About Our School | Staff Profiles
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Janet Christensen, M.A., | Director of Educational Programs
Jennifer Bennett | Teacher of the Deaf
Ciara Blessing, M.A., CCC-SLP, |Speech Therapist
Lisa Herlicy, M.A., | Teacher of the Deaf
Janet Christensen holds a Masters degree in Special Education (emphasis in deaf and hard of hearing) and an Educational Specialist Credential (emphasis in deaf and hard of hearing). Ms. Christensen began teaching in the auditory-oral PreKindergarten classroom in 1999 and moved to the Parent-toddler classroom in 2001. Currently, she is the director of Educational Programs for the Auditory-Oral School of San Francisco. In addition, she teaches the Parent-Toddler auditory-oral class, provides itinerant teacher services to children from age three to eighteen in regular education settings, offers aural rehabilitation services for youth and adults with cochlear implants, and delivers presentations on topics related to oral deaf education. Ms. Christensen’s interest in oral deaf education began in 1984 when her son was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss; she is very proud that he is a successful oral communicator now teaching high school history in a general education setting. As a director, teacher, and parent, she is committed to empowering children and adults with hearing losses.
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Jennifer Bennett earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders
from the University of Florida in 2001. She holds a Teaching Certificate in
Deaf/Hard of Hearing in Florida and the Education Specialist Credential in Deaf/Hard of
Hearing in California. In addition, Jennifer has attended trainings in Auditory-Verbal
Techniques and Auditory Skills Development. Jennifer’s Florida teaching career
consisted of opening and teaching the Auditory Oral PreK-K program for Brevard Public
Schools and also served as an Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, working
with students 3 to 22 years of age. Jennifer has provided parent-centered therapy with newly implanted and aided children, focusing on developing auditory skills. After seven
years of teaching in Florida, Jennifer is currently the teacher of the Preschool Auditory
Oral class, as well as the Parent-Infant classes at the center. Jennifer believes that a team
approach with Parents, Families, teachers, Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists,
etc. are all an integral part of children learning to use their hearing to develop spoken
language.
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Ciara Blessing, MS CCC-SLP, obtained her bachelor’s degree in clinical speech and language studies in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Having completed her studies she began working in an auditory-oral school for the deaf and combined this with clinical work addressing a range of childhood speech-language delays, disorders. She moved to San Francisco in 1997 and worked in San Francisco Unified School District. During this time she also pursued a Master’s Degree in San Francisco State University with a focus on deafness, hearing loss and cochlear implants. Following completion of her studies, Ciara joined the staff at the Auditory-Oral School of San Francisco. She has 12 years experience and provides individual auditory training and speech-language therapy to students ranging in age from 18months to 7years. In addition, she works with youth and adults pre and post cochlear implant and is a member of the UCSF Douglas Grant cochlear implant team.
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Lisa Herlicy earned a Bachelor's degree in Communicative Disorder's, a Master's degree in Special Education in 2002 (emphasis in deaf and hard of hearing) and an Education Specialist Credential in 2003 (emphasis in deaf and hard of hearing) at San Francisco State University in San Francisco. During her studies while training as an Teacher of the Deaf at the Auditory-Oral School of San Francisco she worked with families and students as a grief counselor facilitating student groups in Kindergarten-8th grade in a general education setting also working as a teacher's aide in the second and third grade classrooms. In 2004 she began providing services as an itinerant teacher on the staff of the Auditory-Oral School serving elementary school children. In 2005 she began teaching the PreKindergarten auditory-oral classroom and then moved to the Kindergarten-2nd grade auditory-oral classroom where she teaches currently. Her family has a long history of profound hearing loss and she wants to enable people with hearing loss to be successful and happy communicators. Her son is a Senior in College who will graduate this year.
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