 Theresa Marie (Tess) Crowder is self-employed and has been a business owner since 1983. Her certifications include Registered Professional Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter, Certified Broadcast Captioner, and Certified CART Provider. Tess has worked for many years with people who have hearing loss by providing Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services for individual and group counseling sessions, speechreading classes, college courses, legal settings, support groups, conventions, etc. She is past Chairperson of the CART Community of Interest (task force) for the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and a contributing editor for NCRA’s Journal for the Reporting and Captioning Professions. Throughout her career, she has presented workshops related to CART services and hearing loss at numerous local, state, and national organizations. In 1997 she developed a two-day seminar on sensitivity training and basic sign language to educate others who are interested in working with people with hearing loss. This program has been approved for continuing education units by NCRA and has been presented throughout the country. By providing CART services for students with hearing loss at the university, Tess has attended virtually all the courses required for the master’s program for the School of Social Work and the master’s program for Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling, as well as many other courses in various programs over the past thirteen years, which has given her great insight as to the needs of mental health and rehabilitation services in this segment of society. Tess has been associated with many different organizations that support people with hearing loss, such as Hearing Loss Association of America, the Florida Association of the Deaf, and the National Association of the Deaf. She currently serves as a board member for the Suncoast Chapter of the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA), and is a lifetime member of the National Association of Late-Deafened Adults. The need for funding of CART services and mental health and rehabilitation counseling became apparent to her during her career as a CART Provider. The physical and emotional aspects of losing your hearing can become devastating personally, professionally, and financially, especially when coupled with other mental and physical issues. Less than a million of the 31 million people with hearing loss across the United States have sign language skills, which clearly demonstrates the necessity of CART services for communication for the remainder of this population. Lois Maroney and Terri Pendleton (Licensed Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counselors) and Tess Crowder have volunteered and provided services at discounted rates for many years throughout their careers. All three are considered experts in their respective fields by their peers and colleagues. Funding for these services has always been an issue, while the need for services continues to grow. Tess, Lois, and Terri are dedicated, compassionate, and committed to serving the needs of people with hearing loss. By establishing Communication Access, Inc., their work and service will be able to continue beyond their lifetime and for years to come. Contact information: Theresa Marie (Tess) Crowder Phone: 813-814-7736
Fax: 813-814-7746 Cell: 813-843-6279
Peter T. Kirkwood, Esquire Lois Maroney, LMHC Kathy Borzell, Hearing Loss Support Specialist Steve Larew Chris Wagner Dr. Charlotte Dixon, Professor Dr. Susan Kelley, Professor Dr. Gary Dudell, Professor Dr. Tennyson Wright, Professor Dr. Steven Boone, Professor, Director of Research Karen Yates, RPR, CRR, CBC, CCP Gayl Hardeman, RMR, CRR, CCP, RDR |
