Youmee Lee is a deaf Korean American animator, projection designer, and visual poet based in New York. She teaches deaf art, cinema, and literature courses at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). She has been advocating for deaf representation in cinema and art at film festivals and conference exhibitions. Growing up with limited access to the aural world, she delved into the visual world and studied art in New York City, Amsterdam, and Seoul. With her artistic skills, she strives to deconstruct and break down the communication barriers, such as illustrating several books and murals for and about the deaf community. As a first generation American raised by an immigrant family, Lee continues to explore storytelling with different materials, embodying sign language and physical movements. Developing experimental films, she experiments with the American Sign Language poetry format. Her goal is to create visually poetic work that is accessible to a wider audience. She has served as a chairperson and jury member for festivals and has presented to various festivals across the United States. She graduated with an M.F.A. in Film and Animation from RIT.