2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
Award Winners 2024
Kathleen "Kat" Ross
Kathleen "Kat" Ross exemplifies family leadership and has made a tremendous impact on the families and services provided in our state. Kat’s most important role is mother of Mary, her 11-year old daughter with a mild-severe bilateral hearing difference. Kat has taken the lessons learned as a mother and integrated them into her daily work as a leader, connector, and advocate for families in the state of Idaho. Kat has worked for years in the Idaho EHDI System to support parents of children with hearing differences. From 2017-2018, Kat served as the Executive Director for Idaho Hands and Voices and was a part of the team that brought hearing aid legislation to fruition in Idaho in 2019.
In 2022, Kat became a Family Support Ambassador for the Idaho State University HATCH Lab, Idaho’s Family-to-Family Support organization. For the past year and a half, Kat has been the editor of the Weekly HATCH, a weekly parent support email, full of evidence-based resources and information for families sent out to over 130 Idaho parents and professionals every week. Kat is also the Co-host of the HATCH "Tuesdays at 10" weekly Zoom chat for Idaho families that offers connection and support to families in our rural state. Kat serves on the Idaho Sound Beginnings Board, the ISU Idaho Hearing Education and Aural Rehabilitation (IHEAR) Board, and participates on the URLEND Committee helping students and providers understand effective outreach to families. In the last year, Kat has presented two national presentations outlining comprehensive family support in a rural state: at EHDI and the Hands and Voices Leadership Conference. Kat's personal experience and interactions with families have been integral to supporting coordinated and collaborative systems change in Idaho. Kat helped identify and bring awareness to a serious gap in services for Idaho children and families. In addition to services to families, Kat offers Idaho State University’s future professionals insights to becoming family-centered providers by collaborating with the IHEAR leadership team on integrating family support into the curriculum.