I’m a mom to three great kids. My youngest child was born in April 2017. He was diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder at 7 months old and had surgery to receive cochlear implants in both ears in February 2020. We’ve been learning sign language as a family, as that is still his preferred method of communication, but we’ve also learned a lot about auditory training, visual phonics, speech production, and a lot of other cool things in these last six years.
I grew up in suburban Chicago and northern Wisconsin, and have found the perfect middle ground in Madison, Wisconsin for the last 20 years. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education in 2001. I became certified to teach English Language Learners in 2006, as well as returned to UW-Madison for a master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis in 2011. After ten years, I left teaching and switched careers to work with healthcare organizations all over the U.S. as a project manager for EMR software. In the fall of 2020, I started working with other families who have a child with a hearing difference through Wisconsin Sound Beginning’s Grass Roots Engagement Action Team (GREAT). I received parent support when we first learned of my youngest’s diagnosis, and it was a vital factor for his successful hearing health today. I am honored to return some of that support to new parents. I currently work for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as the Newborn Screening Follow-through Coordinator. At the beginning of this year, I was selected to serve as Wisconsin’s AMCHP Family Delegate and am excited to build my network, learn how other family delegates are advocating for families in their state, and meet people doing this important work all over the U.S.
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Monday, May 8, 2023
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM CST