Janet DesGeorges - Primary Presenter,POC
Hands & Voices, Headquarters
Credentials: N/A
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Janet DesGeorges lives in Boulder, Colorado and is mom to Sara, who is hard of hearing. She is a co-founder of Hands & Voices, serving as the Executive Director since September 2011, and as the E.D. of the Flagship chapter of Hands & Voices in Colorado for 10 years prior to that. Ms. DesGeorges is the author on the chapter for Family Support in the NCHAM e-Book, the co-author of the book Educational Advocacy for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: The Hands & Voices Guidebook, and many other publications. Ms. DesGeorges received a program certificate from the MCH Public Health Leadership Institute in 2011 at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her areas of interest include Leadership Development for parents; Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Systems; Parent/Professional partnerships in Quality Improvement processes. |
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
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Karen Putz - Co-Presenter
Hands & Voices
Credentials: B.S. in Counseling, M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling, Deaf Mentor in E.I., board member and founder of Illinois Hands & Voices, board member and Director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infusion at Hands & Voices.
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Karen Putz is a deaf mom of three deaf and hard of hearing kids. She works in early intervention as a Deaf Mentor and as the Director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infusion at Hands & Voices.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
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Terri Patterson - Co-Presenter
GA Hands & Voices
Credentials: B.A.
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Terri's experience as a former Early Intervention Parent Educator and a parent of a child with hearing loss has led her into the role of Executive Director of Georgia Hands & Voices. She and her husband, Matt, have two children: daughter Molly, and son, Riley, (who was identified with profound bilateral hearing loss at two months). Degreed in Social Sciences/Psychology, Terri is the Committee Chair for the Georgia Stakeholder’s UNHS Program. She also sits on the National EHDI 2011 Planning Committee, and is co-chair of the CDC’s Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Parent-to-Parent Subcommittee, as well as serving as parent representative to the AAHBEI (American Association for Home-Based Early Interventionists) governing board. Terri is co-author of the DECISION GUIDE TO COMMUNICATION CHOICES published by the CDC, and has spoken a numerous conferences including a plenary presentation at the National Summit on Deaf Education in 2008. |
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
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Lisa Kovacs - Co-Presenter
Hands & Voices
Credentials: Parent
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Lisa lives in Indiana with her husband Brian and four children. Her son has severe hearing loss and Auditory Neuropathy.
Lisa is the Director of Programs for Hands & Voices HQ, founding board member of IN Hands & Voices, and she’s been with Hands & Voices since 2004. She serves on the AAP EHDI Task Force, co-chair of the Indiana Department of Education Special Education Advisory Council, and board member of Coalition for Global Hearing Health.
Lisa has extensive training and experience in special education advocacy. She is passionate about training other parents to recognize their strengths and abilities so they feel confident to make educated decisions and advocate for their children. Most importantly, Lisa hopes that through training parents, there will ultimately be more children who can advocate for themselves.
Lisa enjoys reading, running, watching her children participate in sporting events, and spending time with her family.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
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