John Tracy Center – The leading diagnostic and education center for young children with hearing loss

Annie Levine

Annie Levine is responsible for developing and implementing plans to achieve John Tracy Center’s fundraising goals. She is tasked with securing vital private funds that account for 82% of JTC’s budget. In addition to overseeing all development initiatives, Annie also helps manage communications, outreach, and events. During her career, Annie has worked exclusively in non-profits centered around supporting children and families. A Los Angeles native, Annie received a B.A. in Communication with a double minor in Spanish and ‘Children and Families in Urban America’ from the University of Southern California. She later returned to USC to receive her Masters in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.

Cecilia Vanin

Cecilia Vanin is JTC’s Chief Operating Officer that manages all internal business operations, oversees the daily operational functions of John Tracy Center, including commercial and financial operations and systems, information technology, educational contracts, facilities as well as Audiological services. Ms. Vanin also works closely with our external accountant, benefits company and with all business related to the Board of Directors. She has been working at the Center since 1993 in various capacities. In addition, she worked as Technology Director and as Network Administrator. As COO is she part of the Executive Team that drives the overall John Tracy Center strategy. She holds a degree in Elementary Education with a specialization in Teaching English as a Second Language from the Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires (UCA) and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Bridgette Klaus, LSLS Cert AVT

Bridgette is JTC’s Chief Programs Officer that manages the Educational Services, Counseling, Child Development, Worldwide Parent Education and Graduate Programs. Bridgette has experience teaching in the preschool classroom, working with students in the mainstream as an itinerant teacher, and providing private therapy as a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. She has also taught graduate level classes, both onsite and online for our distance students. As the CPO, she is part of the Executive Team which drives the overall coordination of program services throughout the organization. Bridgette completed her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a minor in Special Education at Loyola Marymount University and then received a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Southern California/John Tracy Center. Bridgette has over 20 years of experience working in Listening and Spoken Language Deaf Education, holds a California Credential as an Education Specialist: Deaf and Hard of Hearing and is a Listening Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist (LSLS Cert AVT).

Mary D. McGinnis

Mary has taught children with hearing loss for 50 years in a variety of settings using various approaches, including Auditory-Verbal, Auditory-Oral, Cued Speech, and Total Communication. Her academic preparation includes four degrees (BA in English and MA in Education, California State University, Los Angeles; MA in Linguistics and Cand PhD in Linguistics, University of Southern California), four California credentials (Elementary, Secondary: English, DHH, and Administrative Services), and four certifications (Listening and Spoken Language Specialist: Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist, Council on Education of the Deaf: Elementary and Secondary Education, Supervision of Elementary and Secondary Education, and NECCI Trainer). She has published and presented on various topics, including auditory skill development (the Auditory Skills Curriculum), speech, sex education, sociolinguistics in child language, and cochlear implants in children (The NECCI Inservice Curriculum). Mary joined JTC in 1995, serving for 10 years as supervisor of speech and language services in the preschool, and mentoring in auditory-verbal therapy. She was Director of the JTC Graduate Program from 2003-2017. She currently teaches the auditory-verbal courses in the program.

Vicki Ishida

Vicki Ishida completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from USC and a Master of Science degree in Communication Handicapped/DHH from USC/John Tracy Clinic. She holds California lifetime credentials in both multi-subject elementary education and DHH education. Vicki continues to work in the field of deaf education, with 39 years of experience in clinical, public, and private education; she was also the Head of Echo Center for 21 years. Vicki held a LSLS Auditory-Verval Therapist certification fior 20 years and has served on the boards of OPTION Schools and the California Chapter of AGBell.

Jerome Ammer

Jerry is Professor Emeritus and former Director Language, Literacy and Special Education Programs at the University of San Diego, has been a special educator for over 40 years. He taught special education in the Chicago Public Schools before receiving his doctorate in special education and rehabilitation at Boston College. After working at Boston Children Hospital, Rhode Island College and Long Island University he settled in San Diego. In addition to serving as President of the Council for Learning Disabilities, California Council for Exceptional Children and governing board of the Council for Exceptional Children, he has published extensively in special education. He is co-author of several tests including the Birth to Three Test with Tina Bangs. Jerry teaches the research methods course for both the Onsite and Distance Learning Programs.

