Chapter Bios

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1827634341376070

Officers

• Dianna Landers (Co-Leader)
• Linda Marple (Co-Leader)
  ALDAMerrimackValley@gmail.com

About Us

ALDA ~ Merrimack Valley is a group within the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA), dedicated to supporting individuals with hearing loss at any stage of life. Originally established in 2018 as the Hearing Loss Journey Meetup, our group has grown into a strong and welcoming community. In December 2024, we officially merged with ALDA, expanding our reach and resources to better serve members in Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts and beyond.

Our Mission

Following ALDA’s motto, “Whatever Works,” we embrace diverse communication strategies and foster an inclusive space for individuals with hearing loss. Our mission is to provide resources, encouragement, and opportunities for connection, education, and fun.

Activities & Goals

We host monthly gatherings at accessible locations, offering a mix of social and advocacy-focused events, including:
    •    Game Nights: A fun way to connect and socialize.
    •    Movie Nights: Captioned films for accessible entertainment.
    •    Restaurant Nights: Shared meals in a supportive setting.
    •    Bowling Nights: Fun, fitness, and camaraderie.

Beyond social events, we are committed to raising awareness about hearing loss and providing resources to help individuals and families navigate their journeys. While based in Merrimack Valley, we welcome members from across Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.

Accomplishments

Since our founding, we have:
  
    •    Expanded outreach through events and partnerships.
    •    Created a safe space for sharing experiences and strategies for thriving with hearing loss.

Join us as we embrace hearing loss with strength, humor, and resilience!

https://ALDA.org

Officers

• Leader:  Laura Sinclair (also ALDA Inc. Board President 2023-2024, Past President 2025-2026)
  ALDAseacoastNH@gmail.com
• Treasurer: Linda Bieber
• Founding members: Joan Marcoux (ALDA Inc. Chapter/Group Chair, Eleanor Shafer (former ALDA Inc. Regional Director 2016-2017)

Join us!  Membership is encouraged but not required for both Seacoast NH Group and ALDA National.

ALDAcon (yearly convention) moves around the country each Fall…2025 is in Denver, CO! The karaoke night is not to be missed!!

ALDA Seacoast NH is a group under the national organization Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) established in 2018.  Though central NH enjoyed an active hearing loss group with origins prior to 2000, participants identified the need to champion a reinvigorated direction which led to aligning with the ALDA structure and philosophy of using “whatever works!” to support personal growth.  The leadership and home base were shifted to the seacoast area in order to utilize a variety of available meeting spaces but with a goal of having multiple host locations throughout the state.  This allowed more participation for those traveling from Maine and Massachusetts.

The ALDA mission is to work through whatever means are available in tandem with similar minded organizations to reach individuals, with their service providers and educators, to foster understanding of the communication strategies available to address each person’s unique communication needs as both arenas intersect and evolve.   As an all-volunteer non-profit, ALDA lends support to its Chapters and Group throughout the US and Canada yet maintains international presence with membership at International Federation of the Hard of Hearing (IFHOH).  Participation is open to any adult who supports the common needs of those with hearing loss from any origin, degree or strategy used, late-deafened or not.  Both CART and ASL are encouraged for communication access where feasible.  Positive mentoring does wonders for helping each of us achieve goals in our health, families and careers! 

Recognizing we each have different needs and availability, we offer a variety of events.  Sometimes we just need to have some fun, let our hair down and be seen!  Here is a sample of past events:

• Hosting or attending strategy workshops
• Technology practice
• Advocacy initiatives
• Social events

https://ALDA.org
ALDASouthernMaine@gmail.com

Officers

• Debra Bare-Rogers, Group Leader
• Scott Murray
• Chris Rogers

This hearing loss group is just getting started! They plan to meet several times a year, both in-person and online. Stay tuned for upcoming gatherings.

https://hlaa-boston.org/
hlaaboston@gmail.com

Officers:

• President: Kerry Sullivan
• Vice President: Sue Schy
• Treasurer: Carol Agate
• Technology:   Brad McKenna
• Social Media & Meetings: Jonathan Ozek

The HLAA Boston Chapter traces its beginnings back to 2004 when Harvard student Patrick Holkins made the decision to manage his hearing loss more openly and actively after completing an internship at HLAA’s offices in Bethesda MD.  He founded  Hear@Boston focused on empowering those with hearing loss by facilitating opportunities for social engagement, education and skill development. With Harvard campus meetings and many off-site socials, the organization thrived under the leadership of a group of committed young adults, many still involved with HLAA today.

Over time the Boston Chapter evolved to increasingly include working and retired adults from the greater Boston area. The Boston chapter’s mission, however, has stayed largely the same: to provide the information, support, community, and advocacy to help those with hearing loss communicate better and live fuller lives.

To accomplish this mission HLAA Boston offers informational monthly meetings, a robust website, a Q&A blog, a newsletter, online individual support via email, social events, and outreach to senior centers. We advocate for the HOH/Deaf community through social media, our Boston Walk4Hearing, local DEI events, partnering with similarly focused service organizations, and interacting with state/city officials on issues that impact us.

