UAD - Meet the board members

Ron Nelson President Email: rgkerr14@hotmail.com	Ron moved to Logan at the age of 9, after living in Japan, Colorado, Arizona, and Hawaii as an Army brat. He graduated from Logan High School and Utah Technical Community College and is employed as the Senior Director of Product Management for NexTalk. He enjoys reading and being on the sea. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Kristi Mortensen; they have been married since 1984. Their "child" is a cat, Longaberry.

Lorin Melander Vice-Presidentt	Even though Lorin was born in Provo, Utah, he considers himself a California native. He is a graduate of the Riverside School for the Deaf in California, class of 1970. He went on to Gallaudet College, but since Gallaudet did not offer science or engineering, he transferred to CSUN. Before he did that, he served a mission in Los Angeles for two years. After completing his mission, he married Donna Brown from Sandy and became a BYU student. He graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. They moved to California, where Lorin served twice as a Branch President for the Fremont Branch. He worked for IBM, Cirus Logic and Lockheed Martin while in California. They moved to Utah in July 2005 where Lorin was employed with Lumenis. His new hobby is photography. Lorin loves being a grandpa.

Eleanor ‘Eli’ McCowan Secretary	After growing up in the beach community in Western Michigan, Eli was a nomad in various states for several decades including the years at Gallaudet, where she graduated with my bachelor's degree in social work, until she moved here. She has worked at Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville, UT for the last 10 years where she is currently its program manager. Eli is the owner of two beloved cats, Chipo, the huggable & drooling big sister, and Stormie, the crazy-running and meowing younger sister. Her life’s pleasures are gardening, quilting, swimming, biking, reading, and family reunions. She dreams of getting her master degree in organizational counseling. Her life philosophy, by John Dewey, is "arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.”

Valerie Kinney Treasurer	A native of Vancouver, BC, Canada, she ended up in Utah in 1967 and has put down deep roots since then. After education in her home town, she attended and graduated from Gallaudet College in 1966. A member of the Utah Association for the Deaf since 1967, she has served the organization in various capacities – board officer, board member, bookstore manager, assistant treasurer, Bulletin editor, UAD Announce moderator. Val currently serves as advisor to the UAD Bookstore manager. She also serves as secretary for Ned C. Wheeler Scholarship Foundation for the Deaf. Val lives in Roy with her Maltese terrier, Mickey. Her daughter Cathy and son John, and their families, live nearby.

Stephen Ehrlich Board Member at Large	Stephen was born deaf with low vision in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised by the first deaf couple in U.S. to become foster parents. He graduated from Gallaudet in 1972. He then got his Master’s at California State University in 1975. Due to Usher's Syndrome, Stephen became totally deaf-blind in 1988, having a strong preference towards the deaf world. He was the first Deaf-blind rehabilitation teacher at Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind and was instrumental in having this agency sponsor an annual summer camp retreat for deaf-blind adults, since 1978. Stephen has served both deaf and deaf-blind organizations, community-based, statewide and nationwide. He moved to the Salt Lake area in 1998, when he met his wife, Jana, and they will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary this year. Stephen is an active member of UAD and Beehive Chapter of GUAA. He is employed part-time at Sears Grand, specializing in ratchet repair. His favorite hobbies are reading, knitting, weightlifting and swimming, unaided, at Gene Fullmer Recreation Center.

Rob Kerr Board Member at Large	Rob originally was from Utah, and for over 25 years lived in other states; he returned home from Wisconsin in 1995. He graduated from Seattle Community College in 1979 with a certificate in Computer Information System, and went on to Gallaudet University, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He has had various jobs as computer clerks at Naval base departments and private companies. He has been involved in sport and deaf organizations. He is happy to be an UAD board member at large for a new two year term after two terms as UAD President. He is always interested in participating in the deaf community as he is able. He retired from his part-time work at MediaOne (formerly Newspaper Agency Corporation) 2008. He loves the outdoors - camping and biking. He has been working on his family genealogy as time permits and yet he is looking for a new hobby that will keep him busy.

Abel Martinez Board Member at Large	His name is Juan, but everyone calls him Abel. He was born in New Mexico, and his family moved to Ogden so he could attend Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. He graduated in 1968. He graduated from West Valley Occupational Center in Los Angeles with a certificate, and worked for Dynamic Science Inc. as electronic technician for 13 years. He and Ana lived and worked in Los Angeles for 24 years. He and Ana have been married for 36 years. They have been in Salt Lake City valley since 2003. He is active with Bonneville Senior Club for the Deaf, and was vice president for a term. He bowls in the weekly bowling league. He has worked for Newspaper Agency Corporation for more than one year. His hobby is quilting.

Donna Melander Board Member at Large	Donna is a native Utahn, a graduate of Jordan High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah, in Recreational and Leisure Studies. She served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, where she learned ASL, prosolyted in the deaf community, and met her future husband, Lorin. After completing her mission, she worked at the Ogden School for the Deaf as a dormitory counselor. Lorin and Donna were married August 21, 1976 and moved to Provo, Utah. Donna became an interpreter while her husband went to BYU, and during their five years there, they had three children. After graduation, they moved to Fremont, California, and lived there for 25 years. They are now back in Utah where she is a VRS interpreter for Sorenson Communications. Donna is also a member of the Riverton Metropolitan Orchestra where she plays the bassoon. They have four beautiful granddaughters.

Philippe Montalette Board Member at Larger	Philippe was born in Paris, France. His childhood was spent in New York City and London, England. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology, from the University of Phoenix. He and his family moved to Utah in January 2007 due to a transfer to Sorenson Communications in Salt Lake City. He is a database report writer. He and his wife Yvonne have three adult children. Their older daughter resides in Bay Area, California. Their son is currently a student at Gallaudet. The younger daughter lives with them and attends a college in Utah. He and Yvonne are married. They have known each other over 25 years. They reside in Lehi and love their two little hyper dogs. They love to travel all over the world and enjoy different cultures and history. Philippe is passionate about food, travelling, and hiking.

Robert G. Sanderson President Emeritus	As elder statesman for the board, Sandie brings a wealth of experience in vocational rehabilitation, sign language teaching, and national organizations for the deaf. Sandie, who hails from Nevada, graduated from Utah School for the Deaf and since then has gone on to Gallaudet University, California State University, University of Utah and Brigham Young University, working his way up to the doctorate level. His employment career has been mainly in Utah vocational rehabilitation, with three years as the first director of the Utah Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The Utah Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was recently renamed in his honor. Sandie has two adult sons and two grandchildren, the latter to spoil. His longhaired dachshunds, Gigi and Tiny Tim, round out their family.