Michael H. Stone – President & Stone Family Representative

Michael H. Stone is employed by Donatelli Development.  He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Wheeling Jesuit, a master’s degree in International and Strategic Affairs from Georgetown University, a law degree from Antioch, and a L.L.M. in Securities Regulation from Georgetown University.  He started his career on Capitol Hill as the legislative director to Representative James L. Oberstar (D-MN).  He later became a Washington lobbyist representing Fortune 500 companies.  He has worked as Deputy Counsel for the Federal Asset Disposition Association (renamed the Resolution Trust Corporation) which is a part of the administrative branch of government.  In 1990 he entered private practice and co-founded Mobile Communications Holdings, Inc., which received a license to provide satellite-based telecommunications service.   In 1995 he co-founded Eagle Eye, Inc., a company which provides satellite-based tracking services.  He has also taught history at a private school and served as an advisor to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Mr. Stone has written numerous book reviews for Best Sellers magazine, has been an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University and has served on numerous corporate boards of directors.  As the Rocky Stone family representative to the Board he brings a unique historical perspective of the organization’s history and a passion for people with hearing loss to the board.  In addition he also brings legal experience and problem-solving skills. 

Committees:  Mr. Stone serves on the Finance, Marketing and Development, and Rocky Stone Scholarship Committees.  He served on the first Board of the organization, then called Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH). He has served his current term since 2005.

Jeannette E. Kanter – Vice President

Jeannette E. Kanter has an M.S.S.S. from Boston University School of Social Work and has worked as a social worker and a marriage and family therapist.  She coordinated a graduate program in Community Services at the University of Rochester supervising the field work component.  In addition she served as coordinator for Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People at the University of Rochester Medical Center.  She is an active member of the Hearing Loss Association, Rochester Chapter, having served on many committees and as secretary, vice president and president.  Most recently she has organized and facilitated an HLAA Cochlear Implant Group which is a sub group of the Rochester Chapter.  She brings skills in the areas of advocacy, mental and physical health, education and cochlear implants to the board. 

For over 30 years, Ms. Kanter wore hearing aids, but in 2000 she received a cochlear implant which “gave me back my life.”  She can now use the telephone, hear music, listen to the radio, but most importantly, she can hear her grandchildren and the birds.  She still delights in hearing new sounds and considers the cochlear implant her most important miracle in recent years.

Committees:  Ms. Kanter is a North East Region representative to the board.  She chairs the Chapter-National Partnership Committee and serves on the Policy Committee and the Planning Strategy Work Group.  She has been on the board since 2005.

Pete C. Fackler - Treasurer
                                                           
Pete C. Fackler is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst).  He has an A.B. in economics from Duke University and a M.B.A. from the University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Business.  His career spans nearly 30 years in higher education where he mixed classroom teaching with administrative assignments in virtually all of the operating areas of the academic enterprise.  His central roles were some variation on vice president for finance and chief financial officer.  Other assignments ranged from physical plant and food service oversight, to human relations management, strategy and operating plan development, investment management for endowment and trust assets, and capital campaign planning.  Retiring in 2003, he now works with family and close friends to manage private financial assets.   
  
Mr. Fackler acquired a cochlear implant in 2004 and about the same time discovered the Hearing Loss Association of America.  He is active with the HLAA Rochester chapter and chairs their Walk4Hearing committee.  He is a program leader for monthly chapter meetings and serves on the technology and theater committees.  He is also a member of the New York State board of HLAA where he chairs the finance committee.  Mr. Fackler is a founding member of the finance investment committee of the Maine Health Access Foundation.  He brings to the HLAA board of trustees experience and expertise in finances, strategic planning and marketing and development.

Committees:  Mr. Fackler serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Finance Committee.  He is a member of the Nominating and Board Development Committee, and the Planning Strategy Work Group.  He was appointed to the board in March of 2007 and elected to an at-large seat in June of 2007.

Deb Charlea Baker – Secretary

Deb Charlea Baker is serving her first term on the Board of Trustees as a Regional Representative.  She has been a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor for over 19 years working with people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.  She holds a master’s degree in Community Psychology from Springfield College.  Her experience with hearing loss is both personal and professional.  Besides having hearing loss herself, she has an adult son and several family members who have hearing loss. 

