2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
THE ANTONIA BRANCIA MAXON AWARD FOR EHDI EXCELLENCE
Nicole Brown
Nicole Brown is well into her second decade of improving outcomes for children and families who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Nicole has a wide breadth of experience, starting as a county public health nurse, certified pediatric nurse practitioner, child and adolescent health consultant and served 15 years as a Minnesota EHDI Coordinator. She broadened her reach becoming Newborn and Child Follow-up Supervisor, coordinating long-term follow up for all of Newborn Screening. She is currently the manager of Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN) at Minnesota Department of Health, leading newborn screening long-term follow-up, birth defects surveillance and Title V grant deliverables, while continuing facilitating Minnesota's EHDI advisory committee. During the COVID19 pandemic, she was a fierce advocate for continuing the important work of CYSHN and EHDI. During the first few months she personally made sure the EHDI priorities continued even though nearly 25 of her staff were reassigned to the COVID19 response.
While building her impressive professional resume, she developed a knack for quality improvement, skillfully facilitating learning communities to implement small tests of change in improving outcomes for 1-3-6 EHDI goals. She prioritized building relationships with colleagues and stakeholders and was instrumental in establishing the Minnesota Collaborative Plan, which convenes nearly 50 stakeholders and organizations to work together on education goals for kids who are DHH from birth to transition. She is passionate and committed to fostering and encouraging the next generation of professionals, giving regular presentations to inspire kids, nursing students, audiology graduate students, and teachers of DHH to understand the importance of the connection between education and public health. She served on the American Board of Audiology for board certification and pediatric specialty certification for audiologists. She prioritized volunteering at family events for children who are DHH.
Forever the optimist, she worked tirelessly to find ways to securely share data between Minnesota agencies for EHDI, resulting in a well-established partnership and data sharing agreement between EHDI and Minnesota Part C, and incorporating EHDI data into Minnesota's Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS). Through ECLDS, the public can see educational outcomes all MN children (including reading and math 3rd grade assessments), which can be further filtered by children identified as DHH.
Perhaps Nicole's favorite job is a mom to three amazing kids, two of whom are deaf. In her private capacity, she with her family testified to the Minnesota Legislature on behalf of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation, which successfully passed in 2007. She paired her family early with a Deaf Mentor so her kids could see for themselves the rich and fulfilling future ahead of them. She has a unique lens as both a parent and professional--thinking about the experiences of real parents and kids with every decision. She knows what it's like to juggle work, audiology appointments, broken hearing devices, all while getting her kids to their activities, doing it with grace and humor.
Nicole approaches challenges with a smile, unwavering in her spirit, knowing great things are possible.