Angie Stokes

Director of Graduate Instruction and Teacher Development
DHH Graduate Program

Angie graduated from Loma Linda University with a bachelor’s degree in child development and family sciences, and worked as a general education teacher for a year before completing the master’s program at the University of Southern California in education/deaf education. Angie completed a second master’s degree in special education at the University of San Diego, where she conducted research on parents’ satisfaction with telepractice. Angie has a clear DHH credential with authorizations in autism spectrum disorders and English learners. Angie has worked at John Tracy Center for 30 years, first as a teacher for 9 years, then as Director of Education Services for 21 years. As Director of Education Services, Angie provided the vision and supervision in John Tracy Center listening and spoken language programs, including early intervention, preschool, and itinerant services. Angie created John Tracy Center Bilingual Program in 2007 to serve the growing numbers of Spanish-speaking families. Her own bilingual skills are in demand as a speaker at local, national, and international conferences, as well as in the JTC Talks telepractice program that reaches families around the world. Presentation topics include parent empowerment, bilingual education, development of listening and spoken language skills, and mainstreaming.

Bridget Scott-Weich

Director of Graduate Programs and Administration
DHH Graduate Program

Bridget was born in Jamaica, completing her bachelor’s degree in geography at the University of the West Indies. She earned her multiple subject credential at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, and taught bilingual classrooms in local school districts for 14 years. Bridget earned her MSEd in Communication Handicapped from the University of Southern California/John Tracy Center. She completed her doctorate in Language and Literacy at USC with a dissertation that explored scaffolded writing in deaf children. In addition to these degrees, Bridget is a National Board Certified teacher who holds credentials and certificates in administration and language development. She taught DHH students and their families in Los Angeles Unified School District for over 20 years, where she also directed a multi-year project to improve listening and spoken language services in the DHH program. She also served as educational liaison at the House Children’s Hearing Center at UCLA for 3 years. Bridget has presented and published on literacy, language, auditory-verbal strategies, and parent involvement. Bridget has mentored candidates toward certification as Listening and Spoken Language Specialists, and serves on the Review Committee for the A.G. Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language.

Diana Cadigan, LSLS Cert. AV.Ed.

Diana is an Educational Specialist for Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and is a Listening and Spoken Language Certified Auditory Verbal Educator (LSLS Cert. AV.Ed.). Diana has been in the field of Deaf Education for 14 years. She is currently a DHH Specialist/Itinerant Teacher for a large local public-school district. She works with 14 schools providing support for students with hearing loss as well as their classroom teachers and school administrators to ensure accessibility in all academic programs. Diana Cadigan is a leader in the field of Deaf Education and a consummate professional who is always continuing her professional growth and development to enhance her instruction and leadership skills.

Rebecca Lewis, Au.D.

Rebecca Lewis, Au.D. is an assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology in the USC Caruso Family Center for Childhood Communication. She graduated from Vanderbilt University and completed a combined pediatric/adult externship between the West Los Angeles Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and the House Ear Care Center. Subsequently, she held positions as a Senior Audiologist at UCLA Health, as an Educational Audiologist at The Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham, MA and as an adult Cochlear Implant Audiologist at the House Ear Clinic. Her broad range of skills allows her to provide diagnostic, hearing aid and cochlear implant services across the lifespan. Dr. Lewis is passionate about improving access to evidence-based interventions for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She enjoys teaching and lecturing in the community. She has also collaborated with researchers on a number of projects.

Maurice Belote

Maurice Belote has served as the California Deaf Blind Service Project Coordinator since 1997 and began his work with the project in 1992 as an Educational Specialist. Maurice has taught at public and private schools throughout California and has developed innovative models at local school sites related to integration into general education programs, augmentative and alternative communication systems, community-based instruction, job development and training and transition from school to adult life of students who are deafblind. Maurice loves his work with children, families, and school teams, and is inspired every day by the courage and determination of the students he serves. He is a graduate of the teacher training program in deafblindness at San Francisco State University.

Renee Lucero

Renee Lucero is currently the Director of Echo Center, a full inclusion program for deaf and hard of hearing students attending Echo Horizon School. Her career in Deaf Education includes early intervention, classroom and itinerant teaching, and most recently Assistant Professor at Utah State University’s listening and spoken language graduate teacher training program. Her personal experience with hearing loss inspires her commitment to working with culturally and linguistically diverse children and families and family education programs.

