Chapter Leaders

Terry Bedard
TBedard40@aol.com

Inspired by her profoundly-deaf son, Terry Bedard has been the co-founder and president of Hear Here Hartford, since 2007. Terry works with the HHH Board of Directors to bring programs, speakers and events to community with the mission to empower teens and young adults with hearing loss.HHH collaborates with organizations serving people with hearing loss. Terry is a special education attorney helping disabled students to obtain proper appropriate placements and services. She is also on a legislative committee, advocating for laws supporting disabled children.

Janine Katomski
hlaaeasternctchapter@gmail.com

Janine was born with some residual hearing but a damaged auditory nerve, due to being given antibiotics. She was main streamed, and obtained a culinary school degree, then worked as a hospital chef for 33 years, doing catering and cafeteria cooking. She moved to Connecticut from New York City, and after Covid, became active in her Eastern Connecticut chapter. Her pet projects are getting venues to install hearing loops, and also educating people about auditory neuropathy (the kind of hearing loss that amplification can’t help to distinguish speech She loves to bake and cook for her family and 2 local churches. In addition to being HLAA Eastern CT chapter president Janine  helped organize this 2025 New England hearing loss conference.

Pat Dobbs
pat@coachdobbs.com

Pat attended her first HLAA national convention and was inspired by the open discussion and wearing of hearing aids  After 40 years, she became more active and started the HLAA  Morris County Chapter, in New Jersey. A few years later, she graduated from Gallaudet’s 2-year Peer Mentoring program. She gained the knowledge to give presentations, workshops, and focused her coaching practice on those with hearing loss. She is president of the SayWhatClub, an international online hearing loss support group, and also president of HLAAMaine  DownEast, along with Margaret Myatt. Pat is an inclusion  coach, specializing in hearing loss and staff writer for Hearing  Health Foundation.

Kerry Sullivan
irishmom617@gmail.com

Kerry has been an HLAA member since 2016, after attending an HLAA convention, which changed her life. She endured a hearing loss since childhood and obtained hearing aids in her 20s, to improve her professional life. Thirty years later, in her retirement, she went to another HLAA convention and it gave her new coping skills for her hearing loss. She went to more conventions, increased her networking and has worked to expand the role of HLAA Boston, in her community.

Sandy Spekman
sspekman@gmail.com

 Sandy started the HLAA Plymouth chapter 9 years ago. They  met regularly until Covid. The chapter had ZOOM meetings for  a few years, but has revived its activity. Since the 1980s, Sandy  has been an HLAA member. She started the New Jersey (Essex)  chapter from 1987 until 1992, and initiated the first NJ state  conference in 1991. She’s been to 20 national conventions and  helped plan the 2001 HLAA national convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She was a New York City teacher for the deaf and  

 hard of hearing. 

Laura Sinclair
aldaseacoastnh@gmail.com

Laura raised a loving family for 40 years, while her genetic deafness progressed. She worked in medical underwriting, landscape design and was self-employed in manufacturing. She is not fluent in ASL but uses CART, T-coil and Bluetooth technology with her cochlear implants. As a CODA and late-deafened adult, she strives to stay
updated on technology. She has directed ALDA for 12 years, went to many ALDAcons, and served as president and regional director for the last 4 years. She spent 12 years on the New Hampshire Commission for Hearing Loss and 6 years as the Oral/Deaf member on the NH Board of Licensure for Sign Language Interpreters. She worked with the commission and state legislators to pass the 2011 bill mandating private insurers to cover hearing aids for all ages. Her ALDA chapter also successfully passed a bill to provide funding incentives for CART reporters in New Hampshire.

Betsy Beach
betsybeach@verizon.net

Betsy has a B.A. in Urban Education from Brown University. She has worked in adult education, with emphasis on teaching math for twenty seven years. Betsy also served on the R.I. Commission  for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, for the last fourteen years. She is currently Secretary of the Commission. 

Carol DeVine
cgosedevine@yahoo.com

Carol obtained her degree from Albertus Magnus College, in New Haven, CT, Montessori training in London, and received an M.A. and Ed.M from Teachers College, Columbia University. Carol was a director on the Board of Guild of Independent Schools, part of the Accreditation Commission for the New York State Association of Independent Schools, as well as a Board member on the NYSAIS Board of Trustees. In 2011, Carol experienced sudden hearing loss. Prednisone didn’t help, and she now utilizes technology to assist her. In 2014, she helped form HLAA Vermont chapter. Seven people on a steering committee develop programming, advocacy work, provide support and resources for members, and push for legislation to those in Vermont with hearing loss.