OPTION Schools, Inc. Executive Board Officers

 

The OPTION Schools Executive Committee Officers are elected by the General Membership, and serve for a two year term.  Officers are drawn from the ranks of member Executive Directors, Principals, or other senior staff who have expertise in hearing health and oral deaf education.  Officers for the 2008 – 2010 term are:

 

	Maura Berndsen – President Maura Berndsen holds a BA in Deaf Education from Fontbonne University and a MA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Texas, San Antonio.  Maura is also a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist.  Maura has worked in auditory-oral and auditory-verbal settings since 1990, joining Listen and Talk in 1996.  As Educational Director at Listen and Talk in Seattle, WA she also provides early intervention, auditory-verbal therapy, and educational consultations.  Maura has presented and contributed to publications on the topics of auditory-verbal therapy and the development of listening and spoken language in children with all degrees of hearing loss.
	Teri Ouellette – Vice President  Teri Ouellette, M.S.Ed. is the Director of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf – Indianapolis.  Teri has degrees in Deaf Education from Eastern Michigan University and in Early Childhood Education of the Handicapped from the University of Kentucky.  She has taught auditory/oral programming for infants through middle school students in home-based early intervention as well as private and public school settings.   Recent presentations include: The Nitty-Gritty of Cochlear Implants: Working with Two-Year Olds (Co-presented workshop), Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation (ISHA), Classroom-Based Phonological Therapy (KSHA workshop), Single Subject Research in the Classroom (AG Bell Assoc), and Cochlear Implants and Children with Multiple Disabilities (AG Bell Assoc).
	Tamala S. Bradham – Treasurer Tamala S. Bradham, Ph.D., CCC-A is an Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Services of the National Center for Childhood Deafness and Family Communication (NCCDFC) at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center in Nashville, TN.  She is on the board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Special Interest Division 9: Hearing and Hearing Disorders in Childhood.  She is the past Presidents of the South Carolina Academy of Audiology (SCAA) and the South Carolina Chapter of A.G. Bell, and also served as the Vice-Chairman of the First Sound Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program in South Carolina.  Bradham received her doctorate in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of South Carolina in 1998 and her Master in Audiology in 1994. Her major academic, clinical, and research interests relate to cochlear implants, early intervention, and aural (re)habilitation.
	Danielle M. Darcy MA, CCC-A– Secretary   Danielle earned her Bachelor of Science degree in deaf education from Mac Murray College and did her graduate work in audiology at the University of Minnesota.  Danielle became a teacher at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf at Carle in 1998, gleaning support, information and experience from professionals at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis and the Carle Expanding Children's Hearing Opportunities Program.  Since her arrival in Urbana, IL, Danielle has served as an auditory oral teacher for children from 2 to 8 years of age, an aural habilitation audiologist, parent educator, mainstream support coordinator, volunteer and practicum student coordinator and program director.  She has had the opportunity to share information about supporting children with hearing loss and their families to maximize listening and spoken language skills in a variety of local school districts, and universities as well as state and national conventions.  Danielle joined the OPTION Schools Executive Board in March 2010.
	Michele Wilkins - Director at large (details to follow)
	Pam Paskowitz - Director at large (details to follow)
	Anne Sullivan -- Past President In June, 1994, Anne Sullivan, M. Ed., was appointed as Executive Director of Magnolia Speech School. With certifications in both hearing impaired and speech and language education, Mrs. Sullivan was no stranger to Magnolia.  She had spent 14 years, working from student teacher to Assistant Director, prior to leaving for a teaching position at Mississippi College in nearby Clinton, MS.  After eight years at Mississippi College, Anne Sullivan returned with a renewed spirit and deep dedication to the program she knew and loved.