18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL

THE ANTONIA BRANCIA MAXON AWARD FOR EHDI EXCELLENCE

The 2019 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence will be presented at the 2019 National EHDI Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This award honors the life and work of Dr. Antonia Brancia Maxon to promote effective Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs for all newborns, infants, and young children. Dr. Maxon was a pioneer in EHDI programs, beginning with her leadership in the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Project in the late 1980's. She was one of the first to recognize the feasibility and value of universal newborn hearing screening and was a tireless advocate for connecting screening programs with timely and appropriate diagnosis and early intervention.

Her extensive contributions to creating excellent EHDI programs were abruptly ended by a tragic automobile accident in May of 2007. In memory of her contributions, an Award for EHDI Excellence is presented each year at the National EHDI Meeting to honor an individual who has made outstanding contributions to achieving excellence in EHDI programs nationally or in a particular state or region.

Presentation of the 2019 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence will be made on Monday March 4, 2019 at the National EHDI Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. More about the National EHDI Meeting, including past nominees and recipients can be found below.


Congratulations to Lisa Kovacs, winner of the 2019 Antonio Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence!
View video of the Maxon Award

2019 Nominees

Previous Awards




EHDI Family Leadership Award

Congratulations to Djenne-Amal Morris and Lesa Coleman, winners of the 2019 EHDI Family Leadership Award!
View video of the EHDI Family Leadership Award

2017 was the inaugural year for the EHDI Family Leadership Award. During the last several decades it has become increasingly clear that EHDI only exists to improve the well-being of babies and families. Symbiotically, engaged families are central to the success of EHDI programs and more specifically to the success of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

This award honors a parent or family member of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing for providing exemplary leadership in their state EHDI system and whose leadership has led to improved outcomes. The recipient was selected by NCHAM's Family Advisory Committee.

2019 Nominees

  • Valerie Abbott
  • Lesa Coleman
  • Cheri Dowling
  • Darlene Freeman
  • Shelli Janning
  • Sara Kennedy
  • Nikki Kepo'o
  • Djenne-Amal Morris
  • Andrea Samuel
  • Johanna Wonderly

Previous Awards


2019 Website of the Year

Congratulations to Utah EHDI program for winning the 2019 Website of the Year Award!
View the Utah website
View video of website of the year award

2019 Poster Awards

Congratulations to the following 2019 Poster Award winners!

Best Poster Presentations:
#41 Interdisciplinary Preparation of Teachers of the Deaf and Speech-Language Pathologists to Provide Early Intervention Services to Young Children Who Are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) and Their Families
By: Laura O'Hara, Jenna Voss

#6 Case Studies of Deaf Children with Language Deficits
By: Julie Rems-Smario , Natasha Kordus

Best Student Poster Presentations:
#67 Who should EHDI programs target for increasing referrals for genetic evaluations?
By: Lauren Howard, Darcia Dierking, Elise Holmes, Nicole Brown, Sarah Angerman

#72 Parental Perspectives on Using Hearing Assistive Technology in Non-Academic Settings
By: Kathryn Rawls, Sandra Gabbard

People's Choice
#4 Ensuring Timely Congenital Cytomegalovirus Testing and Follow-up for Babies Who Do Not Pass Newborn Hearing Screening at Mayo Clinic: Insights One Year Later
By: Kelsey Dumanch, Lee Belf, Joscelyn Martin, Lisa Schimmenti, Charles Huskins, Karthik Balakrishnan, Gayla L. Poling