Leadership Team
The leadership team of the Center for Hearing Access represents diverse regions across the nation and a range of professional qualifications, interests, and strengths. Our team works closely with the growing participation of advocates from throughout the country.
Ginevra Ralph, Director
A lifelong advocate for friends and family members with disabilities, Ginevra Ralph taught students with profound cognitive and physical disabilities during the 1980s and ‘90s. She worked closely with Dr. Dianne Ferguson at the University of Oregon to create assessments, curriculum, and learning goals to support students in inclusive classrooms, and later joined Ferguson’s research and teacher training program. Meanwhile, she and her husband founded what is now The Shedd Institute, a year-round performing arts and education cultural center housed in a 75,000 sq. ft. former church complex. After discovering that few people understood why and how to use the multiple hearing loop assistive listening systems they had installed — nor the fact that the ADA provides rights for people with hearing loss — the Ralphs created a regional advocacy initiative. In 2024 they established the nationally-serving Center for Hearing Access to advance the goal of simple and seamless communication across daily life.
Wynne Whyman, Director of Communication and Advocacy
Wynne has experience as a senior learning architect for executive leadership development, software development, education, and nonprofits. She lives with progressive hearing loss since childhood. Numerous presentations locally and nationally to a variety of audiences. National article publications. Recipient of the HLAA National Community Access Award for work with Google Maps. Two master’s degrees.
Juliëtte Sterkens, AuD, Hearing Access Advocate
Dutch-born and Oshkosh, WI-based audiologist Dr. Juliëtte Sterkens has 45+ years of experience in audiology, hearing rehabilitation, and assistive listening. Retired from her private audiology practice in 2012, she’s been on her encore career as a consumer and assistive listening advocate. She has received several awards for her nationwide advocacy work, including the Wisconsin Audiologist of the Year award, the American Academy of Audiology Presidential Award, and the UW-Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni award. She maintains a list of Wisconsin hearing loops. She loves to travel—a good thing, as her daughter lives with her husband and two children in Australia, and her son in the Netherlands.
Sue Prichard, Advocate & Educator
Sue Prichard is a retired commercial real estate broker living in Eugene, Oregon. Her lifelong commitment to community volunteerism and community engagement was rewarded by being named Eugene’s First Citizen in ‘22. A graduate of the University of Oregon, Sue grew up in a family familiar with hearing loss. Knowing the effects on the family convinced Sue to address her own hearing loss at the first signs of an issue. She has worn hearing aids for over 30 years and is currently bi-modal, having recieved a cochlear implant in ’23. She has been the co-chair of Loop Oregon since its inception.