Monthly meetings are largely mid-month at 6pm via zoom, plus 2 in-person meetings. Schedule can be found on hlaa-Boston.org (HLAA Boston meeting schedule).

https://hearinglossmaine.org

Officers

• President – Pat Dobbs
• Secretary – Thomas Watson
• Treasurer – Margaret Myatt

The DownEast Chapter of Maine started in the fall of 2022. We cover the entire state, as Maine is sparsely populated. Most of our meetings are via Zoom, where we host guest speakers on topics such as hearing aid insurance options for Maine residents, smart glasses, how to handle the holidays and more. Our favorite thing to do is get together a couple times a year when the weather allows. We are beginning to find ways to participate in activities sponsored by Maine’s Division of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened and related support agencies. Lastly we were proud to be a weekend sponsor of the theater in Bucksport that has a hearing loop.

https://sites.google.com/view/hlaaeasternctchapter/home

Officers

• Janine Katomski, President
  hlaaeasternctchapter@gmail.com
• Kathy Cienkowski, Vice President, tech mgr, and newsletter editor
  cienkowski@uconn.edu
• Allegra E. Klein, Director of Advocacy
  Allegra.Klein@biz.uconn
• Robert Murphy, Secretary
  roberthmurphy99@gmail.com

In 2012, Eastern Connecticut HLAA was founded by Randy Kirsch. He made many professional contacts, held regular meetings with various interesting speakers. In 2019, he stepped down and Julia Garrick took his place. During Covid, all meetings were virtual.

In January 2023, Janine Katomski became president. She brought all the chapter records up to date with National HLAA, and restored regular in-person meetings, obtaining different speakers. She has been active in community – speaking about hearing loss at senior centers and Veteran’s coffeehouses. Her mission is to encourage the installation of hearing loops in Connecticut and has already persuaded three churches in her hometown (Norwich) to loop.

Meets the 3^rd Saturday of every month
(except July and August) at:
University of Connecticut  10-12 noon 
Phillips Building 2^nd floor conference room           
2 Alethia Drive Storrs, CT  06269   

https://www.facebook.com/HLAARI

Officers

• Betsy Beach, State Association Leader
  Betsybeach@verizon.net
•  Anne McDonald, Secretary

We are the Rhode Island State Association.  Rhode Island does not currently have chapters as our state is very small. One can get from Westerly, the southernmost town to northern Rhode Island towns, such as Smithfield, in less than a hour.

We typically have 4-5 meetings per year, with a professional CART provider.   The meetings are hybrid both meeting in person at the Warwick Public Library and some joining us on Zoom.

in 2024, we had five meetings:  

In January we had a meeting to welcome new members and to look back on where we have been.

In March the speaker was a Deaf woman, a cancer survivor herself, discussing the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Cancer Survivors Support Group. Some of us attended a Grief Workshop that they sponsored.

In May we were treated to combination program and concert by Stu Nunnery, a well known singer and instrumentalist.  Stu had stopped playing when diagnosed with hearing loss. He told us about his long road back and how it was achieved.  At the end, he sung some of his songs and played piano.

In September we had a picnic.

In November we held a planning meeting.

Some popular meetings over the last few years have been:

Hearing Loops:  This featured one of the two persons who set up hearing loops in locations throughout the state, including four in the Rhode Island State House.

Panel on Meniere’s Disease: Several of our members talked about their experience with Meniere’s Disease.

“Hear Music Again” :  One of our members, a former professional singer, talked about the “hard of hearing friendly” internet radio station that she has set up.

A showing of a video on Communication Strategies, featuring four audiologists, two of whom are deaf or hard of hearing themselves. 

hearinglosssemass@gmail.com.

Officers

• Sandy Spekman, President
• Mallori George, VP
• Linda Maloney, Secretary
• Matt Ferrara, Treasurer

The HLAA Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter (formerly the HLAA Plymouth Chapter) began in 2015.  We had bimonthly meetings at the Plymouth Public Library until 2020 when COVID hit.  We stopped meeting in person but had Zoom meetings at least twice a year until March, 2025 when our chapter was revived with bimonthly hybrid meetings.  A March 11 meeting was on cochlear implants and hearing aids.  A May 15 meeting will be a Show and Tell What Helps You Hear Better in Noisy Situations.  A summer swimming pool party is planned for July.  The chapter was barely in existence during COVID but now it’s going strong with a board of officers and planning committee of three others.

Some of the reasons why we changed the name from the Plymouth Chapter to Southeast Massachusetts Chapter is we decided to move our meetings around to cover more locations in Southeastern Massachusetts than just Plymouth.  The March meeting was in Duxbury, MA; a May meeting is scheduled for Middleborough, MA; and a fall meeting is planned on Cape Cod. 

https://vthearingloss.weebly.com/?
https://www.facebook.com/HLAAVT
VermontHLAA@yahoo.com

Officers

• Chair of the Steering Committee – Charlea Baker dkayak@vermontel.net
• Communications Coordinator/Secretary – Carol DeVine
• cgosedevine@yahoo.com
• Treasurer – Fra DeVine fpdevine10@gmail.com

The Vermont Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America* was officially launched in 2014.  After several attempts to organize in-person meetings for the chapter, the founding members decided that communicating via the internet was the way to go.  Gathering people for meetings from throughout our rural state did not seem to be a viable option, especially when the weather during so many months made traveling long distances difficult, if not impossible.  Currently, we meet each month on the last Wednesday via Zoom at 12:00 noon.  One month is a Steering Committee meeting and then the next month is a full Chapter meeting.