Claribelle Sanchez, AuD

Claribelle Sanchez, AuD, is the Director of Audiology and a pediatric audiologist at the John Tracy Center. Dr. Sanchez is responsible for overseeing all the audiological services at JTC, as well as the community hearing screening program in the Coachella Valley. As an audiologist, she is responsible for the detection of hearing loss through a variety of diagnostic tests of children, from birth to eighteen years of age, as well as ensuring that their audiological needs are met after diagnosis and enrollment in JTC services. At the Center, she works with a multidisciplinary team of professionals to provide guidance, education, and counseling to parents of children with a hearing loss in both English and Spanish. A native of the state of Texas, Dr. Sanchez received her Bachelor of Science in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin and her AuD in Audiology Clinic from Northwestern University. She worked at JTC as an interim doctor during the 2009-2010 academic year. Dr. Sanchez has a strong passion for working with children and their families.

Mary Beth Goring, M.A., LMFT

Mary Beth Goring, M.A., LMFT, is a marriage and family therapist and child development specialist who has spent the last thirty-two years working with families of young deaf children at John Tracy Center in Los Angeles. Prior to serving at JTC, she worked as a counselor in a community mental health center serving people with chronic mentally illness and Latino immigrants and refugees. She serves as adjunct faculty in the MSMU/JTC DHH Graduate Program teaching the course Supporting Families. Ms. Goring directs the department of Counseling and Child Development Services at JTC where she facilitates support groups for English and Spanish-speaking parents, provides family counseling, conducts developmental screens and assessments on JTC’s preschool students, and teaches parent and sibling workshops. Her services are provided both onsite and online. She has trained parents and professionals throughout the U.S., Latin America, and Spain in subjects such as Parent Grief Process and Management; Couple Relationship; Siblings of Children with Hearing Loss; Self-regulation, Sensory Processing in Children with Hearing Loss, and Behavior Management; Parent-professional Collaboration, Delivering Bad News, and Facilitating Support Groups.

Claribelle Sanchez, AuD

Claribelle Sanchez is responsible for overseeing all the audiological services of the John Tracy Center, as well as the community hearing evaluation program throughout Southern California. As an audiologist, she is responsible for the detection of hearing loss through a variety of diagnostic tests of children, from birth to eighteen years of age, as well as ensuring that their audiological needs are met after diagnosis and enrollment in JTC services. At the Center, she works with a multidisciplinary team of professionals to provide guidance, education, and counseling to parents of children with a hearing loss in both English and Spanish. A native of the state of Texas, Dr. Sanchez received her Bachelor of Science in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin and her AuD in Audiology Clinic from Northwestern University. She worked at JTC as an interim doctor during the 2009-2010 academic year. Dr. Sanchez has a strong passion for working with children and their families.

Cathleen Mathes, M.Ed., LSLS Cert. AVT

Cathleen Mathes works in partnership with the Board of Directors and the staff to provide leadership, vision, and direction to John Tracy Center. She implements policies approved by the board, manages the organization’s programs and operations, and represents JTC in the community. Additionally, she oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and services that support the mission of JTC. Cathleen represents JTC and works closely with the California Coalition Option Schools (CCOS) and Center for Early Intervention on Deafness (CEID) in helping to advance excellence in listening and spoken language education by both individually and collectively, educating the public, professionals and policy makers as to what is possible for children who are deaf and hard of hearing in the 21st century. Cathleen is recognized for her expertise in early childhood listening and spoken language and has participated as a speaker at local, national and international conferences. Cathleen completed her bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Boston College and then received a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Southern California/John Tracy Center. Cathleen has over 18 years of experience working in Listening and Spoken Language Deaf Education, holds a California Credential as an Education Specialist: Deaf and Hard of Hearing and is a Listening Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist (LSLS AVT).

