2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER
Award Winner/Nominee Details 2025
Cindy Lawrence
It is with great enthusiasm that we nominate Cindy Lawrence for the 2025 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence. Cindy began her career in 1982, first working for an otologist, then in the Indianapolis Public Schools where she served as an itinerant teacher and Educational Audiologist. She transitioned to working as a licensed educational audiologist at the Indiana School for the Deaf, serving as the preschool and elementary school audiologist, then worked as an Administrator at the Indiana School for the Deaf serving as the Outreach Director and interim Superintendent.
In 2000, Cindy worked collaboratively with the Indiana Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program, in addition to other state agencies, to establish mandatory newborn hearing screening in Indiana. This included the development of a reporting, data tracking, and alert response system for all children identified as Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) in Indiana. Cindy’s dedication for children who are DHH and their families continued as she later advocated for Hands and Voices to be established in Indiana. Outreach then transitioned to the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education in July 2013 and kept the original mission, vision, and strategic plan outlined by Cindy’s leadership in Outreach.
Cindy continues to work side by side with the Indiana EHDI Program serving as the Early Intervention and Transition Coordinator at the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education. She has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to improving the system of support for families when their child is identified as DHH through her implementation of the Indiana Intake Pilot Program. This program allows families faster access to specialized services by collaborating with Indiana’s statewide Early Intervention Program through implementation of a Statewide Referral Network for children who are DHH to ensure that none of these children are deemed lost to follow-up.
Cindy continues to use her strong communication skills, including cross-cultural communication, and leadership skills to manage teams of professionals in the development of program and systems changes to improve outcomes for all children who are DHH, identify and implement effective best practices, develop outcomes measures, and ensure compliance with state and federal laws and policies. Cindy’s transformative legacy will continue to positively affect children who are DHH and their families in Indiana for generations to come.