Speaker Bios

Barbara Kelley is the executive director of the Hearing Loss   Association of America (HLAA), a non-profit organization whose  mission is to provide information, education, support, advocacy  in the importance of hearing health, accessible communication  through legislation, public policy, a network of chapters and state  organizations. As HLAA’s chief executive officer since March 2016,  Ms. Kelley is the primary spokesperson and is responsible for over  seeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the  in chief and director of publications, for Hearing Life Magazine,  since 1988. Through printed and digital media, she has influenced  attitudes, established lexicon, and shared credible and timely   information about hearing health. She also served as HLAA’s  deputy executive director from 2008-2016, managing programs. She has served on boards and coalitions, such as; National  Institutes of Health Council of Councils, Federal Communications Commission Disability Advisory Committee, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Consumer Nominating Organization, Hearing  Restoration Research Program panel member, Cochlear Implant  Int’l Community of Action, National Institute on Deafness and  Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council (NIH) and the  External Advisory Committee of the National Center for Deaf   Health Research, University of Rochester Medical Center.

Melissa Kruse joined the HLAA after organizing the HLAA 2023 Melissa Kruse Convention in New Orleans. With more than 20 years of event planning, government relations, community outreach, and business administration experience, she previously served as director of external operations for the local organizing committee of NCAA 2018 Women’s Final Four, in Columbus, Ohio. She was deputy  director of transportation for the 2016 Democratic National Convention Committee (DNC) in Philadelphia, responsible for moving 45,000 participants each day. She spent two years in  the planning for Columbus’ bid to host the DNC. Melissa served as special advisor to the President of the United States and was director of outreach for the Office of the Special Envoy for the  Americas, during the Clinton administration. She has a B.A. in  journalism and political science from Baylor University and also studied public policy at Georgetown University.

Beth Wilson retired from Raytheon, where she worked for 33  years, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Worcester  Polytechnic Institute in their Master of Science in Systems  Engineering program. She was born with hearing loss and is a  lifelong advocate for people with disabilities. She’s been a member  of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) since 1986,  and was the Executive Director in 2001-2002. Beth has a Ph.D  in Electrical Engineering with research in speech processing, so  she actually understands how things work! She is experienced in explaining her hearing loss in a way that makes everyone   comfortable and entertained.

 After Pat attended her first HLAA National Convention, she was Pat Dobbs  in awe that people openly talked about their hearing loss and  showed off their hearing devices. This encouraged her to face her own hearing loss, after 40 years. She went on to start the  HLAA Morris County Chapter, in New Jersey. After that, she graduated from Gallaudet’s 2 year Peer Mentoring program. This  gave her the knowledge and confidence to give presentations, workshops, and to focus her coaching practice on people with hearing loss. She holds two positions: president of SayWhatClub (an int’l online hearing loss support organization) and president of HLAA Downeast Maine, with Margaret Myatt. Pat is also an   Inclusion Coach, working in hearing loss (Beingheard.Net), a writer for Hearing Health Foundation. She is grateful for he two cochlear implants that have helped her. 

Geoff Plant trained as a teacher of deaf children in Australia After several years, he joined the Nat’l Acoustic Laboratories in Sydney, in 1974, working with adults
with hearing loss. He developed, in the next 18 years, testing and training procedures for adults and children with hearing loss, and he observed programs with this, in Denmark and Sweden. He was encouraged to research lipreading, vibrotactile methods, speech production and the effects of hearing loss on speech production. He spent two decades working as researcher in the Speech
Communication Lab at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1992, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia, for his services to people with hearing loss. In 1993, he worked at M.I.T., in the U.S, for six years, as a visiting scientist. During that time, he also helped develop vibrotactile aids and was a speech teacher at Rhode Island School for the Deaf. In 1996, Geoff founded the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation, focusing on improving speech communication skills of people with hearing loss. He was a rehab specialist for Med-El, from 2001 to 2016, developing programs used in the UK, U.S, Europe and Asia. He also worked on projects that enhanced musical experiences of people with hearing
loss

Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Emanuelson has been a firefighter since 1988. Serving in New Hampshire, prior to going to Marlborough in 2022. He is married to Dianne and the father of 4 sons, 3 of them also firefighters. Jeff has been involved with fire prevention and community risk reduction initiatives for more than 27 years. His favorite quotes he uses are: “The best possible outcomes are the incidents that never occur”.