Ms. Baker currently serves on the Agency of Human Services Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advisory Committee.  She has been a member of HLAA (SHHH) since 1988 and also a long time member of ADARA – Professionals Networking for Excellence in Service Delivery with Individuals Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.  She has been actively involved over the years with a number of community initiatives working to improve services for Vermonters with hearing loss.  Ms. Baker brings experience to the board in advocacy, young adult issues, parent and family involvement, hearing assistive technology and an understanding of audiological and medical issues related to hearing loss. 

Committees:  Ms. Baker is a Northeast Region representative to the board.  She chairs the Nominating and Development Committee and serves on the Advocacy, and Chapter-National Partnership Committees, and the Planning Strategy Workgroup.  She has been a member of the board since 2006.

Paul Lurie

Paul Lurie is an equity partner in the Chicago office of the law firm of Schiff Hardin LLP.  He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and its law school.  He specializes in arbitration and mediation for the construction industry.  He is involved in many local not-for-profit companies involved in the arts and has served roles such as general counsel and chair of capital campaign committees.  He is past chair and current member of the Executive Committee of The Family Institute at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, a clinical and research institution specializing in issues of mental health of individuals in families.  He is a trustee of the Foundation for Hearing and Speech Research in Chicago, an organization that supports pediatric cochlear implants.  He is a long-time member of the Cochlear Corporation’s Consumer Advocate Panel. 

Mr. Lurie was responsible for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance of the FBI Washington, D.C., tour facility for people with communication disabilities, for landline telephone compliance of the Amtrak station in Springfield, IL, and for an assistive listening system in a local major performing arts facility.  He brings to the board experience in advocacy, cochlear implants, hearing assistive technology, mental health and legal issues.

Committees:  Mr. Lurie serves on the Executive Committee.  In addition to chairing the Planning Strategy Work Group he serves on the Marketing and Development, and Advocacy Committees.  He has been on the board since 2006.

Teresa Blankmeyer Burke

Teresa Blankmeyer Burke is a philosopher and bioethicist in the Philosophy and Religion Department at Gallaudet University.  She is also affiliated with the University of New Mexico’s Ethics Institute, where she trains a variety of health care professionals and medical students in health care ethics.  She presents nationally and internationally to health care professionals and educators on ethical issues related to hearing loss.  She is currently a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of New Mexico, and is writing her dissertation on the intersection of bioethics, genetics, and hearing loss. 
           
Ms. Burke is an advisory board member of the HLAA American Academy of Hearing Loss Support Specialist.  A person with a hearing loss, she has held leadership positions in the Albuquerque, NM HLAA chapter and has organized a HLAA interest group at Gallaudet University.  She was a member of the first SHHH Leadership Training Program.  She has a strong interest in reaching young adults and diverse populations and brings experience to the board in public speaking, board policy, education and medical issues related to hearing loss.  She has been hard of hearing since age three and was educated in mainstream public schools in southern California.

Committees:  She has been a member of the board since 2003.  

Anne T. Pope

Anne T. Pope holds a master’s degree in business policy from Columbia University Business School’s Executive Program and is a former human resources executive.  In collaboration with SHHH, Ms. Pope wrote Hear, Solutions, Skills and Sources for People with Hearing Loss, published by Dorling Kindersley in 1997.  Ms. Pope is a member of the Manhattan (NY) Hearing Loss Association of America Chapter and serves as an ex-officio member of the New York State Association Board.  She played a leading role in the development of the HLAA Walk4Hearing project.  She has been vice president of HLAA, chair of the Marketing and Development Committee and a member of the Finance and Nominating and Board Development Committees
In addition to her work for the Hearing Loss Association of America, Ms. Pope is a member of the Committee on Accessibility for People with Disabilities for the Episcopal Diocese of New York and is involved in other offices and activities of the church.  She also served on the board of trustees of an independent girls’ school in Baltimore and served as co-chair of their centennial capital campaign.

Committees:  Ms. Pope is chair of the Executive Committee and ex-officio to all other board committees with the exception of the Nominating and Board Development, and Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award Committees.  She has been a member of the board since 2001.

Kathy M. Borzell

Kathy M. Borzell has been a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America since 1995.  She has a severe to profound hereditary sensorineural hearing loss which began in her late teens.  As the child of a parent with hearing loss and the mother of an adult child with hearing loss, she has a unique perspective that allows her to relate to multiple aspects of living with hearing loss.
Ms. Borzell became a member of the Florida Association of SHHH in 1997 and later served as treasurer and state chapter coordinator.  She served as president of the Tampa SHHH Chapter in 1998.  She was a member of a consumer and service provider group, collectively referred to as “The Summit” that successfully advocated for the Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  Ms. Borzell is a member of the Hearing Loss Association of Tampa chapter and serves on the Hearing Loss Association of Florida board of trustees.  She represents HLA-FL on the TASA (Telecommunication Access Systems Act) Advisory Committee, which advises the Florida Public Service Commission on the telecommunication needs of the hard of hearing, Deaf and Deaf-blind in Florida.

