella Paulino creates systems and tools that center on helping people interact better with the world around them. In 2014 she was pulled over by police officer. Because of her hearing loss, her inability to follow commands was understood as noncompliance and created a situation that could easily have escalated. The experience left her so shaken she went on to do her Master's degree in communications to explore how people with disabilities interact and communicate with the police. The thesis then turned into a social venture company, Project Hearing, which among many other things, creates bumper stickers that say "Deaf Driver" in an effort to create better interactions between deaf people and police officers. She has worked in tech as a software developer, designer, and now as a project manager and is passionate about the intersection of technology with social impact initiatives that create inclusion, accessibility, and equity.