Cynthia Neese Bailes, a professor and doctoral program director in the Department of Education at Gallaudet University, has been involved with teacher preparation since 1994.  Cynthia has twenty-three years of experience in elementary and secondary schools, both as a classroom teacher and administrator. She taught at the elementary and secondary levels at the South Dakota School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls,

South Dakota. She also taught English at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, DC, where she also served as Assistant Principal and Principal. 

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Cynthia holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis on the Language Arts, from the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her M.A.T. in Deaf Education from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, and her B.A. in English from Gallaudet University. Her teaching and research interests include language and literacy acquisition and learning, and ASL-English bilingualism. 

Cynthia resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her spouse, William Lynn Bailes III. She has two grown daughters, Shana and Marisa. Cynthia is an avid reader; she collects children's and young adult literature. When she's not reading, you might find her cooking, traveling, biking, or gardening, among many other things.