Agencies
Services
Biographies
Dennis O'Brien
Chairperson
Dennis O'Brien is the current Commission Chair of the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission. Dennis has 20 years experience as a Programmer Analyst at the DuPage County Information Technology Department and 10 years in VRS Telecommunications leading and working with teams and customers. Dennis has more than 35 years of leadership roles in various of deaf and hard of hearing organizations. He is very passionate about mentoring young deaf and hard of hearing people, encouraging them to join and participate in the deaf clubs and organizations. Dennis and his wife Laura of 30+ years reside in Wheaton, IL. Together, they have a son, Shawn, who is currently a college student at the Illinois State University. His secret of a successful marriage is simply this: If the wife says she is right, fine...she is right... Even if she is wrong, she is STILL right.
Karla Giese
Vice Chairperson (Interim)
Deaf education has truly been Karla Giese’s life’s work. Growing up profoundly deaf, she was raised with spoken language supports and later learned sign language, discovering the Deaf community during college. Over the years, she has taught in a variety of K-12 programs, became fluent in ASL and Cued Speech, and now teaches Deaf Education courses at Ball State University and Flagler College.
Karla has worked with Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing students from birth through young adulthood, with a passion for ensuring every student has access - whether through advocacy, early intervention, or supporting teachers and families. She strongly believes there is no single “right” deaf experience; success comes from building a strong team around each student.
Currently, Karla also serves as an Instructional Designer with the National Deaf Center and works in Training and Education with the Chicago Hearing Society - roles that allow her to stay personally and professionally active within Deaf communities.
Outside of work, Karla is an avid Cubs fan and a proud mom of four, cheering on her kids at baseball and water polo games. When she finds a quiet moment, she loves curling up with a good mystery novel.
Tyrone Barnes
Commissioner
Tyrone Barnes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and became Deaf at the age of three due to meningitis. Growing up in a military family, he moved frequently, relocating about every three years.
At age six, his family settled in South Carolina, where he attended mainstream schools for six years. At 12, he enrolled in John Powers Center and Vernon Hills Middle School in Vernon Hills, Illinois. After a year at Libertyville High School, he transferred to the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) in Washington, D.C., his first all-Deaf school.
While at MSSD, Tyrone excelled in academics, athletics, and leadership. He played football, basketball, and track & field, becoming a two-time national Deaf basketball champion in his final years. In his senior year, he set school records in the 200m (21 seconds) and 400m (50 seconds). He was also actively involved in student organizations, serving as Vice President and President of the African American Students Union and a member of the Jr. National Association of the Deaf. He graduated from MSSD in 2000.
After attending Gallaudet University for one year, he returned to Illinois to work and build his career. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 25 years, and together they have three children in northern Illinois. While working two full-time jobs—17 years as an Environmental Services Tech II at Advocate Health and seven years as a Custodian Lead at Vernon Hills High School—Tyrone pursued higher education.
In 2020, he earned an associate degree in Accounting from the College of Lake County. He later graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Now, he plans to enroll in an MBA program to further his education and advance his career in business and finance.
Carlos I. Colon
Commissioner
Carlos I. Colon was born in Dayton, Ohio to two hearing Puerto Rican parents who learned ASL as soon as they discovered their child was Deaf at around 2.5 years old. He attended a variety of educational settings, including schools with Deaf programs, a Deaf school, homeschooling, and later a mainstream school. In 2012, Carlos enrolled at Gallaudet University and earned a BA in Mathematics and Secondary Education. Before pursuing an MA in ASL from the University of Northern Colorado, he worked as a part-time American Sign Language instructor at a university in Ohio. Since August 2019, Carlos has been teaching American Sign Language at the University of Illinois in the Champaign area.
In addition to teaching, he has been serving as president of the Illini Chapter of the Illinois Association of the Deaf (IAD) since February 2024 and is a current member of the Board of Directors for a local nonprofit organization supporting people with disabilities in the Champaign area. Carlos looks forward to serving and representing the Deaf community in the State of Illinois as a member of the IDHHC.
Wendy Deters
Commissioner
Wendy Deters has over 20 years of experience serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. She is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and Listening and Spoken Language Therapist. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Child’s Voice, a non-public LSL program for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Wendy has been an adjunct professor at Midwestern University, Northwestern University, and Illinois State University. She also has a lifetime of personal experience in the deaf community as the child of two amazing deaf parents.
Michael Dubowe
Commissioner
Originally from Philadelphia, Michael Dubowe received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from California State University, Northridge in California. Starting a career in Environmental Occupational Health & Safety Engineer for several years, he then switched to a different career in graphic design/book cover design spanning over 20 successful years. Michael currently resides in Normal, IL and is an active member of the community by being part of Illinois State University Mentoring Program and Illinois State University Art Station. He also serves as a committee member of McLean County Unit 5 School District Parents Teacher Advisory/Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and is a substitute teacher for Metcalf Lab School Deaf and Hard of Hearing program, which is part of the Illinois State University system. One of Michael’s goals as a commissioner for IDHHC is to be a strong advocate for current and future social service needs for deaf and hard of hearing people, including communication access and equal opportunities in Illinois. A serious Pickleball player, Michael serves as a Board Member at Large for Deaf Pickleball of USA and as an alumni of the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association, he also enjoys watching ice hockey. In his spare time, Michael enjoys riding his bike and hiking with his rescue dog, Moe. A lifelong supporter of the arts, he also loves to create ceramics pieces, either hand-built or on the wheel, as well as working on acrylic painting at local art studios.