Andrea is a passionate advocate for people with hearing loss, dedicated to helping them lead full and connected lives through better use of hearing assistive technology (HAT). Her lifelong hearing loss, electrical engineering background, and N-CHATT training have shown her that effectively managing hearing loss often involves navigating a range of complex and sometimes challenging devices, especially in noisy environments. Over the past decade, Andrea has delved into the technical and human barriers to hearing clearly in difficult situations, striving to transform hearing loss from an isolating experience into one of acceptance, empowerment, and connection. She created the website gatheringsound.com as a resource to support this mission. Andrea serves as chair of the NH Advisory Committee for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to Voc Rehab and was appointed to the NH Interpreter Licensure Board. She gives presentations on hearing assistive technology, initiated a Museum of Science exhibit on hearing loss, and treasures her involvement in the HLAA Boston book group.

Andy, having had lifelong hearing loss, was fascinated by technology that assists in hearing better. The advent of computers and internet, involving texting, emails, captions, and apps, was very positive for him. But, the internet also has its dangers, so Andy has spent the last 17 years working in Cybersecurity, protecting clients against scams and cyber attacks. He enjoys hiking in the Maine woods with his wife, and e-biking along the southern Maine coast. In cold weather he is inside reading and watching sports on TV. Go Chiefs!

Julie DeMatteo-Lane is a career Special Education teacher. She holds an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education; Moderate Special Needs Education and Human Development from Boston College. Additionally, Julie holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education and a Graduate Certificate in Autism Advocacy, with a focus on navigating the judicial system for adults with disabilities. Julie is one half of the creative duo behind “Hearing Things with Julie and Brad”, a weekly YouTube video clip series where they aim to inform, educate, and entertain regarding various topics related to hearing loss, proving there is no one way to be Deaf/Hard of Hearing. Julie also writes and publishes a weekly blog, “Deaf, But Not Really”, where she captures personal and professional experiences related to her hearing loss navigating a world not designed with her needs in mind.

Brad failed his first hearing test at age five, but didn’t get his first hearing aids until he was twenty-three. Then, when he was thirty-three, he left his job as an applications analyst for Partners Healthcare, for a job as technology librarian for the Wilmington Memorial Library. You know -it’s that a librarian is the first job you’d think about, for a hard of hearing guy. He helped demystify technology for patrons, for over a decade. Recently, he started self identifying as hard of hearing and became a resource for patrons to learn about hearing loss and hearing aids. He is also the technology director for the HLAA Boston chapter and hopes to be a bridge between HLAA and libraries, to serve the deaf and hard of hearing community. Finally, he is one half of the creative duo behind “Hearing Things with Julie and Brad”, a weekly YouTube video clip series where they aim to inform, educate, and entertain regarding various topics related to hearing loss, proving there is no one way to be Deaf/Hard of Hearing.

Nini Silver is the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community Organizer at the Disability Policy Consortium. Nini has worked in the field of advocacy for the rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people for over 30 years.  In her previous tenure at DPC, she was the lead organizer for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Day at the Massachusetts State House. The Disability Policy Consortium is the leading disability rights organization in the state of Massachusetts.

Jonathan Ozek was born with hearing loss in his left ear and is deaf in his right ear. He became a member of the HLAA Boston Chapter in 2023, where he focuses on social media, community engagement, and advocacy for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Through his business, Listen Jonathan, he educates workplaces across the United States about accessibility and communication. Additionally, he serves on the Statewide Advisory Council (SAC) for the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and MassHealth Advisory Committee (MAC).