Her mother was deaf and raised to speak, read, and write English; she was also a trained golfer, following in her parents' footsteps.

While attending graduate school, she learned American Sign Language (ASL) and become involved with the Deaf community.

In 1993, she received the Alice Cogswell Award in 1993 from Gallaudet University for valuable service on behalf of deaf citizens.

[6] Upon resuming service to Gallaudet University in 1995, Fernandes served as Vice President of the National Deaf Education Center.

Through this program, she stated publicly that American Sign Language and cochlear implant technology are both important to the development of deaf infants, toddlers, and youth.

Having grown up Deaf, I came to learn Sign Language relatively late, at the age of 23, while I was a graduate student at the University of Iowa.

While we respect a variety of communication modes and languages among Deaf people, we must also unite in affirming visucentric public discourse.

According to The Washington Post, "Students objected to the appointment of Jane Fernandes, who is Deaf and is currently the university's provost because she did not grow up using American Sign Language.

"[19] When this did not resonate with the public, the protestors clarified that they believed she lacked the charisma to represent deaf people to the world.

[19] Protestors perceived that Fernandes, having learned ASL as an adult, was insufficiently committed to addressing the problem of audism.

In 2008, Fernandes was selected as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

[25] President Fernandes supported gender equity in athletic participation, practice, and experience necessary for the student body.

Formed in 2017, it is dedicated to increasing public awareness of how immigration policies and practices impact students, college campuses, and communities.

[26] Fernandes advocated on behalf of Guilford College's DACA students and alumni for a bipartisan Congressionally approved path to citizenship.

[33] She has published several articles and poems on issues including Deaf culture, education, language and social justice.