Board of Directors
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Tom Luna currently serves as Idaho’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He first got involved in education by serving on the Nampa School Board for seven years in the 1990s. He also led the Idaho Achievement Standards Commission under Governor Phil Batt, and he was later appointed to chair the Idaho Assessment and Accountability Commission under Governor Dirk Kempthorne. In March of 2003, Luna was appointed to serve as a senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and traveled the country to work on rural education and school choice issues in the United States. Mr. Luna Serves on the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind Board as Chairman. |
Board Chairman |
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Steven Snow is the Executive Director of the Idaho Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. His professional experience includes several positions in post-secondary education such as academic advisor, lecture faculty. During his tenure in Washington D.C., he also had served on several committees on academic technology, student with disabilities, university accreditation taskforce on shared governance, and university operations and budget. Steven received a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and a master’s degree in Community Counseling from Gallaudet University. Currently, he serves as a Board member on Deaf Center Idaho, an Ex-Officio member of the Intermountain Special Studies Institute advisory board, a member of Idaho Deaf Education Advisory Council, a member of Idaho Court Interpreter Subcommittee, a member of Idaho Assistive Technology board, a member of Idaho Sound Beginning board and a member of the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind board. |
Vice Chair |
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Mark Falconer has worked in the public and private sector including various US state and regional positions with Hewlett-Packard Company, government affairs manager for the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, senior financial management analyst for the Idaho Legislature and staff assistant to former US Senator Jim McClure (R-ID). He graduated from the University of Idaho (BA) and The George Washington University (MPA) and also attended the University of South Florida. Mark and Kay have two children and three grandchildren. They are involved in numerous community activities and live in Boise, Idaho. Mr. Falconer serves on the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind as a citizen member. |
Citizen |
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Jeff Faulkner |
Citizen |
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Teresa Stivers Fritsch, Psy.S., NCSP has worked as a school psychologist in the Meridian School District in Meridian, Idaho for the past 16 years. Teresa has evaluated and counseled hearing students as well as those with a hearing loss as part of her job as a school psychologist in the district. Teresa was also a member of the task force which created the Idaho Quality Standards Educational Programs for Children and Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. She graduated with a Master’s and a Specialist degree from Gallaudet University’s School Psychology program in Washington, D.C. Prior to becoming a school psychologist with a specialty in deafness, Teresa taught deaf and hard of hearing students in Illinois for two years. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from Illinois State University. Teresa currently lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and son. |
Professional |
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Dr. Michael Graham was the Administrator of the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR) from 2003-2012. IDVR is a division under the State Board of Education, and facilitates Idahoans with disabilities to secure and maintain employment. IDVR provides vocational guidance, counseling, assessment, education and job training. Dr. Graham came to IDVR from the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where he served as executive director from December of 1998 until August of 2003. Dr. Graham is experienced in a variety of rehabilitation perspectives over the last twenty five plus years including: student, client, counselor, program developer, program manager, grant writer, Consultant, Orientation and Mobility teacher, problem solver, organizational developer, and agency administrator. Dr. Graham holds a Doctorate Degree in Special Education in Blindness and Visual Impairments from the University of Northern Colorado and a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation from Montana State University, billings. He and his wife Linda of 32 years have two wonderful young adult children along with an enjoyable assortment of domestic animals. |
Person who is Blind or Visually Impaired |
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Jennifer Hirai is a parent of a 13 year old son, Jackson, who is deaf with a cochlear implant. Their family also includes husband, Gregory and sons, James and Alex. The Hirai family farms in the Magic Valley where Jackson currently attends ISDB during the day. They also have first-hand positive experiences from when Jackson attended a private oral school in Oregon and public school (Perrine Elementary) at Twin Falls School District (TFSD). |
Parent of a Deaf/Hard of Hearing or Blind/Visually Impaired Child |
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Ramona Lee |
Special Education Director |