The Foundation for Hearing and Speech Resources Associate Board is comprised of young adults directly affected by hearing loss, either personally or professionally. We proudly have some of the first generation of cochlear implant recipients sitting on our Associate Board, guiding and giving back. In addition, our dedicated Associate Board members are early intervention experts, teachers of the deaf/ hard of hearing in both private and public schools in Illinois, and professionals with a family connection to hearing loss. Through their mentorship program and community gatherings, the Associate Board works to create connections for kids with hearing loss.
A Huge thank you to the Little Owl Social Pub 3747 Grand Blvd, Brookfield IL for hosting Cheers and Beers for Ears – The Associate Board Fundraiser for Loaner Hearing Aid Banks throughout Chicagoland.Â
We exceeded all expectations and have already raised over 14,000.00!!
You can still Donate and Help kids with Hearing LossÂ
THE ASSOCIATE BOARD
Sabrina Barkal - Associate Board
Sabrina received her B.S in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign. She currently is a graduate student at Rush University pursuing her masters in Speech Language Pathology. Sabrina is passionate about working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing as well as a multitude of other language deficits, along with their families. She has volunteered with Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Lurie Children’s Hospital, as well as Carle Hospital with children who are deaf or hard of hearing.Â
Laura Conway, J.D. - Associate Board
Ms. Conway, a recent graduated of William & Mary Law School, serves as a legal advocate for individuals with disabilities with Illinois Legal Aid. As one of the first generation of children with hearing loss to receive a Cochlear Implant, Ms. Conway has worked tirelessly to assure equity and parity for all individuals. Happy to be back in Chicago, Ms. Conway looks forward to continuing her work on special education and disability rights while she serves on the Associate Board.
EmilyAnn Duffley - Associate Board
EmilyAnn Duffley is an aspiring pediatric audiologist who has special interests in cochlear implants, newborn hearing testing, and music perception. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Audiology at Northwestern University, where she served as the campus representative for the Illinois Academy of Audiology. She will be completing her externship at Child’s Voice in Wood Dale during the 2021 to 2022 school year. EmilyAnn earned dual degrees in Speech and Hearing Sciences and Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019.
Katie Farnsworth- Co-Chair
Katherine Farnsworth, AuD CCC-AÂ
Katie completed her doctorate in Audiology in 2015 from Rush University Medical Center. Currently, she is a pediatric Audiologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, where she is on the cochlear implant team. Katie's lifelong ambition has been to work with children who have hearing loss; she was diagnosed with a bilateral severe hearing loss at age 2. Katie is passionate about planning events that children with hearing loss are able to connect with others. When not at the hospital, Katie enjoys spending time with her growing family and competing in triathlons.
Natalie Goldman - Associate Board
Natalie received her B.S. in Linguistics from Washington University in St. Louis with a minor in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She currently works for Henry Crown and Company and is involved in the firm’s venture investments in the healthcare sector. Natalie is passionate about working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. She has volunteered with the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, the Child’s Voice School in Chicago, and the Thirty Million Words Project at the University of Chicago.
Haley Gubbins - Associate Board
Haley Gubbins majored in Special Education – Specialist in Deaf and Hard of Hearing with a minor in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Illinois State University in May of 2017. She is currently a preschool teacher at Child’s Voice School in Woodale, Il. Haley is working on her Masters Degree in Special Education at Illinois State University. As a new Associate Board member, Haley is looking forward to planning events for children with hearing loss and their families. In her free time, Haley enjoys crafting and using her Cricut cutting machine. In addition to all of her other passions, she has created her own line of hearing loss decals!
Sarah Moats - Associate Board
Sarah Moats recently graduated from Indiana University in May 2020 with a major in Speech & Hearing Sciences. She worked alongside several Audiologists and conducted her own research exploring the physiological mechanisms of hearing in complex multi-talker environments. Although she is currently studying Speech-Language Pathology at Rush University, Sarah remains a passionate advocate for hard of hearing and deaf individuals. She is excited to join the FHSR Associate Board and continue to empower and create support groups for individuals with hearing loss.
Maura Mullen - Associate Board
Maura Mullen recently graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2020, where she double majored in communication sciences and disorders and Spanish. She is currently working towards her masters degree at Rush University Medical Center for Speech-language pathology. Maura is excited to join the associated board of FHSR to assist in creting a community support system for children with hearing loss and their families. As an aspiring Speech-language pathologist, Maura is also excited to help bring awareness about the speech and language development in children with hearing loss.
Danny Salzman - Associate Board
Danny Salzman received his B.S in Electrical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. For the past 10 years, he has worked for large companies and growing startups in the tech and industrial field focusing on Industrial IoT topics. He is currently a student at The University of Chicago Booth Business School. Danny enjoys the outdoors and long hikes with his wife, Melissa.
Brooke Sawyer, MA, MT-BC
Brooke Sawyer is a board-certified music therapist that has worked in schools conducting music therapy sessions in the classroom for the past two years. Her main contract is with CASE education collaborative in DuPage County. She received her dual bachelor’s degree in music and psychology from the University of Chicago, and went on to receive her master’s in music therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She has a passion for research, including research on how music can benefit all children with varied abilities at the neural level.
Elise Sundberg - Associate Board
Elise Sundberg graduated with her B.S. in deaf education from Illinois State University. She is currently a teacher of the deaf at Child’s Voice School, a listening and spoken language program in Wood Dale, IL. Elise works in The Learning Center which involves teaching students ages 5-7 academic and self-advocacy skills to best prepare them to be successful in the future. In addition to teaching, Elise has also become involved with her school’s podcast called All Ears at Child’s Voice: A Hearing Loss Podcast where she enjoys connecting parents and professionals of children with hearing loss. In her free time, Elise enjoys traveling, reading, and biking around Lakeview in Chicago.
Kim Tasharski - Co-Chair
BE A PART OF IT ALL.
Join our Associate Board.
Looking for a way to connect with other young professionals in the Chicagoland area while giving back to a great cause? Volunteers for the FHSR Associate Board work collaboratively to create exciting events for deaf and hard of hearing children building a true support community for the families. Fun social gatherings and fundraising events to support loaner hearing aid programs round out the mission of the Board, which is made up of Members under 35 who have either been directly affected by hearing loss, work with deaf and hard of hearing children or have a desire to help Illinois children.
