Speakers
Kyle N. Acker, Au.D.
As Vice President of U.S. Commercial Sales, Kyle Acker, Au.D. leads Starkey’s U.S. Managing Directors and the sales team. He is responsible for developing and aligning Starkey’s sales strategies and growth objectives in the U.S. Over the course of his career, Dr. Acker has inversted time and talent in many aspects of the hearing industry, building an intimate understanding of the challenges providers face and how to support them in solving those challenges. He completed his B.S. in Industrial Hygiene and Organizational Leadership and Supervision and his M.S. And Au.D. at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
Mitch Mostardi, B.S.
Mitch Mostardi has served as a regional sales manager for e3 Diagnostics. He has worked for the over 6 years with audiologists to help them select, purchase, and maintain state-of the art instrumentation to serve the needs of their patients in Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan.
Christine Boyer, Au.D.
Dr. Christine Boyer is the Education and Training Specialist for the MidAmerica region at Oticon. She is responsible for new and continuing education programs for hearing care professionals, technical product training, and audiology field support for adults and children. Prior to joining Oticon Christine was a clinical Audiologist at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, as well as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Baldwin Wallace University. Most recently, Christine was a district manager in the hearing aid retail industry. Christine obtained her Au.D from AT Still University in 2011.
Amanda Albertsen, Au.D.
Dr. Amanda Albertsen is a Clinical Education Specialist at Widex. She received her Doctorate of Audiology from Illinois State University and her Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Iowa. Prior to working at Widex, Dr. Albertsen worked as an audiologist at a large private practice in Chicago. She firmly believes that hearing is essential to personal relationships.
Laurel, Christensen, Ph.D.
Dr. Laurel Christensen leads Global Audiology, which is part of Development Center – Hearing in Research and Development at GN. Global Audiology is responsible for all GN Hearing’s corporate audiology activities related to new product development and product launch including clinical trials, regulatory activities, audiology support to product marketing, and training and education to subsidiaries world-wide. She has presented well over 250 talks around the world and has many publications including book chapters on hearing aid technology. In 2015, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University where she received both her M.S. and Ph.D.
Peytra Gettings, Au.D.
Dr. Peytra Gettings is an audiologist and senior clinical trainer at Phonak. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego and her doctorate in Audiology from the Northeast Ohio Au.D. Consortium. She has been with Phonak for five years and previously worked as a clinical audiologist at the University of Kentucky.
Nicole Maxam, Au.D.
Dr. Nicole Maxam has been an audiologist for 20 years working in early intervention, pediatrics, hearing instruments, cochlear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids, and aural rehabilitation. She received her doctorate from AT Still University. Nicole comes today with knowledge in educational audiology, clinical audiology and implantable solutions.
Melissa Sigmund, Au.D.
Dr. Melissa Sigmund is a graduate of the University of WI Stevens Point-Madison, Dr. Sigmund is currently working for a private practice in Wisconsin. She was employed by Advanced Bionics as a Clinical Specialist for three years providing technical support for Advanced Bionics for audiologists and surgeons in the clinical and OR settings.
Juliëtte Sterkens, Au.D.
Dr.Juliëtte Sterkens has four-plus decades of experience in audiology, hearing rehabilitation, and assistive listening. Since 2012, she’s been on her encore career as a consumer and assistive listening advocate with the Hearing Loss Association of America. Her efforts have resulted in nearly 1000 hearing loop installations in Wisconsin and many more beyond. She has received several awards for her work, including the American Academy of Audiology Presidential and Wisconsin Audiologist of the Year awards. She serves on the board of HEAR-in-the-Fox Cities, a non-profit that helps pay for hearing aids for children in North-East Wisconsin.
Katie Armatoski, Au.D.
Dr. Katie Armatoski is an audiologist and content marketing specialist dedicated to empowering independent audiologists. Through her company, Ascending Audiologists, she helps audiology practices grow their patient base and strengthen their local presence by providing engaging, community-focused social media content.
Hannah Formella Zdroik, Au.D.
Dr. Hannah Formella Zdroik is a Music Audiologist and founder of Melody Audiology LLC, specializing in music industry professionals and hearing conservation. She serves patients in Central Wisconsin and nationwide through the telehealth platform Tuned Care. Dr. Formella Zdroik is currently a candidate in the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Education program at the Mississippi University for Women where she is enthusiastically uniting her passions of theatre accessibility with audiology. Dr. Formella Zdroik was recently awarded the Distinguished Early Career Professional Award by ASHA for making an impact in the areas of leadership and advocacy. In her free time, Dr. Formella Zdroik loves trout fishing.