Kimberly Mokris
Commissioner
Born and raised in Illinois, Kimberly Mokris comes from a Deaf family. She is a proud graduate of Illinois School for the Deaf. She got her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Gallaudet University and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Texas Tech University. She is a Rehabilitation Counselor Senior with the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services. She enjoys volunteering when possible, giving back to the community as much as possible, and getting involved with organizations. In her free time, she, along with her husband, enjoys traveling, camping, hiking, going to the beaches, playing pickleball and bowling, spending time with family, spending time with her dog and cats, and reading books.
Roy Pyers
Commissioner
Roy Pyers was born and raised in Central Illinois, a hearing child of deaf parents, with bilingual proficiency in sign language. Currently he works as a Senior Strategic Account Executive at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois with over 20 years healthcare insurance experience, focusing on National Account Management and expanding Behavioral Health networks.
Roy serves on the board for Illinois Children of Deaf Adults (CODA) and is an active member of CODA International. He co-founded the Phoenix Center, the largest outreaching LGBTQIA+ community center in Central Illinois. He is the former Membership Chair of Scouting America, Abraham Lincoln Council, and actively serves as Co-Chair for Springfield PrideFest in downtown Springfield, IL.
Roy is also the co-owner of Interurban Merchant, a weekend coffee shop in Williamsville, IL, right in the heart of Illinois, off Route 66. In his free time, Roy enjoys fitness, community theater and spending time with his husband in their historical home and loving pets.
Jennifer M. Sender
Commissioner
Jennifer M. Sender leads RSP’s litigation efforts in support of its Disability Rights practice. She has used her litigation skills to represent clients with disabilities in their claims of discrimination against public entities under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Specifically, Jennifer assists clients in obtaining equal access to goods and services, primarily in the health care field, including national health care providers, regional hospital systems and regional physicians’ groups. She has tried cases and assisted with appeals in both state and federal courts.
Jennifer has been successful in ensuring that persons who rely on the use of mobility devices are able to obtain physical access to health care providers and are able to receive equal care and treatment through availability of accessible medical equipment (i.e. wheelchair accessible scales and examination tables and chairs) and policies and procedures addressing accessibility. Additionally, she has been successful in ensuring that persons who are deaf or hard of hearing are provided with aids and services, such as live sign language interpreters when meeting with their health care providers. In support of that work, Jennifer routinely presents to disability advocacy groups to provide them with information to allow them to better advocate for themselves or their family members.
In addition to her representative matters regarding disabilities, Jennifer often counsels foreign and domestic business clients involving contract disputes, distributor disputes, product defects, personal injury claims, construction, transportation, and environmental litigation.
Jennifer was recently recently appointed as a Commissioner of the Illinois Deaf Hard of Hearing Commission. The appointment becomes effective immediately through November 14, 2024. She also holds current & past leadership roles with the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, Past President; and Diversity Scholarship Foundation, Vice President.
Joshua D. Sevier
Commissioner
Joshua D. Sevier, AuD, LLM, F-AAA, CCC-A, is an audiologist and Co-Director of the Auditory Implant Program at Rush University Medical Center. Prior to his current position, he was an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Cochlear Implant Research Audiologist at Boys Town National Research Hospital. As a Nebraska Speech, Language, and Hearing Association board member, he served as Vice President of Advocacy and chair of legislative affairs. He was also on the board of the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, appointed by Governor Pete Ricketts. Dr. Sevier was the founder and former coordinator of the Cochlear Implant Programs at both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Children’s Hospital of Omaha in Nebraska. He has published peer-reviewed articles, presented at numerous conferences, and taught cochlear implant programming courses for multiple universities.
Jason Weiland
Commissioner
Born profoundly Deaf and raised in a small farm town in NorthWest PA just north of Pittsburgh, Jason Weiland experienced education through spoken language until attending Gallaudet University and discovering the Deaf Community and ASL fluency during his college years.
Upon graduating with a Social Work degree, providing Deaf/DeafBlind/Hard of Hearing services through the social services field has been Jason Weiland’s work journey while being employed at the private, state, non-profit levels over the past 28 years.
After moving from Washington, DC, Jason has worked as the Program Coordinator of the CHS (Chicago Hearing Society) DeafBlind Community Program which provides services and programs statewide to those experiencing both hearing loss and vision loss in Illinois since 2020 just before COVID-19.
Outside of work, Jason is an avid Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins fan (Sorry Bears and Blackhawks!) He has long been an advocate for accessibility of the arts and theater. A proud father of two college kids, he can be found cheering at softball and field hockey games, and hiking in national and state parks with the pups.