Biographical Brief
Through her practice, The ADE-vantage, Cheryl DeConde Johnson provides deaf education and educational audiology consultation to agencies, school districts, state departments of education, and professional organizations regarding program development and evaluation, restructuring of systems, and accountability for services and student outcomes relative to children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing.
She is a former consultant with the Colorado Department of Education where she was responsible for deaf education, educational interpreting and audiology services from 1998-2006. Prior to that time was a part-time consultant to the Department of Education and an educational audiologist and program coordinator for the public school deaf and hard of hearing program in Greeley, Colorado.
She is currently adjunct assistant professor at the University of Arizona in the deaf education master’s degree program, and a lecturer in the Salus University International Audiology Certificate Program. She is active as a consultant, program evaluator, writer, and has been a trainer for the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). Dr Johnson is a founding member of the National State Leader’s Summit in Deaf Education and a co-founder and former President of the Board of Directors for Hands & Voices. Dr. Johnson attributes her passion to her daughter whose joyful spirit lives on.
Dr. Johnson’s special interests include promoting outcomes comparable to hearing peers for all children who are deaf or hard of hearing, communication access, and family involvement. 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 (3rd Ed., 2021, Plural Inc), Educational Advocacy for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Hands & Voices, 2013) as well as numerous other articles and book chapters. She is a frequent invited presenter, nationally and internationally, on topics related to audiology management and self-advocacy 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. Dr. Johnson has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work including the Alumni Association of the University of Northern Colorado as the recipient of the 2006 Trailblazer Award and by Phonak with the establishment of the Cheryl DeConde Johnson Award for Excellence in Educational Audiology. A complete curriculum vitae is available upon request.