May 26, 2021
Dr. Michele Wilkins announced her June 2022 retirement from Child’s Voice.
Since 1999, Dr. Michele has been the Executive Director at Child’s Voice. In that time, she has expanded programming to include Early Intervention services and therapies for children, ages 0-3; an Audiology Center that offers testing and support of hearing aids and cochlear implants; further expansion of the Center to include testing of newborns and infants at risk for hearing loss; extended support for children after they leave Child’s Voice programs to ensure their success in their local, neighborhood schools. Dr. Michele has also assisted with developing an incredible reputation for Child’s Voice, both regionally within our school district and educational partners, nationally through involvement with multiple advocacy organizations such as EHDI (Early Hearing Detection and Intervention) and OPTION Schools. This has expanded to international partnerships through Dr. Michele’s vision, outreach, and presentations to programs in Ecuador and Israel.
The dedication and singular focus on excellence for each and every child, family, and staff member has allowed for incredible moments, from those first words, to graduation ceremonies in our hallways, to successful alumni now completing their college degrees and even advanced degrees, to a graduate becoming a teacher at Child’s Voice and truly coming full circle.
The 2020-2021 year represented entirely new challenges with ensuring the safety of students, families, and staff as we navigated the incredible new and choppy waters of the pandemic. Pivoting all education and services to virtual platforms in the spring and summer of 2020 was no easy task. Dr. Michele worked closely with all department heads to establish new practices, methods, support systems, and protocols to support this new method of learning while preparing to return to in-person instruction. Successfully, the programs re-opened in the fall of 2020 for in person learning and have been doing so since.
The Board of Directors is dedicated to ensuring a thoughtful and intentional search for the next leader of Child’s Voice. They have hired a consulting firm and the process will enter its next phase in the second half of this year.
