Long-time Deaf Educator and Administrator at SJI Takes the Helm
The Board of Directors of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf announces that Teri Ouellette, LSLS Cert AVEd, has been named the new president of SJI.
Ouellette, a highly respected deaf educator and administrator who has more than 38 years of experience, has served as SJI’s Director of its Indianapolis location for the past 13 years. She also was a classroom educator in SJI’s St. Louis location for two years. In addition to her role with SJI, Ouellette currently is the President of the A.G. Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language.
“Teri’s outstanding credentials and long-time dedication to the children and families served by St. Joseph Institute made her the clear choice of the Board for the position of president,” said Richard J. Schul, Chairman of the SJI Board of Directors. “She has the skills to anticipate trends in deaf education and the experience of working as an educator, program director, and administrator for SJI in two states. We are delighted that she will bring her enthusiasm, energy, skills and vision to the position of SJI president.”
Ouellette replaces Peter Kachris, who served as SJI’s president from 2012 to 2014 before moving to become the transition officer for the Normandy Schools Collaborative in St. Louis.
Says Ouellette, “My vision for SJI is that we continue to lead the field of listening and spoken language for children who are deaf or hard of hearing by thinking and acting with innovation, and by transcending traditional boundaries in order to make the highest quality of services available to families, in the tradition of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.”
Ouellette earned her bachelor’s of science degree in special education for the hearing impaired from Eastern Michigan University in 1976. She then moved to Kentucky where she was an educator for children who are deaf or hard of hearing in the Jefferson County Public School system in Louisville for four years. After transitioning to Wisconsin where she founded a preschool program, Ouellette return to Kentucky as an education coordinator and early intervention teacher for the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center. In 1988 she earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Kentucky, focusing on early childhood special education. In 1994, she joined St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis as an educator before moving to Indianapolis to head SJI’s rapidly expanding program in Indiana.
A strong advocate for listening and spoken language education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, Ouellette has been active in many organizations, including the A.G. Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language, where she has been a board member since 2010 before assuming the president’s position earlier this year. For the past eight years, she also has been an adjunct professor in Ball State University’s graduate and undergraduate Special Education/Deaf Education programs.
“As first and foremost an educator, I’m excited about the possibilities in both St. Louis and Indiana for SJI to reach even more families and children needing our services,” Ouellette says. “To see — and hear — children excel at listening and spoken language skills so that they can transition successfully into their neighborhood schools is a wonderful testament to the great things that can be accomplished here at SJI. It’s why I come to work every day and why I smile every time I hear the laughter and conversations of the children in our programs.”
In announcing Ouellette’s promotion, the Board of Directors also made the decision to merge the SJI-Indianapolis Advisory Board and the SJI Board of Directors, which is based in St. Louis, creating a single governing organization to oversee all strategic activity of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf.Ouellette will oversee all of SJI’s programs and services from Indianapolis. Kathy Krueger, SJI’s Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer, will remain as SJI’s senior executive in St. Louis, overseeing all St. Louis services at SJI’s new location at 1300 Strassner in Brentwood, Mo.
About St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf
St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf is committed to the listening and spoken language education, spiritual and emotional growth, and personal development of children and young adults who are deaf or hard of hearing, without discrimination, reflecting the values and traditions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf is a proud United Way Agency. www.sjid.org.