Andrea Zackary is a loving mother to 5 beautiful girls and wife of 11 years to a wonderful husband. She grew up in a blended and athletic family and also a former Deaf Olympian and World Championship qualifier in Track and field. She is identified as Oral Deaf and a mentor within her community. Andrea started to lose her hearing around the age of 6 but still pursued her studies and was able to complete high school and College. She then worked in the hospitality industry as a front desk agent but suddenly became completely deaf at the age of 25 and lost her job as a result. She holds a diploma in Hotel & Restaurant Management and has worked in the hospitality industry for 10 years.
After abruptly losing her hearing and struggling with employment, she pursued training as a Personal Support Worker within the Deaf community. Andrea always wanted to do more for the community and seven years ago she took a leap of faith and entered the world of entrepreneurship starting DEF EVENTS & BEYOND. She has hosted numerous community events to bring together Deaf/Hard of hearing as well as hearing in an ASL-friendly social atmosphere. Def Events & Beyond has been recognized for an array of awards in its short time in the market. Some of these include the Young Professional of the year award from CTV in 2018, Brampton Board of trade’s Top 40 Under 40, City of Brampton Accessibility Award in Business Award along with several other awards and nominations. Andrea enjoys reading, fashion, long nature walks and a huge coffee, sweets and food lover.