John Seymour Berry received a BA from Saint Edwards University in 1968. During his tenure at the University of St. Edwards, John worked as house parent and supervisor at the Texas School for the Deaf. Because of this experience, John began his Masters in Deaf Education at the University of Texas in 1968. He transferred to the University of Tennessee where he received his MS in Deaf Education in 1972.

After graduating, John worked at the University of Tennessee for 10 years and served as a teacher-clinician and coordinator of the Verbotonal Preschool Program. He was an instructor and supervisor of the Verbotonal Adult Aural Rehabilitation Program. John also studied in Zagreb, Croatia, at the Centre SUVAG to become a trainer in the Verbotonal Method and is a certified Verbotonal Aural Rehabilitation Therapist.

In 1975, John started Blount Hearing and Speech Services, which has served over 20,000 patients and has a staff of eight employees. In 1981, John and Tutt Bradford co-founded the Hearing and Speech Foundation (HSF), fulfilling John’s passion to provide quality services for the hearing needs of economically disadvantaged hearing-impaired individuals. John also focused his energies to launch the HSF Research and Development Program that houses an anechoic chamber used in studies on speech acoustics.

John’s career goals have included establishing both domestic and international hearing aid assistance programs, being involved in research to explore the field of auditory perception, and establishing a therapy and training center to promote the principles and strategies of the Verbotonal System. In June 2012, the center became a reality. The HSF is housed in a facility conducive to therapy, research, and training; it joins a network of 22 countries that implement the Verbotonal techniques in helping individuals with hearing and other communication difficulties.

John was born December 25, 1943, in Blanco, Texas, and is the oldest of eleven children. He has two children and several grandchildren. John and his wife, Sara, live in Laurel Valley with their dog, Seymour.

Susan Caylor is the Director of Case Management services for Cherokee Health Systems where she has been working for 23 years. She has a master’s degree in Counseling from Lincoln Memorial University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Susan has lived in Townsend since 1998. She is a member of Campground United Methodist Church in Townsend. She enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, and photography. She loves the mountains and Townsend, and when she is not working, you can usually find her riding her bike or hiking in the Smokies.

Susan has one daughter, Eva, and lots of animals. Her passion lies in helping those who no one else will help…those with no insurance, no money, no home, and little hope are the clients she enjoys working with the most. It has been her life’s mission to help the underserved, which is why she feels passionate about the Hearing and Speech Foundation. Everyone deserves health care.

Mandy currently works for Blount County Schools as an Itinerant Teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Visually Impaired. She also serves as an instructional coach and Child Find coordinator. She has been with Blount County Schools for six years. Before that, she served as Reading Interventionist for Anderson County Schools. Mandy graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and a minor in Child and Family Studies. She then went on to earn a master’s degree in Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Mandy’s second master’s degree is from Trevecca Nazarene University in Education for Visual Impairments.

At a very young age, Mandy was diagnosed with Bilateral Sensorineural Moderate-Severe Hearing loss and Aided. She attended an oral/aural program at the University of Tennessee for 2 years before mainstreaming into a public school system. She was a recipient of The Hearing and Speech Foundation from diagnosis to early adulthood and through their support and resources has become successful in navigating a hearing world. For this reason, she decided to pursue a degree in education after exploring various career fields.

In addition to teaching, Mandy works as a developmental therapist with Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative working with families and their children ages birth-3+ with hearing loss. This job allows her to pursue her passion to ensure that every student is offered equal access to his or her education and to offer her unique personal experience in navigating a world made for the hearing. Mandy is also a co-president for the local Knoxville Hearing Loss Association chapter, which is a support group for adults and families who are living with hearing loss. Mandy received the Southeast Regional Institute on Deafness Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in 2022.

Jackie Eul currently works at Leadership Blount as the Office and Marketing Coordinator. She is also the Program Director for Fit.Green.Happy., the nonprofit arm of Mountain Challenge. Jackie grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago in DuPage County where she found her love for dance, adventure, and outdoor recreation. She then graduated from College of DuPage with an Associate’s Degree before transferring to Maryville College to further explore her love for Outdoor Education. In 2018, she graduated from Maryville College as the first recipient of the Outdoor Studies and Tourism Bachelor’s degree. After college, she spent a few years serving as a CAC AmeriCorps member in Knoxville as the outdoor classroom coordinator for three South Knoxville elementary schools, all while continuing to grow her position at Mountain Challenge and return back to Maryville College. Her service in AmeriCorps ignited a love for volunteering which she has done for multiple nonprofits in both Knox and Blount County. Currently, she is serving on the Blount BEneFITs committee, is involved in AmeriCorps mentor programs, and serves on the Maryville College Wellness Council.

