Jan Withers is the director of the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing within the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. DSDHH provides telecommunications relay services, direct client services, training, and consultation to local, state and federal agencies and businesses across the entire state.

Prior to joining DSDHH, Withers served as the director of Student Support Services at the N.C. School for the Deaf in Morganton, N.C. She began her professional career as a mental health therapist for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children.

Withers is a founding member and secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She is currently the vice president and represents the southeastern states on the Board of Directors for Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., a national advocacy organization that regularly works with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and other federal government entities.

She previously represented DHHS on the N.C. Interpreters and Transliterators Licensing Board.

Withers received her master’s degree in counseling from Gallaudet University and a bachelor’s degree in art from Davidson College.