H&V Board of Directors

Cheryl DeConde Johnson, Ed.D

Cheryl Johnson is co-founder of Hands & Voices and currently an educational consultant and advocate for deaf and hard of hearing children through the ADE-vantage, Audiology-Deaf Education vantage. I support and facilitate initiatives in deaf education and systems improvement with states, nationally, and internationally. My special interests include promoting outcomes for all children who are deaf and hard of hearing, language and communication access, and family involvement.

Anita Dowd

Anita Dowd has been profoundly deaf since early childhood and is Mom to two DHH adult daughters. A certified ADA coordinator, she is also the Executive Director at the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the previous president of Kentucky Hands & Voices.

Janet DesGeorges

Executive Director

Janet DesGeorges is a co-founder and is the current Executive Director of Hands & Voices since 2011. Janet is the mom of a now adult Deaf/Hard of Hearing daughter and has served as an advocate and parent representative in many systems, including EHDI, education, and community and national partnerships. She passionately Represents Hands & Voices philosophy and mission to the systems that serve families. Janet has a passion for leadership development so that H&V will continue support families for generations to come.

Tammy Breard, BA

Tammy Breard is one of the founding members of Connecticut Hands & Voices. Over the past 12 years she has held various positions within the Chapter, to include Guide By Your Side Coordinator and President. She was also a Regional Coordinator for Hands & Voices HQ. Tammy has been involved in advocacy for families with children who are deaf/hard of hearing in Connecticut for the past 12 years. She is the proud mom of two young adult children, one HOH and the other profoundly deaf.

Rashaun Davis, D.Min

Rashaun Davis is a 21st Century Advocate, Educator, and Strategist specializing in helping others maximize their potential so that they can maximize impact. A Multifaceted, strategic, and goal oriented professional with a passion for equity, Dr, Davis possesses over 20 years of experience working in training and development and leadership roles with varied populations. Dr. Davis considers himself a self-motivated, and energetic problem solver that places emphasis on inclusion, a drive for results, and leveraging innovation.

Leslie Manjarrez

Leslie is a born and raised California girl: Born in San Diego, raised in the Imperial Valley, now living in San Francisco. Leslie’s pronouns are she/her. Leslie is trilingual; English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. She possesses over 12 years of experience in Deaf education which spans infancy to adult within a variety of environments from in-person, in-home, in-school classrooms, and virtual online instruction. She currently works as a Teacher of the Deaf, Early Interventionist, Child Life Specialist, Interpreter and Co-Director of a Camp for Deaf Children. Leslie believes that children are as diverse as the cities we each live in and strives to continue to learn skills to best support them all with a lens of equity and justice within clinical and educational settings.

Luisa Gasco-Soboleski

Luisa Gasco-Soboleski is a third-generation deaf and a mom to two deaf adults and has three deaf grandchildren and a CODA grandson. Luisa lives in Southington, CT with her husband, Richard, ASD graduate and retired Assistant Supervisor in the Aircraft Inspection Department for Connecticut’s Pratt and Whitney. She is one of the founding members of Connecticut Hands & Voices. After her retirement as an Administrator at the American School for the Deaf, she became an advocate and parent representative in many different organizations such as Connecticut Association of the Deaf (as its President), EHDI and DeafBlind. Collaborating among organizations serving deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing individuals has been her biggest goal. She has a passion advocating for families and members of the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community throughout the state of Connecticut promoting legislative support for providing better services for them.

Lillian Diuble

Lillian Diuble is Deaf/hard of hearing and has a vision loss, causing her to be diagnosed with PRPS1. Lillian is the Accessibility Coordinator and a Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) Guide for Michigan Hands & Voices. She holds a degree in nonprofit administration and holds a credential as a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP). In addition to her work with Michigan Hands & Voices, she works with other nonprofit organizations. Including Diuble Family Vision, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Sonic Alert, and MI Prevention, just to name a few. Lillian is passionate about advocacy and accessibility for those that are Deaf or hard of hearing, and those with additional disabilities. She longs to make the world a more accessible place for all.

Tony

HQ Emeritas director

Tony is an involved dad, husband, and engineer. With his wife Jenny, they have two children: Their hearing son Austin and their Deaf daughter Dakota. Tony has a particularly strong passion for all children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing achieving Kindergarten Readiness and for those children to have the benefit of full family inclusion. Tony is the EHDI Family Leadership Award Winner 2024

Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, PhD

HQ Emeritas director

Harold Johnson, Ed.D

HQ Emeritas director

Dr. Harold Johnson, a former professor of special education at Michigan State University and Kent State University, has worked as a teacher, school administrator and university professor in the field of Deaf Education from 1971 until 2013. In 2006, Dr. Johnson initiated a nation-wide collaborative effort to understand, document, prevent and respond to the maltreatment of children with disabilities. This work included the collaborative development of the Hands & Voices O.U.R. Children Project and the 2018 CEC Policy on the Prevention of and Response to Maltreatment of children with disabilities.

Rick Hauan

HQ Emeritas director

Mr. Hauan has been involved in Deaf Education since the early 1990s. During his 30-plus year career, he built a statewide system of support for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Washington state in his role as Executive Director/CEO for the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth. Rick is committed to developing and growing local, state, and regional partnerships across in the United States designed to support children and families in educational settings. He has facilitated and co-facilitated several national groups including a group of professionals known as the Common Ground Project. Rick received his bachelor’s degree from Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD, master’s degree from Western Oregon University, and School Leadership and Administration Certificate from Western Washington University. He currently serves as Director Emeritus on the Board of Directors for Hands & Voices Headquarters. He is committed to working in partnership across a wide sector of the national community organizations to break down barriers for underserved communities and help children learn, grow, and thrive.