Commissioners[Dr. Patricia Freeman] [ Mr. Roger Auge] [ Ms. Melody Bock] [ Ms. Susan Brown] [Ms. Cristal Collins] [Ms. Nina Coyer] [Ms. Dodie Karr] [Mr. Kevin Martin] [Mrs. Helen Mountjoy] [Ms. Michelle Niehaus] [Ms. Edie Ryan] [Mr. Bob Stuckey] [Ms. Betty Timon] [Ms. Merle Williams] |
Dr. Patricia Freeman is the current Chair of the Commission. She is the Member At-Large. She has been appointed by the Commission to serve until June 30, 2009. Dr. Freeman is the mother of two hard of hearing children. Dr. Freeman holds her doctorate in pharmacology and currently serves as a part-time faculty member at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and as a community-based faculty member for the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. 
Roger Augè II, 65, is married with one son and lives in Covington, Kentucky. He is a teacher in the Covington Independent Public Schools system and is a part-time substance abuse counselor for Transitions, Inc. As a commissioner, Roger represents AARP, appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear for a term through 2011. In 1980-1983, Roger was an administrative assistant for Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. Roger’s careers include news reporting and public relations. He is experienced in farm work, taxicab driving, bicycle racing, archery competition, and tasted an Alaskan winter in 1970. In 2001, he worked as a technical inspector at the Indianapolis 500. Roger’s wife, Jane Stephens Augè, is a sales consultant with a Greater Cincinnati advertising specialties company.
Melody T. Bock is currently the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher at Jessie Clark Middle School and Lafayette High School for Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. She was appointed by the Commission members to serve a three-year term as Service Provider on the Commission Board beginning July 1, 2007. Her term ends June 30, 2010.
Susan Brown received her MA in audiology from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1990. She has been the audiologist and a lecturer in the areas of audiology and aural rehabilitation at Murray State University for ten years. Prior to coming to Murray, Ms. Brown worked as a rehabilitative audiologist for the Australian Hearing Services. Ms. Brown's term expires June 30, 2010.
Cristal Collins was appointed by the Commission to serve as Parent Representative effective July 1, 2005. She is the parent of a toddler daughter who has a mild to moderate hearing loss. Ms. Collins has been involved in the First Steps Program with her daughter, Morgan, since Morgan was eight months old. Ms. Collins is very proactive in learning about services for her daughter and in becoming involved in the programs and services for the deaf and hard of hearing in the state. She has recently joined the Support Network for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children. Ms. Collins will serve her term until June 30, 2008.
Nina Coyer was appointed by the Governor as a representative for the Kentucky Association of the Deaf (KAD). Ms. Coyer received her B.S. and MAeD from Eastern Kentucky University in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education. Formerly, Ms. Coyer was a teacher at the Kentucky School for the Deaf and presently is an Assistant Professor at her alma mater, EKU, in the Interpreter Training Program. Ms. Coyer was the first deaf professor to be tenured in the state of Kentucky. She was also appointed by the Governor to be one of the first board members for the Kentucky Licensure Board for Interpreters. Ms. Coyer's term will expire June 30, 2010.
Dodie Karr was appointed by the Governor as a representative of the Kentucky Association of the Deaf (KAD). She is a graduate of Kentucky School for the Deaf. She is the Maintenance Supervisor at Berea College and currently resides in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. Her term expires June 30, 2009.
J. Kevin Martin serves on the Commission by law as the President of Kentucky Association of the Deaf. He has served three terms on the Commission from 1987 - 1994. A graduate of the Kentucky School for the Deaf, Kevin currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky. He will serve a two-year term until June 30, 2009.
Secretary Mountjoy was appointed to the position of Secretary of the Education Cabinet by Governor Beshear on December 11, 2007. Immediately prior to her appointment as Education Secretary, Mountjoy was vice-president of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, where she worked primarily in the areas of workforce development and education. Her term on the Commission is based on law and does not have an expiration date. 
Michelle Niehaus, LCSW is the Statewide Coordinator for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services at the Division for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addiction Services. Through collaboration, training, advocacy, and outreach, she strives to create a linguistically and culturally affirmative system of mental health care in the state. Michelle previously worked as a therapist with Seven Counties Services, Inc. coordinating their mental health program and at Deaf Network in Indiana as a clinician. She is currently the chair of the mental health Special Interest Section of ADARA.
Edie Ryan is a native of Chicago, IL who now resides in Paducah, KY. She is a licensed interpreter certified by the National Association of the Deaf and has worked as an educational interpreter for the past 22 years. She also does private practice interpreting in the Western Kentucky area and is active in the Deaf community. Edie has served on the West Kentucky Deaf Alumni Board and mentors several interpreters in the state of Kentucky. Edie is currently President of the Kentucky Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
Bob Stuckey is from Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Stuckey graduated in 1972 with a B.A. Degree in Sociology from Gallaudet University. Mr. Stuckey was a former Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and an Outreach Coordinator for the Kentucky Relay Service. He currently serves as a Community Support Specialist for Rauch, Inc. Interpreting Service in New Albany, Indiana. Mr. Stuckey is a member of many organizations that serve the deaf and hard of hearing population in Kentucky including the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Kentucky Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Kentucky Association of the Deaf and a Kentucky Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (formerly Self Help for Hard of Hearing), Black Deaf Advocates, National Association of the Deaf and Bluegrass American Sign Language Teacher's Association. Mr. Stuckey also teaches GED classes for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Mr. Stuckey's term will expire June 30, 2010.
Betty Timon, from Northern Kentucky, was appointed by the Governor for a three year term which ends on June 30, 2008. She has served on the Commission since June of 1995. She is an advocate for deaf and hard of hearing persons, and is also a member of a Kentucky Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (formerly Self Help for the Hard of Hearing). Her service on the Boards of the Kentucky chapters of HLAA and AARP keeps her active and busy. 
Merle Williams was appointed by the Governor and has represented the Alexander Graham Bell Association (AGB) since June of 1997. Her term will expire June 30, 2009. Ms. Williams comes from a very strong oral background and is actively involved in A.G. Bell. She is from Louisville, Kentucky.