Doug Johnson, J.D.,
graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for both his undergraduate and law school degrees. In 1977 Attorney Johnson created Johnson Law Offices. In 1983 he refocused Johnson Law to help hearing impaired workers exclusively to gain compensation for their loss and hearing aids. In 1973 Johnson began working in the state legislature advising the Assembly Elections Committee and the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules. In 1980 he ran for the Wisconsin State Senate. In 1981 he served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel to the Wisconsin Merchants Federation a group of 6,000 national and main street merchants. He also served as Executive Director and General Counsel for what became the Wisconsin Alliance of Hearing Professionals. The Alliance helped audiologists gain licensure in 1994. The Alliance gained national recognition known as “The Wisconsin Model”. After 38 years Johnson left the Alliance in 2020.
Nik Johnson J.D.
Nikolas J. Johnson exclusively practices worker’s compensation law on behalf of injured workers. He is a member of the Wisconsin Association of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys (WAWCA). Nikolas attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his undergraduate degree and earned his law degree from Marquette University Law School. While in law school, he finished first in his worker’s compensation course and received the CALI Award and Wisconsin Association of Worker’s Compensation Attorney awards for his performance and was a member of the Pro Bono Honor Society.
Ann Raabe, Au.D.
Dr. Ann Raabe has been an audiologist for 40 years. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UW-Madison and her doctorate from the Arizona School of Health Sciences. Passionate about serving the hearing-impaired community, Ann founded and led the Audiology Department at Mile Bluff Medical Center for 25 years before establishing a private practice in Mauston, WI. She currently is a Consulting Audiologist at Johnson Law Offices.
Evan Cretney, M.D.
Dr. Evan Cretney is an Otolaryngologist with Aurora Health who has a special interest in hearing loss, chronic ear disease, and cochlear implantation. He completed his medical training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a residency in Otolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he gained experience in pediatric otolaryngology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Eric Hulse, Au.D.
Dr. Eric Hulse is a clinical Audiologist that has been with Aurora Health Care since 2018. He completed his AuD at Rush University Medical Center. He splits his time completing vestibular and hearing assessments with subsequent aural rehabilitation for patients with hearing loss and tinnitus. He is a current member of the American Board of Audiology and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Meghan Wisneski, Au.D., PASC
Dr. Meghan Wisneski is a pediatric audiologist that has been with Aurora Health Care since 2019. Originally from Seattle, she completed her BS and AuD at the University of Washington before starting her career at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She holds a Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification from the American Board of Audiology. Dr. Wisneski specializes in pediatric diagnostic testing, pediatric amplification, pediatric cochlear implants, and electrophysiology.
Marcia Dewey, Au.D.
Dr. Marcia Dewey is in her 27th year of providing audiological services. She has been with the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network since 2007, providing diagnostic and rehabilitation services. Currently she is the supervisor of audiology service at Froedtert Hospital. Dr. Dewey began focusing in the area of tinnitus in 2008 and went on to create the Tinnitus & Hyperacusis program at Froedtert. Her career in audiology has led her to her current passion to specialize in treating adults and children with tinnitus and sound sensitivities.
Candy McGinnis, Au.D.
Dr. McGinnis has been in practice as an audiologist for 30+ years. She graduated from UW-Stevens Point with a M.S. and completed her Au.D. at A.T. Still Arizona School of Health Sciences. In 2010 she became the owner of Fox Valley Hearing Center and has grown the practice to four locations with 4 other audiologists who have the same passion for excellence in patient care.
Melissa Wittmann, Au.D.
Dr. Melissa Wittmann has over 25 years of experience in private practice audiology. Having first had the distinct pleasure of working with Dr. Meredy Hase for the first half of her career, it provided her with an excellent understanding of both how a business needs to be run but also a better understanding of insurance company contracts, state licensing laws and extraordinary patient care. The second half of her career was in private practice in Oshkosh and Neenah WI where she is now part owner of Fox Valley Hearing Center. Her academic accomplishments include a Doctor of Audiology degree (AuD), the Wisconsin Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Association (WSHA), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the Wisconsin Audiology Advocates (WAA).
Kathleen Haasch, Au.D.
Dr. Kathleen Haasch is the owner of Medical Hearing Associates. She brings a unique blend of expertise to the field of Audiology, having begun her academic journey with a double major in Speech-Language Pathology and Elementary Education. Dr. Haasch received her Doctor of Audiology ( Au.D.) degree from Salus University, her Masters in Audiology from Rush University, a Bachelors degree with a major in Audiology from the University of St. Francis, and her Associates Degree from Joliet Junior College. With a passion for problem-solving and enhancing patient care, she relishes the challenge of addressing complex hearing loss issues and finding the perfect hearing aid solutions for her patients.
Douglas Kloss, Au.D.
Dr. Douglas Kloss is an audiologist and owner of both Midwest Audiology Center in the Milwaukee area as well as Wisconsin Hearing Aids in the Madison area. Prior to working in private practice, Dr. Kloss served as an educational audiologist for the Milwaukee school district in Wisconsin for many years. Dr. Kloss has more than 30 years of experience as an audiologist. He earned his Master’s Degree in Audiology from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and obtained his Doctorate in Audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, School of Audiology (now Salus University Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) ). He is also the Sergeant at Arms for the Wisconsin Academy of Audiology (WAA).