John Berry, co-founder and CEO

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 started on 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 wore many hats: Coordinator & Teach Clinician of Preschool Deaf Program; Instructor and Supervisor of the Verbotonal Aural Rehabilitation Program; and Instructor and Supervisor of the Preschool Aural Habilitation 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 Rehabilitationist.

In 1975, John started Blount Hearing and Speech Services, which has served over 20,000 patients and has a staff of eight employees. In addition to owning his own business, John is the co-founder and CEO of the Hearing and Speech Foundation. He also works with the Research and Development Program to conduct studies on speech perception in the HSF anechoic chamber.

John’s goal is to establish an institution through the Foundation that focuses on providing assistance for hearing aids; conducting research to improve the field of auditory perception; and to set up a training program to pass on this information.

John was born December 25, 1943, in Blanco, Texas, and is the oldest of eleven children. He has two children, John William Berry and Clarice Parker Caywood. In June of 2003, John married to Sara Pope Proffitt. They live in Laurel Valley with their dog, Seymour.

Amanda Womac, Executive Director

Amanda is a Southern Appalachian native who grew up in Maryville, Tenn. She received her BA in English from UT-Chattanooga and Master’s in science journalism from UT-Knoxville. For over 12 years, Womac has volunteered with various nonprofit environmental organizations and participated in numerous campaigns to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Amanda is president of the board of directors for the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists and a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. She is a Leadership Blount Alumni, class of 2011, and has participated in the United Way of Blount County Loaned Executive Program.

When she’s not in the HSF office, Womac can be found teaching public speaking at Lincoln Memorial University. In her spare time, Womac enjoys reading, playing guitar, running and working in her garden. She lives in Knoxville with her husband and two cats, Archimedes and Paka.

Womac joined the Foundation research and development program as a technical writer in 2008 and became executive director May of 2009. She was featured in the Blount Today chat room Sept. 10, 2009.

Melissa Smith, Outreach Program Coordinator

Melissa was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and raised in Powell, Tenn. She has a Bachelors of Science in Organizational Management from Tusculum College, and an Associates of Applied Science in both Marketing and E-Commerce.

She joined the Hearing and Speech Foundation in December 2009 as office manager and coordinator of the Hearing Aid Assistance Program. Prior to that, she worked in coordinating media for both Goody’s Family Clothing and Comcast Spotlight.

She lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with her wonderful husband Jason, and her favorite feline Molly Ringmeow.

Leslee Rook, Training Program Coordinator

Leslee received her BS in Special Education from the University of Tennessee in 1972 and received Verbotonal training from Petar Guberina at the SUVAG Center in Croatia.

She received Trainer Certification from the Institute of Aural Rehabilitation in 1980 and for over 30 years, has trained professionals in the Verbotonal method at schools and clinics across the country. Leslee’s addition to HSF has been a much-anticipated move and one that brings us one step closer to becoming a world leader of training professionals in the Verbotonal method.

Leslee lives in Knoxville with her husband Paul, who is audiologist with Blount Hearing and Speech Services.