Our staff is a group of highly trained and dedicated professionals with the sole mission of helping young children learn to listen, speak, and develop academically and socially with the intent of preparing them to transition into their local school with great success.
Cheryl Broekelmann, MA LSLS Cert. AVEd
Cheryl is the Director of Operation St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis. She has over 25 years experience as an educator of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She has served in a variety of roles at St. Joseph including Teacher, Supervisor of Preschool and Lower School, Early Childhood Program Director, and Director of Ihear Internet Therapy and Early Intervention. She has a BA in Deaf Education and an MA in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Administration from Fontbonne University. She is certified as a teacher and deaf educator in Missouri and a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Educator through the AG Bell Listening and Spoken Language Academy. She has served as a Lecturer at Fontbonne University. She has presented at numerous professional conferences as well as an author and co-author of articles published in journals such as Volta Voices, Volta Review, and ASHA Leader. She is the co-author of a chapter in 101 Frequently Asked Questions about Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Elizabeth Bush, Au.D,CCC-A
Elizabeth is the Audiologist at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, St. Louis. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders with an emphasis in Audiology and her Doctorate of Audiology from Missouri State University. She is a member of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association. Liz has been working with St. Joseph Institute since 2012.
Michelle Graham, MS, CED, LSLS, Cert.AVEd
Michelle is the Lead Early Intervention Therapist at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf. Michelle is an experienced Listening and Spoken Language Specialist in the field of Deaf Education. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences from St. Louis University and a Master of Science in Speech and Hearing from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Michelle maintains teacher certification in the area of Deaf/Hearing Impaired in several states in addition to Missouri certification in Early Childhood Special Education and Cross Categorical Disabilities: Mild/Moderate. Michelle’s experience encompasses teaching in reading resource and classroom settings, provision of speech and language services to children with cross categorical diagnoses, early intervention family centered sessions, and internet therapy sessions with families and school districts. Michelle is a professional member of AG Bell and the Council on Education of the Deaf. She teaches a graduate level course at Lindenwood University related to young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Michelle is an active participant in local and national early childhood and deaf education organizations and presents current findings relevant to internet therapy and early intervention at national conferences.
Kelsey Osterhage, MS, CF-SLP Kelsey joined the SJI team as a Speech-Language Pathologist in August 2019 for her clinical fellowship experience. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Illinois State University in 2017. She continued her education at Illinois State University and received her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 2019. During her graduate career, Kelsey assisted with research focused on language development and infant feeding. She has experience working with children ranging from birth to 18 years of age with Down syndrome, speech and language disorders, autism spectrum disorder, feeding and swallowing disorders, and more. Kelsey chose to pursue a career in speech-language pathology to work with children and their families to help them reach their full communicative potential. Upon learning about St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, their mission, and the services they provide, Kelsey wanted to join the team to provide services for children who are D/HH. She is focused on providing intervention in the preschool, early intervention, and iHear therapy settings.
Barb Meyers, M.A. Ed, CED
Barb is an ihear Therapist and Early Intervention therapist. She has taught children with hearing loss for over 35 years. She has a BA in Deaf Education and a Master’s degree in Special Education from Fontbonne University. Barb taught at Litzsinger School in the St. Louis County Special School District, worked as a private tutor for students at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, Central Institute for the Deaf, and Special School District. Barb has been teaching at St. Joseph’s for over 30 years and has been trained in listening and spoken language. Her experience includes teaching in the Preschool Department, being a therapist in the Early Intervention Program in the Molloy Family Center and currently being an iHear internet therapist. Barb also is an educator in the Early Intervention in Deaf Education Master’s program at Fontbonne University and has supervised graduate students doing practicum work from Fontbonne University and Washington University. Barb has presented current findings relevant to early intervention and internet therapy at national conferences across the country. She is a professional member of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and the Council on Education of the Deaf and has licensures in Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Anna Lucht, MS, CCC-SLP Anna joined the SJI team in August 2017 for her clinical fellowship experience. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Illinois State University in Normal, IL in 2015. She then went on to complete her Master of Science degree at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN in May 2017. Although she was heavily focused on learning how to better serve children who are D/HH during her graduate school career, Anna brings vast experience working with children with sensory feeding disorders, voice disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and more. She will be focused on Early Intervention and iHear therapy.
Holly Frigerio, MA
Holly joined the SJI staff as a Toddler/Preschool Educator in Jan 2018. She received her Bachelors in Science specializing in Communication Disorders from Southeast Missouri State and her Masters in in Early Intervention in Deaf Education from Fontbonne University. She has worked in educational settings at the preschool level and beyond; her interest in the field was sparked by early exposure to newborn hearing screen. She is licensed in Missouri and will be focused on obtaining her LSLS.
Colleen Kinsella, MA, CED
Colleen joined the SJI team in August 2019 as an iHear therapist and Early Intervention therapist. She previously worked in Chicago following the completion of her Master of Arts in Early Intervention in Deaf Education from Fontbonne University. Colleen has experience working in both an Early Intervention setting and a preschool classroom. She has also provided private tutoring in aural rehabilitation following cochlear implant activation in school-aged children. She gained an interest in working with children with hearing loss during undergrad and has been working alongside families and children ever since; providing resources and helping children during their hearing journey is her passion! Colleen holds teaching licenses in Missouri and Illinois in Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Early Childhood Special Education, as well as holding EI certification in both Missouri and Indiana. She is a professional member of the Council on Education of the Deaf and has co-presented a concurrent session at the 2016 AG Bell Convention. Currently, Colleen is focused on obtaining her Doctorate in Education at Fontbonne University.