Dr. Wyatte Hall is an assistant professor of public health sciences at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He directs the Visual Language Access and Acquisition Lab which studies the relationship between childhood language experiences and adult outcomes in deaf populations with a particular focus on the social and public health epidemic of language deprivation. He also co-directs the Future Deaf Scientists program, a STEM program for deaf high school students. Under the Deaf Child Resilience Center at Gallaudet University, he directs the language deprivation track. Dr. Hall has over 30 publications and book chapters, and is co-editor of the volume “Language Deprivation and Deaf Mental Health.”

Tim Markle is Director of the Youth Health Transition Initiative at the Waisman Center. He also serves as program outreach manager for the Children’s Resource Center-South, and as transition faculty for the Wisconsin Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities training program. He has been employed at the Waisman Center for over 15 years. He is nationally recognized leader in the areas of transition and family engagement. He is the father of two young adults with special health care needs. For special needs questions, Tim can be reached at tmarkle@wisc.edu.

Tim is also founder and director of Forgiveness Factor. Forgiveness Factor exists to promote forgiveness as a way to live mentally well. He teaches classes, workshops, and seminars and he speaks about the role of forgiveness in mental health, suicide prevention, and addiction recovery. He has spoken throughout Wisconsin, nationally, and internationally about forgiveness and his story of getting mentally well. For more information about forgiveness you can go to www.forgivenessfactor.org and you can contact Tim at tim@forgivenessfactor.org.

Cindy Camp is the Training Coordinator with The Described and Captioned Media Program.  She holds a Master’s degree in English, is a nationally certified interpreter, certified in mental health interpreting, as well as a C-Print captioninst and trainer.  She has provided access services for students who are deaf and hard of hearing for over 30 years.  

Sarah is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has worked with children and adults in residential, educational, home-based, clinic and community settings since 1997. She graduated from Valparaiso University with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and completed an advanced training program in Applied Behavior Analysis at Southern Illinois University.  Sarah provided individual and group services to clients/families with a wide range of needs throughout Indiana and Oregon while in private practice prior to relocating back to her home state of Wisconsin in 2013.  In 2014, after taking a year off to stay home with her daughter, Sarah worked for ABA of Wisconsin as a supervising behavior analyst.  She established Advance Behavior Consulting, LLC in 2018 where she provides training and direct treatment to children and adults at home, in the community and at school to increase prosocial behavior and improve skill deficits. Sarah specializes in teaching learning/language skills and programming for the reduction of severely disruptive behaviors. She works closely with families during the IEP process to help develop measurable objectives as well as to determine least restrictive and most effective school settings for learners. Sarah also provides a wide range of trainings on behavior analysis to school staff.  

Lynne H. Price is a twice National Board certified teacher with 37 years of teaching experience. She is certified in the areas of Hearing Impaired, K – 12 Regular Education, and Reading. She has worked in both residential and public school settings – preschool through high school, and in all settings – separate through itinerant. She is fluent in sign language and cued speech and is trained in listening and spoken language skills (LSLS). 

Ms. Price has served as an administrator for hearing impaired services in the 16th largest public school system in the nation, mentored staff, and developed programming and curriculum. She is the author of Steps to Success, COACH and co-author with Dr. Karen Anderson on Steps to Assessment and the e-magazine Teacher Tools.  She has spoken at both national and international conferences and was a guest instructor for the University of Ontario, Canada in the Audiology Training program in Doha, Qatar.

Carol Flexer, PhD, CCC-A, LSLS Cert. AVT, is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of

Audiology at The University of Akron and an international leader in pediatric and

educational audiology. As a speaker and author, Dr. Flexer has delivered hundreds of

presentations worldwide and published over 155 works, including 17 books. Dr. Flexer

has held prominent leadership roles as past president of the Educational Audiology

Association, the American Academy of Audiology, and the AG Bell Academy for Listening

and Spoken Language. In recognition of her contributions to research,

education, and advocacy for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, Dr. Flexer has

received numerous honors, including the Volta Award, the Professional of the Year

Award, and Honors of the Association from the Alexander Graham Bell Association; the

2012 Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Academy of Audiology; and

the Distinguished Alumni Award from Kent State University’s EHHS Hall of Fame.

LaWanda Brewer is a Teacher of the Deaf in the Francis Howell School District  in St. Charles, MO. She primarily focuses on K-5 needs, but supports students district wide through consultation and collaboration, as well as providing assistance in coordination with the district audiologist.  She inservices building staff annually to help meet the needs of her students, as well as inserviced the entire district transportation department in 2024 on communicating with children with hearing loss.

Mrs. Brewer is a proud Illinois State University alumni! She holds a Bachelor's Degree and is a National Board Certified Teacher.  She has taught in and maintains teaching certification in both Missouri and Illinois. In her 28 years as a TOD in public schools, she has taught students from the age of 3 through their high school graduation. She schedules and plans for support staff with her students, whether an interpreter or para for behavioral support, so all her students are successful. Mrs. Brewer’s impact has been evident in the district graduation ceremonies, creating a fully inclusive experience for those with hearing loss by making CART captions and ASL interpreters available on the Jumbotron in the Arena. Her impact has been so great she has even caught the eye of local appointed government officials. Additionally, LaWanda is a Parent Educator through the Missouri School for the Deaf and provides both in person and virtual home visits for families. 

Mrs. Brewer is a board member of the Illinois Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ITDHH) for many years and has also served as an educational consultant with the HLAA in the Greater St. Louis Area. She has presented at the ITDHH conference for a variety of topics through the years.  She works with other professionals in her area and in other states to collaborate and support needs for the Deaf in the community. Mrs. Brewer has planned the regional Deaf Storyteller school event for the St. Louis Storytelling Festival for 19 years to create opportunities for her DHH students to meet and look up to Deaf adults, as well as develop their sense of pride in who they are. During Covid, she met the challenge to help implement a virtual event that was viewed by Deaf children worldwide! Mrs. Brewer provides opportunities for parents to improve their communication skills by teaching sign language classes in the community and planning monthly events to allow parents to meet and interact with Deaf adults. Early in her career, Mrs. Brewer has also provided both coaching and interpreting services for a variety of sports for Deaf youth.