GaCDHH Members

Each commissioner fulfills a position specified by O.C.G.A. § 30-1-5 as shown in the following table.

Chair

Person Involved w/Programs for DHH:

Dr. Amy Lederberg

Dr. Amy Lederberg currently serves as the Chairperson of the Commission. Amy Lederberg is a Professor Emerita at Georgia State University. She has published extensively on language, literacy and social outcomes of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and how to improve those outcomes. As director of the federally funded Center on Literacy and Deafness, she led teams of researchers and teachers in the development of two novel interventions that improve language and literacy outcomes of DHH children. These evidence-based curricula are being widely used by teachers in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Lederberg has a progressive hearing loss that has resulted in a severe-profound loss as an adult.

Otolaryngologist or Audiologist:

Dr. Alison Morrison

Dr. Alison Morrison is a licensed audiologist serving adults and children in northeast Georgia. She has expertise in pediatric audiology with over 10 years of experience in medical centers, children’s hospitals and university clinics. Morrison has a long history of collaboration with local and state EHDI (Early Hearing Detection and Intervention) programs with the goal of improving outcomes and access to care for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She also teaches undergraduate courses in audiology and trains Doctor of Audiology students in clinical practice. Morrison received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Audiology degrees at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and returned to her home state of Georgia in 2019.

DHH Adult-ASL:

DeAnna Swope

DeAnna Swope is a prominent leader in the Deaf community. She focuses on domestic violence advocacy and educates hearing agencies on how to provide accessible services for Deaf and hard-of-hearing survivors. As the CEO of Diamond Speaks LLC and host of the "Sign Your Truth" podcast, she influences the field significantly and is a facilitator for the Deafhood Foundation. Her work has earned several awards, including the Gender Justice Award from the Georgia Commission on Family Violence and ADARA's Bell Flasher Award in 2024. DeAnna has also served as President of the Georgia Association of the Deaf and represents Region 3 for the National Association of the Deaf. In her personal life, DeAnna is a devoted wife, mother of five, and grandmother of one granddaughter. 

DHH Adult-English:

Stormey Cone

Stormey Cone is a dedicated professional residing in Valdosta, Georgia, committed to improving access to services in rural communities. With extensive experience working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, she has a deep understanding of the unique challenges they face. Stormey served as a teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in rural public schools for over fifteen years. Recently, she worked as the inaugural Parent Navigator for Georgia Mobile Audiology, traveling across the state to better understand the experiences of parents navigating the Deaf/Hard of Hearing journey and improving access to resources.Currently, Stormey is the Director of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Family Engagement and Education Program at the Georgia Department of Education, where she leads an innovative team of Parent Navigators whose goals are to educate, empower, and encourage families through each step and transition from diagnosis to graduation.

DHH Adult-English and ASL:

Russell Fleming

Russell Fleming lives in Rome, Georgia. Russell has held many leadership positions in agencies that serve Deaf and DeafBlind communities. Among other positions, he was State Coordinator for Vocational Rehabilitation Services for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind Consumers and Dean of Students and Interim Superintendent at the Georgia School for the Deaf.  In his retirement, he serves as Vice-President of the Georgia Association of the Deaf and works part time as a DeafBlind Specialist. He will bring a depth knowledge about the Adult Deaf and Adult DeafBlind Communities in Georgia as well as understanding of the access challenges faced by rural communities.

Deaf-Blind Adult: 

Anne McQuade

Anne McQuade has been the director of Deaf-Blind Access of the South since 2015. She also serves on the board of the Georgia Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. McQuade is a member of the Georgia Association of the Deaf-Blind and the American Association of the Deaf-Blind. McQuade is active in Cobb County Community Emergency Response Team and several disability rights groups. She is retired from a 30-year career in IT and is continuing her lifelong commitment to volunteerism. She is hard of hearing and has Rod-cone Dystrophy.

Parent of DHH Child-ASL:

Byron Smith

Byron Smith lives in Leesburg, GA. He is the father of a Deaf child who uses ASL. Byron and his wife are hearing and have had no contact with the Deaf community before adopting their daughter. They are learning ASL as adults to provide the best language and learning environment for their daughter. They are also in the process of adopting another Deaf child.  Byron will bring an important perspective to the Commission, that of a parent who must learn to locate resources, community and language assistance in rural Georgia. He has been a fire fighter since 1993, working for US Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Park Service.

Parent of DHH Child-Spoken English:

Dr. Chelsea Tehan
 
Dr. Chelsea Tehan, born in Florida, is a pediatrician in Northwest Georgia. Her family moved to Georgia to pursue her interest in caring for the children of rural Georgia. Chelsea has special interest in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community because one of her daughters is deaf. Despite her training, she struggled to access services and realized how difficult it could be for other families. She has been working for years with the Auditory Verbal Center of Atlanta and is interested in advocacy for this community. She received her medical degree from Florida State University and attended residency at the University of South Florida.

Private Provider of Services for DHH:

Dr. Paula Harmon

Dr. Paula Harmon is a board-certified otolaryngology surgeon specializing in pediatric otolaryngology. She is a partner at Pediatric ENT of Atlanta, the medical director of hearing loss at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the early hearing detection and intervention physician champion for the American Academy of Pediatrics. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree at Spelman College, Doctor of Medicine from Morehouse School of Medicine, residency in otolaryngology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at Children’s of Alabama with a focus on cochlear implantation and severe ear disease. She has an executive MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and is a former assistant professor of otolaryngology at Emory University.

Late Deafened (after 18 years old):

Ibrahim (Ib) Dabo

Ib Dabo is a war survivor who thrived academically with an undiagnosed hearing loss for years. After discovering his diagnosis and going through a grieving process, Dabo took to hearing health advocacy to support other people with hearing loss. As a motivational speaker and journalist, he uses his platforms to inspire young people to live a life of purpose, speaks on leadership development and raises awareness about hearing loss. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Hearing Loss Association of America. Dabo graduated from the University of Baltimore with a bachelor's degree in management information systems and received his master's degree in applied information technology from Towson University.

At Large: 

Dr. Melanie Morris 

Dr. Melanie Morris is the Child Health Deputy Director and Referral and Screening Programs Director at the Georgia Department of Public Health. With a background as a pediatric audiologist, Melanie has implemented innovative methods like mobile and tele-audiology to serve children and families across Georgia. She is passionate about providing services to under-served populations and promoting early intervention. Melanie's work focuses on improving accessibility to child health services, raising awareness about the importance of early intervention, and driving positive change in child health and well-being throughout the state.