The Hear Here Hartford Team
OUR TEAMS
Our Awesome Team
Terry Bedard
President and Co-Founder
Inspired by her profoundly-deaf son, Terry Bedard has been the President and Co-Founder of Hear Here Hartford since 2007. As a member of a committed team of leaders, Terry works with the HHH Board of Directors to bring creative programs, speakers, and events to the community with a mission to empower teens and young adults with hearing loss. With a Unity in the Community theme, HHH uses a collaborative approach to include all modes of communication and connects with various organizations serving people with hearing loss. Professionally, Terry is a special education attorney helping students with disabilities obtain the appropriate placements and services in school. She also serves on a legislative committee to advocate for laws supporting children with disabilities.
Maura McGuire
Vice President and Member-at-Large
Maura McGuire has been a professional in the field of Deaf Education for 37 years as a teacher, consultant, administrator, board member and past Chair of the Collegiate Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, board member of Hear Here Hartford since the beginning, past chair and current member of the Walk4Hearing Committee for the CT Walk4Hearing, past member of National Association of the Deaf, A.G. Bell, and CT Relay. Maura has been integral in creating and implementing self-advocacy programs for students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing, creating community partnerships to provide students work related internships. When not working to further access and opportunities for students, she can be found with a camera in her hand capturing memories with her family while enjoying Mother Nature.
Jim Bedard
Treasurer and Member-at-Large
Jim and Terry are the proud parents of Matthew who inspired the founding of Hear Here Hartford in 2007 when he was the only one in school with a hearing loss. HHH gave him the opportunity to form friendships with others who understood the challenges of having a hearing loss in a hearing world. Many other teens and young adults in the community with hearing loss needed an organization to establish those important connections with others using many different communication modalities. Jim serves HHH in many capacities, but officially he is Treasurer. Jim spent his professional career in various financial leadership positions for companies in the Connecticut Insurance Industry and is currently CFO and Treasurer for the RVI Group in Stamford Connecticut. Jim is most proud of his family and supporting their dreams in life.
Ari Shell
Co-Founder and Mentor
Ari Shell was first diagnosed with hearing loss when he was in the third grade and was mainstreamed throughout public school. He helped cofound Hear Here Hartford with the mantra, “Don’t let your hearing loss define you. You define it!” He enjoys empowering teens and young adults with hearing loss to be the best they can be. His goal is to help spread awareness regarding hearing loss and to encourage those with a hearing loss to live life to the fullest. Ari works for an equipment finance company where he provides commercial business loans for the purpose of securing capital for growth. Ari is married with two daughters, one currently in college and one in high school.
Cristi Alberino
Mentor
As an adult with severe bilateral hearing loss, Dr. Cristi Alberino joined Hear Here Hartford in 2008 as a mentor to support the development of self-advocacy and awareness in teens with hearing loss. She recognizes the importance of having a community of individuals to support teens and adults with hearing loss and their families, and that became the impetus for joining the Board in 2010. She continues to support the Connecticut Walk4Hearing, she participated in the development of the Deaf Child Bill of Rights in CT, and has served as a mentor in the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program. Cristi works at the CT State Department of Education in the Bureau of Student Assessment. She and her husband Roger enjoy cooking together and traveling.
Liz DeRosa
Member-at-Large
Liz DeRosa is the Director of Institutional Advancement at the American School for the Deaf and a member of the school’s Executive Leadership Team. Liz oversees the school’s communications, fundraising, marketing/public relations and community development initiatives. Prior to joining ASD in 2014, Liz worked in the elder services industry as a Community Development Program Director before serving as Business Director at a home health care agency. Liz was introduced to the hearing loss community when she met her profoundly deaf husband in 2009. She joined the Hear Here Hartford Board in 2016. Liz graduated Valedictorian with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Regis College. She and her husband Mike are proud parents of their daughter Grayce and son Matthew.
Susan Holcombe
Mentor
Susan Holcombe first became part of the hearing loss community when her son was diagnosed with profound sensorineural hearing loss at age 3 and then with her own adult diagnosis. She began participating in the CT Walk4Hearing in 2012 and became a member of the Hear Here Hartford Board in 2016. Susan is a high school teacher who loves empowering teenagers and encouraging them to advocate for themselves. She also teaches in the MAT program at Central CT State University and has additional training from the Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and the FEMA. Susan earned her master’s degree in creative writing at Southern CT State University and her 6th year in advanced educational leadership from the University of New England.
Carl DeStefanis
Mentor
Carl DeStefanis is currently a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing from CREC Soundbridge. He was awarded Teacher of the Year for CREC in 2019. He has 10 years of experience working with students from preschool to high school. At the age of 3, he lost most of his hearing to spinal meningitis and now has two cochlear implants. Carl became involved with Hear Here Hartford because he wanted to be a part of the extraordinary work being done in the organization and to support teens and young adults with hearing loss. He is especially interested in helping foster self-advocacy skills and facilitating events that help these individuals meet peers much like themselves. Carl and his wife have two children.
KC Beauregard
Member-at-Large
KC Beauregard is a licensed professional counselor and board certified music therapist who has experience working with students who are Deaf and hard of hearing. KC has been involved in Hear Here Hartford and the Walk4Hearing for as long as she can remember. KC can usually be found with a multitude of instruments and her dog Penny.
Erin Beckwith
Member-at-Large
Erin was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which was undiagnosed until she was 2. At 2 and a half years old, she received a right sided cochlear implant and wore a hearing aid on the left, until she received a second implant at 16. In middle school, Erin participated in the HHH Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program. Additionally, Erin is a two-time recipient of the HHH Scholarship. She received her bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies from Assumption University. Erin is currently working towards master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Connecticut. Erin’s passion is to give the gift of spoken language and sound to others and provide an empathetic approach in her treatment.
Jay Maule
Member-at-Large
Jay Maule was born with a severe to profound hearing loss and understands the many challenges that people with hearing loss face. However, he used his hearing loss as motivation to fuel himself into becoming an All-state and All-American baseball player. After ending his baseball career, he poured his time and energy into coaching kids which naturally translated into a career in teaching. Jay is currently the director of CREC River Street School in Windsor. He enjoys mentoring young students with hearing loss, playing sports, and spending time with his family.