I’m very proud to be a board member at Listen and Talk. I was diagnosed with profound hearing loss in infancy, back in 1973. It was a very different era. Hearing aid technology was still very new. Fortunately for me, my parents found an organization like Listen and Talk (in Maryland, where we lived at the time). Similar to our amazing Listen and Talk children, I received intensive speech and auditory therapy, and successfully moved on to mainstream schools. Fast forward, and I became a lawyer, and have had a successful career. This would have been unfathomable to the doctors who initially told my parents that my life was likely going to be limited by hearing loss.

Shortly after beginning my legal career, another board member “discovered” me and invited me to the board. That was 25 years ago, and I’ve been thrilled to be here since. I switched from hearing aids to cochlear implants about eight years ago, and they have provided an incredible positive change. I was doing pretty well with hearing aids, but cochlear implants have made it even easier to communicate with family, friends, and colleagues in all kinds of settings. I cannot emphasize enough how much of a difference it made in my life to receive early intervention for my profound hearing loss, then to go through a program like Listen and Talk’s early on. Some of my favorite experiences as a board member are meeting other Listen and Talk families, and being an advocate for the organization and the work it does.