Cheryl DeConde Johnson, has worked in multiple levels of deaf education throughout her career including as an educational audiologist, teacher of the deaf, early intervention provider and program director for a large center-based preschool-high school deaf and hard of hearing program in Greeley, Colorado. She is also the former consultant with the Colorado Department of Education where she was responsible for deaf education, educational interpreting, and audiology services statewide from 1998-2006. She has also been an adjunct assistant professor in the deaf education MA teacher preparation program at the University of Arizona since 2008. She is active as a consultant through her practice, the ADEvantage, as well as a trainer for the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), and is a co-founder of Hands & Voices and continues to serve on its Board. Dr. Johnson has a grown daughter who describes herself as sometimes deaf and sometimes hard of hearing.
Dr. Johnson’s special interests include promoting outcomes comparable to hearing peers for all children who are deaf and hard of hearing, communication access, and family engagement. Drawing upon her own experiences raising a daughter with hearing loss, she enjoys assisting families as they face similar issues and challenges. She is a co-author of the Educational Audiology Handbook and Educational Advocacy for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing as well as numerous other articles and book chapters. She has frequently presented nationally and internationally on topics related to audiology and management issues in the school environment associated with children and youth who are deaf and hard of hearing as well as various topics in deaf education.