Hailey is a Career Coach in the Division of Student Success at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A native East Tennessean, she is passionate about strengthening her community through both her professional work and personal involvement. Hailey earned her master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Tennessee and has spent much of her career working in nonprofit and community organizing spaces, supporting initiatives that expand opportunity and community development.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, wandering through the Smoky Mountains, attending community events, and crafting.

Brian Hord has worked for CBBC Bank for the past 25 years, currently working as a Senior Vice President/ Commercial Lender and Relationship Manager for the past 11 years. Brian is a lifelong resident of Blount County, having graduated from William Blount High School in 1996. Brian graduated from UT Knoxville with a bachelor’s in business administration in 2001 and continued his education at Lincoln Memorial University with an MBA with a concentration in finance in 2004. Brian has completed the Southeastern School of Advanced Commercial Lending through The Tennessee School of Banking & is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in 2017.

Brian is active in the Blount Chamber of Commerce VIP program and has served as a Board Member for the American Cancer Society in Knoxville as well as serving on the fundraising committee for the Smokey Mountain Council Boy Scouts of America. Brian attends RIO Central Church in Maryville and participates in The Christmas Store, who works with the Relative Care Giver Program of Child Help Tennessee.

Brian is passionate about serving others through his community banking career and enjoys working with his existing customer base as well as meeting new customers and learning about their businesses and their roadmap to success.

Melinda is a retired Registered Nurse after 25 years of practice at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. She began her career in nursing in the operating room at UT. After earning specialty certifications in the OR and Orthopedics, she worked with University Orthopedic Surgeons until her retirement. Currently, Melinda volunteers in the community for several nonprofit organizations. She is on the board of James White’s Fort in Knoxville and is chair of the Fort’s Beautification Committee.

Luis is a native of Veracruz, Mexico. He has lived in East Tennessee since 2000, and began working at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in 2012. Among his duties at the church, Luis works with the various media and communication platforms of the parish as well as does the parish event scheduling. In his role in Youth Ministry, he coordinates the High School Ministry Program & the Fellowship of Young Adults (FOYA) Program.

Luis completed the Diocese of Knoxville Catechetical Formation Program through Aquinas College to fulfill certification requirements as a Certified Catechist. Luis additionally works as an interpreter with Blount Memorial Hospital.

In his free time, Luis enjoys learning, reading, spending time with his dog Toby, and art.

Leslee is a retired Hearing Therapist, born in Knoxville and a graduate of the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Leslee began her career in 1973 at UT’s Dept. of Audiology and Speech Pathology as a Demonstration Teacher in a grant-supported Hearing Impaired (HI) preschool program. She was trained in Knoxville and Croatia to implement techniques of the Verbotonal System, an oral/auditory method used extensively in Europe to teach speech and language to HI individuals. As a Master Trainer, Leslee trained teachers and clinicians locally and nationally in the implementation of the Verbotonal Method, and often wrote grants to fund hearing services in budget-challenged school systems. She served Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) clients privately within a local ENT practice for 10 years and taught English as a 2nd language to Taiwanese hearing impaired students.

Leslee joined Hearing Services for Knox County Schools in 1996, became active on the Advocacy Board of the Hearing & Speech Foundation (HSF) in 2004, and she developed the first training manual published by the HSF in 2010. Leslee became part of the HSF staff in 2011 and continued her Verbotonal therapy strategies with APD children and adults until 2022. She organized two HSF sponsored “Sounds In Motion” conferences in conjunction with Maryville City Schools, retired and rejoined the HSF Board in July 2023.

Leslee and her husband Paul reside in Farragut and enjoy traveling, birding and grandchildren.

Native Maryvillian and Cades Cove descendant, Jasmine Satterfield has made a career of helping the people of Blount County and East Tennessee. This wife and mother of three serves as a registered nurse at Senior Care Partners of East Tennessee as their Community Outreach Director, with a focus on senior care services and caregiver support. Jasmine was voted Best Nurse in Blount County in 2020. She and her husband, Greg, are also local business owners, and Jasmine is active in the community and in volunteer programs. Jasmine has a passion with a servant’s heart for helping others and serving her community.

A native of East Tennessee, Laura was born and raised in Alcoa, Tennessee, where she proudly spent her entire educational career as an Alcoa Tornado. It was there that she first developed a passion for marketing, which led her to attend East Tennessee State University, where she majored in Business Administration with a focus in Digital Marketing.

Following graduation, Laura worked with an international travel brand, creating social media content while traveling abroad. During that time, she accepted an opportunity that ultimately brought her back home to East Tennessee, and to the Hearing and Speech Foundation, where she now continues to support the organization’s outreach and storytelling efforts.

Laura’s favorite part of growing up in East Tennessee has always been the strong sense of community, which is why she is passionate about giving back through opportunities like serving on the Hearing and Speech Foundation’s Board of Directors. Her second favorite part is the endless beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains, where she enjoys spending her free time exploring the parkway and taking in the views that make this region so special.