Carin Powell is the writer and director of Liftoff, and co-founder of Signing Animation. Formerly a lead animator and fix team lead, Carin started Signing Animation with Nora Ng-Quinn in January 2020 as a way to combat the bias against Deaf/hard-of-hearing talent in the animation industry. She has had single-sided deafness since early childhood, and has long been a proponent of Deaf Gain. Her mentors in animation include Eric Cera, Paul Naas, Peter Kelly, and Matt Majers. Through her work with Signing Animation she aims to demonstrate the singular talent of Deaf/HoH artists, the methods by which integrated teams can thrive, and the transformative power of storytelling.