Mary Beth Goring, M.A., MFT

Facilitates support groups for English and Spanish-speaking parents, as well as school-aged siblings, provides individual and family counseling, conducts developmental screens and assessments on JTC’s preschool students and teaches parent and sibling workshops. She directs the Curso Para Profesionales en Español, a yearly two-week onsite course provided for Spanish-speaking professionals who are interested in learning more about JTC’s unique parent-centered model of service delivery, and the application of Auditory-Verbal Therapy principles to their professional practices. Ms. Goring is a marriage and family therapist who has spent the last twenty-eight years working with families of young deaf children at John Tracy Center. She has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Latin America, and Spain providing training for parents and professionals in topics such as family relationships, the function of parent’s grief, working with parents, supporting siblings, stress management, sensorimotor and social-emotional development in children with hearing loss, behavior management for children with hearing loss, and support groups.

Angie Stokes, MEd, LSLS Cert AVEd

Angie Stokes is in charge of Graduate Instruction and Teacher Development at John Tracy Center. She previously worked as Director of Education Services providing the vision and supervision in John Tracy Center listening and spoken language programs, including early intervention, preschool, and itinerant services. Angie created John Tracy Center Bilingual Program in 2007 to serve the growing numbers of Spanish-speaking families. Her own bilingual skills are in demand as a speaker at local, national, and international conferences, as well as in the JTC Talks tele practice program that reaches families around the world. Angie graduated from Loma Linda University with a bachelor’s degree in child development and family sciences and worked as a general education teacher for a year before completing the master’s program at the University of Southern California in education/deaf education. Angie completed a second master’s degree in special education at the University of San Diego, where she conducted research on parents’ satisfaction with tele practice. She also has a clear DHH credential with authorizations in autism spectrum disorders and English learners.

Jordan Kough

Serves as Chief Development Officer of John Tracy Center. He fulfills that role in a consulting capacity through Your Mission Possible (yourmpinc.com), a consulting firm that offers tailored expertise supporting various fundraising and communications activities. Jordan Kough is joined by his team of talented employees who help JTC handle events, grants, major donor management, database management, social media, and more.

Kevin Matthews, FFCA, CFE

Kevin Matthews serves as the Chief Financial Officer of John Tracy Center. He fulfills that role in a consulting capacity through Noble Accounting, LLC, a firm that he founded to provide accounting and CFO services to non-profit organizations. Kevin has over 20 years of experience as an auditor, cost accountant, Controller, Vice President of Finance & Administration, and Chief Financial Officer. In England Kevin worked for 6 years in the accounting department of a $120m regional hospital. After moving to the US in 1999 and a brief time in the transportation and high-tech industries, he returned to the non-profit sector in 2001. He worked as the Chief Financial Officer of two large non-profit organizations until 2011 when he began providing CFO services in a consultant capacity. Kevin graduated from the University of Westminster in London, England and qualified as a Certified Accounting Technician, before going on to become a Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants, a worldwide accounting qualification that is the equivalent of the US CPA. He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner

Gaston Kent

Works in partnership with the Board of Directors and the staff to provide leadership, vision and direction to John Tracy Center. He implements policies approved by the board, manages the organization’s programs and operations, and represents JTC in the community. Gaston first joined the JTC board and then was appointed President & CEO, after retiring from Northrop Grumman Corporation where he worked as Vice President of Finance. Prior to that, he held the positions of Vice President of Investor Relations and Vice President and Assistant to the Vice President of Operations. Prior to his work at Northrop Grumman, Mr. Kent offered his services in the United States Air Force for five years. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and the National Association of National Investors as well as the Institute of National Investors where he served as a board member of the Los Angeles group. Mr. Kent is born in Scottsboro, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in finance and later with a master’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He also completed the Harvard Professional Development Program.

Anne McNally, M.A.

Anne McNally manages the development of multi-media materials for families, coordinates international (summer) sessions and directs distance education services for JTC parents. She describes her responsibilities as the “best job in the world” interacting with parents, from manifold counties and diverse cultures, who seek to understand hearing loss. The bi-lingual, multifaceted team led by Anne aims to continually enhance info, ideas and instruction for families to appreciate their essential role in children’s communication. Anne has coordinated state projects, directed federal grants, led advisory committees, coached early intervention staff, presented at numerous conferences and been an educator in programs from preschool through university level. She has experience in spoken, signed and total communication approaches. She earned degrees from the University of Nebraska and Syracuse University, participated in national personnel prep programs and has special education teacher certification.

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