100 Women We Love

by Melody Wells, editor

July 10, 2008

Tags: 100 women we love, activists, annie leibovitz, artists, cynthia nixon, daniela sea, entrepeneurs, god-des and she, heather matarazzo, jackie warner, jane lynch, kate clinton, lesbian, martina navratilova, melissa etheridge, politicians, suze orman

Maria Miciono
When Miciono moved to New York at 18, she answered an ad in the Village Voice to learn sign language. She started interpreting in 1993, and over time jobs kept opening up. “Being an interpreter opened up lots of things in the city for me. One day I’ll be in a college class at Columbia, then in a vocational center, then on stage next to [former] President Clinton,” she says. Despite these sometimes high-profile appearances, Miciono says that among the most fun are the Heritage of Pride rallies at Bryant Park, and Garden Parties of the LGBT Center. She met her girlfriend while interpreting a Human Rights Campaign event. “I’m personally vested in these,” she says. Miciono has coached the high school cheerleading team at the Lexington School for the Deaf to victory several times, twice against hearing teams, and says working with these students is among the most rewarding work she does. –LJ