During her nine years with Deaf and Hearing Connection of Tampa Bay, as a case manager and a community education specialist, Ms. Borzell worked with senior citizens with hearing loss, facilitated speech reading and communication strategies classes and initiated and coordinated various workshops for people with hearing loss in the workplace.  She is a graduate of the Hearing Loss Association of America Academy of Hearing Loss Support Specialists. 

Committees:  Ms Borzell serves on the Executive Committee, the Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award, and the Marketing and Development Committees.  She has been a member of the board since 2005.

Francis Beecher

Francis Beecher is retired after 27 years as a successful businessman and 15 years as a hearing instrument specialist.  He has a hearing loss and has been a member of HLAA (SHHH) since 1982.  He is a past president of the Sarasota HLAA Chapter.  He is a member of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Tampa, Florida, AG Bell group, the International Hearing Society, and the American Auditory Society.

Mr. Beecher is a strong advocate for improving the design and manufacture of hearing aids and has authored many articles on this topic.  In addition to advocacy skills, he brings to the board experience in board policy, marketing, audiology, cochlear implants and hearing assistive technology.

Committees:  Mr. Beecher serves on the Advocacy Committee.  He has been on the board since 2005.

Linda Bryan

Linda Bryan studied political science at Miami University, Oxford, OH.  She has attended local and national conferences on fundraising and has held certificates as a professional in the fund-raising field.She has worked as a fundraising consultant for nearly 25 years specializing in resident management for capital campaigns.She has helped institutions position themselves in the philanthropic marketplace through feasibility studies and leadership cultivation programs.  Ms. Bryan has volunteered in more than 20 not-for-profit organizations and held leadership positions in more than half of them.  She is a frequent speaker on a variety of subjects including hearing loss. 

Ms. Bryan currently serves as president of the HLAA Central Ohio Chapter and is co-chair of sponsorships for the HLAA Walk4Hearing.  She has a hearing loss in her right ear due to Meniere’s disease and a hearing loss in her left ear as a result of trauma in 2005.  Ms. Bryan was appointed to the Board of Trustees in November 2007 as a member-at-large.  She is now seeking a seat on the Board as a regional representative for the Midwest Region.

Committees:  Ms. Bryan serves on the Marketing and Development, and Advocacy Committees.  She has been on the board since November of 2007.

David Crocker                                                                      

David Crocker has been a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America since 1992 when he became involved with the SHHH Young Adults Group.  He was a charter member of the Annapolis, Maryland Group, serving as newsletter editor, vice-chair and chair.  He served on the local organizing committee as fundraising chair for the 1994 SHHH Convention in Baltimore.  After moving to Virginia, he became active in the Northern Virginia Chapter, serving as co-president and later on its steering committee.  He is currently the Hearing Loss Association of America representative on the Virginia Relay Advisory Council, and was the chair of the Council for more than three years.

Mr. Crocker has been active as an advocate, participating in Hearing Loss Association of America advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, and with the Northern Virginia Community Roundtable, a coalition of Deaf and hard of hearing groups that advocate in the Virginia General Assembly for increased funding for communication access, outreach funding, and hearing aid insurance coverage.  He was part of the first Northern Virginia Regional Conference on Hearing Loss, assisted with Sam Trychin’s Coping with Hearing Loss Workshops and has co-presented other workshops at Hearing Loss Association national conventions.  Mr. Crocker is also a director of the board of the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons, and has served one term as chair. 

Committees:  Mr. Crocker is a South Region representative to the board.  He serves on the Finance Committee and the Families-Young Adults Committee, and chairs the Marketing and Development Committee.  He is a member of the Planning Strategy Work Group.  He has been on the board since 2004.

Vic M. Matsui

In his professional career, Vic M. Matsui, was assigned to the American embassies of six foreign countries, often dealing with the senior most members of the respective governments and societies in matters of policy differences.  He was a member of the Lions International Movement where he was engaged in fundraising to help indigent people.  He is a member and past president of the Williamsburg HLAA chapter.  He currently edits the chapter newsletter.  He also serves as the Virginia state chapter coordinator. 

