2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
Award Winner/Nominee Details 2020
Patti Martin
It is a privilege to nominate Patti F. Martin for the 2020 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence. Dr. Martin's 35-year career has been focused on the early identification and intervention of children with hearing loss. From her work in the early 1990's to see universal newborn hearing screenings implemented, to her present-day work of educating families about hearing loss, she has made outstanding contributions to achieving excellence in EHDI programs in Arkansas, other states, and nationally.
Patti F. Martin, Ph.D., is the Director in Ambulatory Care Services for Audiology & Speech Pathology, ENT, General Pediatric/Circle of Friends, and Dermatology Clinics at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Audiology in the College of Health Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. This nomination for outstanding contributions in the area of excellence in EHDI programs will focus on three areas: early identification efforts, policy advocacy, and family support.
Patti has been a pioneer in the state of Arkansas as well as across the country in the development of EHDI programs, starting with her time as a consultant for the Technical Assistance Network through the National Center on Hearing Assessment and Management (1990). She led the way in Arkansas for the development and implementation of universal newborn hearing screenings serving as a member (1999-2005) and then chair of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, Tracking, and Intervention Board for the Department of Health in Arkansas.
Her long-standing dedication to policy around early intervention has been demonstrated by her service on the Coordinating Committee for Special Interest Group 9/Childhood Hearing and Hearing Disorders of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). For the past 8 years she has served as one of two ASHA representatives to the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing and has been very involved in the recently updated and published JCIH Position statement on EHDI programs. Patti's extensive knowledge in policy has extended throughout her entire career, with the emphasis of her doctoral program in Family and Disability Policy, reflecting her passion for families and for improved outcomes of children who are deaf/hard of hearing starting with early detection and intervention.
Most recently, Patti has continued her mission of supporting families in their journey with hearing loss. All across her career she has recognized the importance of bringing families together for peer to peer support as well as for family education. In the last several years, she has worked with the CARE Project (and its director, Dr. Johnnie Sexton) in obtaining funding for and implementing family support programs as well as parent-professional collaborative events across the country.
Patti's accomplishments and passion for ensuring that children with hearing loss are identified early and receive early intervention has been demonstrated through her years of service to the development and implementation of EHDI programs. We believe that her work truly represents the spirit of this award named after her colleague and friend, Dr. Toni Maxon.