Expanding Adult Cochlear Implant Access and Outcomes presented in partnership with American Cochlear Implant Alliance

Donna L. Sorkin
MA

Nichole Westin

Nichole Westin MA has been the Government Affairs Manager at the ACI Alliance since 2018. She has worked in advocacy since 1998 when she began her career working for the U.S. Senate. Ms. Westin has successfully managed campaigns at both the federal and state levels on issues ranging from export sales to payroll taxes to school nutrition. Ms. Westin enjoys using her experience within the federal government and other non-profits to educate people on being effective advocates for their priority policy issues.

Cyndi Trueheart
AuD CCC-A

Section Chief - Audiology/Speech Pathology Department

Cyndi E. Trueheart, Au.D., CCC-A, is a clinical audiologist and Section Chief of the Audiology/Speech Pathology Department at the Connecticut Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System. She earned both her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Master of Science degree from Southern Connecticut State University where she is currently an Adjunct Instructor in the Communication Disorders program. She later received her Doctor of Audiology degree from Central Michigan University. Over the past 20 years, she has presented at numerous national and international conferences on the topic of adult aural rehabilitation. Her particular areas of interest include cochlear implants, telemedicine, and rehabilitation of veteran’s with dual sensory impairments.

Jerrica Maxson
AuD CCC-A

Audiologist

Jerrica Maxson, AuD, CCC-A, is an audiologist providing hearing healthcare at Trinity Health in Minot, ND, since 2010. She received her Doctorate of Audiology at the University of Iowa and started her career as a pediatric cochlear implant audiologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She returned to her hometown in 2010 and has since been providing a wide range of diagnostic and (re)habilitative treatments to patients of all ages. Jerrica has served as a board member of North Dakota Hands & Voices since inception in 2011. She became a member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance in 2013, and has been the North Dakota Chapter Champion since 2016.

Diane Martinez
AuD

Diane Martinez, AuD, Assistant professor, is a clinical audiologist at the University of Miami.  She has provided clinical education to audiology interns, externs, as well as domestic and international visiting professionals.  Specialized training and education include cochlear implant programming with the use of objective measurements, cochlear implant evaluations and how to treat the adult Spanish speaking cochlear implant candidate/recipient.

Domitille Lochet
MS

A trilingual Speech-Language pathologist, Domitille has practiced at the University of Miami Ear Institute since 2011 as part of the cochlear implant team. She has Master of Science from Florida International University (2006) and has been LSLS Cert. AVT certified since 2013. Domitille is presently working toward her SLP clinical doctorate at Northwestern University.

Megan Narron
AuD

Megan Narron, AuD, is a clinical audiologist at the Yale Hearing and Balance Center specializing in cochlear implants, under Yale University’s School of Medicine Department of Surgery.  Since 2018, she has co-lead Yale’s Adult Cochlear Implant Program.  Prior to joining Yale she worked with implantable hearing technology for 20 years, both clinically and in industry, as a Clinical Territory Manager for Cochlear Americas.  She completed her bachelor’s degree from The State University of New York College at Geneseo, her master’s degree from The University of Akron, and her Doctorate of Audiology from The University of Arizona AT Still University. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the American Speech Language-Hearing Association. 

Richard Reed

Musician, CI user, and American Cochlear Implant Alliance State Champion from RI, Richard Reed played Hammond organ with Junior Walker & the All Stars and many other R&B, Blues and Rock & Roll artists.

Deafened by an antibiotic and unable to appreciate music for nearly ten years, Richard had CI surgery in 2002. Pre-pandemic, Richard once again played organ and piano professionally (and will again in 2021!). 

Richard wrote and produced the CI music improvement program HOPE Notes. A 2015 inductee to the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, Richard's experiential knowledge helps auditory researchers improve the fidelity of hearing loss technologies.