Mr. Matsui represents HLAA on the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation ADA Advisory Committee and Virginia Advisory Council for the Mental Health for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Late Deafened and Hard of Hearing People.  Mr. Matsui brings experience to the board in advocacy, health, fundraising and leadership.  He is the 2007 Hearing Loss Association Annual Fund Chair.

Committees:  Mr. Matsui serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award Committee.  He is also a member of the Policy, Marketing and Development, Chapter-National Partnership committees, and is a member of the Planning Strategy Workgroup.  He has been a member of the board since 2005.

Richard P. Melia, Ph.D.

Richard P. Melia, Ph.D., retired in May 2006 as director, Division of Research Sciences, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education.  Dr. Melia worked for the federal government on disability and rehabilitation research, training, and policy for 36 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northeastern University and his master’s and Ph.D. degrees from University of Massachusetts- Amherst with an emphasis in public administration and public health.  The National Rehabilitation Association named. Dr. Melia as the Mary E. Switzer Scholar in 1984. He served as consulting editor for three major rehabilitation publications during his career (American Rehabilitation, Journal of Rehabilitation Administration, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation). He authored or co-authored numerous studies, reports, and peer reviewed articles. He helped shape numerous interdisciplinary, interagency, international, and intergovernmental activities and research initiatives addressing rehabilitation, independent living, and disability policy.

Dr. Melia served as president of his neighborhood civic association in Arlington, VA, and was honored by the Arlington School Board for volunteer service on college admissions to Wakefield High School. He served on a study group that led to Arlington’s Commission on Physically Disabled Persons. He has been active in his church’s federal credit union as a member of the board of directors and chair, Supervisory (audit) Committee. Dr. Melia joined the board of directors of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA) in June, 2006. 

Dr. Melia was appointed an Oak Ridge Associated Universities (OARU) Fellow in October 2006 to participate in reviews of electrophysiology and electrical stimulation research for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Medical devices that rely on electrophysiology and electrical stimulation include cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, retinal stimulators for blindness, cochlear implants, middle ear hearing devices, spinal cord stimulators, and peripheral nerve stimulators.   Dr.  Melia has been a binaural hearing aid user for 14 years. His mother had a hearing loss and his sister is also a hearing aid user.

Committees: Dr. Melia serves on the Policy Committee, the Rocky Stone Scholarship Committee, and the Advocacy Committees.  He has served on the board since June of 2007.

Steve Noroian

Steve Noroian is serving a second term as a regional representative.  He is a registered investment advisor and the owner and chief investment officer of Noroian Capital Management.  He is a member of the Security Analysts Society, the World Trade Club and the Olympic Club, all of San Francisco.  He currently is a member of the board of trustees for the Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California.  Mr. Noroian holds a MBA from Golden State University. 

Mr. Noroian has served as both president and vice president of the Diablo Valley HLAA Chapter.  He has been active in fundraising and has served on various committees.  He has a strong background in finance and budgeting and is committed to long range planning and bringing younger adults into the organization.  He is soon to receive a cochlear implant.

Committees:  Mr. Noroian is the West Region representative to the board.  He serves on the Finance, Nominating and Board Development, and Marketing and Development Committees.  He has been on the board since 2003.

Tommie Wells

Tommie Wells is a graduate of All Saints Hospital School of Nursing as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN), and holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Texas at Arlington and a certificate of completion for post baccalaureate studies in medical technology from Tarleton State University.  She is retired as a medical technologist from Plaza Medical Center.  She is a founding member and past president of the HLAA Fort Worth Chapter.  She served as Texas State coordinator from 1995 – 2001.  She was coordinator of the pilot 2006 HLAA Walk4Hearing. 

Ms. Wells has served on numerous boards and committees at the local, state and national levels.  She is a member of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and a lifetime member of the Texas Chapter of A.G. Bell.  She is a recent appointee to the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities.  She is a cochlear implant wearer and has a daughter who has a hearing loss and uses bilateral behind-the-ear hearing aids.  Ms. Wells brings to the board experience in advocacy, education, cochlear implants, leadership, mental health issues and parent and family involvement.

Committees:  Ms. Wells is a South Region representative to the board.  She chairs the Policy Committee and the Rocky Stone Scholarship Committee.  She also serves on the Nominating and Board Development Committee, and Families-Young Adult Committee.  She is a member of the Planning Strategy Workgroup.  Ms. Wells has been on the board since 2003.