The Friends of OSD nonprofit board currently consists of 6 members and we are actively recruiting additional directors. Get Involved for more information about serving on the Friends of OSD Board.
Monthly Board meetings are usually held at OSD in the NTID Room, Administration/Library Building. Meeting time and day are subject to change in order to accommodate Board members’ schedules. Please check the OSD calendar and the FOSD Home Page/Events forspecifics each month. Board meetings are open to the public.
Friend of OSD Board of Directors – 2017
Charlotte Iliff, Secretary
Charlotte Iliff has worked in the field of Deaf Education since 1973. She is a graduate of Oregon College of Education (currently Western Oregon University). Ms. Iliff earned her bachelors degree in elementary education with minors in social science and mental retardation in 1972. She earned a masters degree in Deaf Education in 1973, also at O.C.E. Ms. Iliff has taught elementary aged students at the Florida School for the Deaf in St. Augustine, Florida and for the Southern Oregon Regional Program in Medford, Oregon. Ms. Iliff joined the staff at the Oregon School for the Deaf in 1988, where she taught both elementary and middle school students. Ms. Iliff was the Lead Teacher of the Elementary/Middle School Department from 1992-1997, and the Supervising Teacher of the same department until her retirement in June 2005. During her thirty-two years in deaf education, Ms. Iliff has dedicated herself to providing quality educational experiences for deaf and hard of hearing students.
Roshani Shay, Director
Roshani Shay Curtis, Ph.D., studied Psychology and Political Science at Willamette University from 1960-63. She earned her B.A.(1968), M.A.(1972) and Ph.D.(1974) in Political Science from the University of Oregon. Roshani was a professor of Political Science at Western Oregon University from 1979-2003, where she was named both Teacher of the Year (1988) and Advisor of the Year (1996). Roshani also raised five children. Her youngest and only biological child (born in 1964), Mark Sather, attended OSD for 16 years. Mark is deaf and autistic and now lives a full life in a home in Keizer and as an employee of Garten Services, Inc. Roshani served on the Board of Directors for Garten Services, Inc. from 1989 to 2003 and as its President for several years. In 1995 Roshani was named Oregon’s Board Member of the Year by the Oregon Rehabilitation Association and in 1997 she received an award for outstanding service to the community from the Marion County Health Advisory Board. Roshani has appeared in several international and national editions of Who’s Who. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Connections Program, the Bridges Program and she helped to create, as well as served as an officer for, Independent Opportunities Unlimited, Inc., all of which serve the deaf community.
Bill Moncsko, Treasurer
Bill was awarded a BA from the University of Vermont and an MS in Counseling from Western Oregon University. He completed a Masters Internship at the National Technical Institute For The Deaf in Rochester, New York. Bill has worked as a counselor in a Special Service Project at WOU serving deaf and hard of hearing college students, and as a middle and high school counselor at the Oregon School For The Deaf. While at OSD, Bill has served on various committees, including OSD’s Site Council, written grants establishing Professional-Technical and Service-Learning programs, and given presentations on Transition of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students at deaf education conferences. Since retirement from “active duty,” Bill has continued to serve OSD on a temporary basis as a Transition Counselor, substitute teacher and now as an FOSD board member.
Linda Couoh, Vice–President
Linda Couoh is a former 13-year employee of Oregon School for the Deaf 
where she served on the Search Committee for the Director of Oregon School for the Deaf and on the Planning Committee for the Future of Oregon School for the Deaf. She is the former executive secretary to the Oregon State Superintendent of Schools, a position from which she was promoted to Personnel Director of the Oregon Department of Education. Now retired, Linda is a charter board member and current director of Friends of OSD. Other nonprofit experience includes Independent Opportunities Unlimited and Northwest Human Services (with programs serving individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired), Willamette Valley Hospice, and A Promise of Health.
Lyra Behnke, Director
Lyra is a native of the Pacific Northwest. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from
Western Oregon University in ASL Studies with a minor in Business (2010) and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Gallaudet University, with a focus in Sign Language Linguistics (2012). After graduating from Gallaudet, she worked in the K-12 setting as a ASL Specialist at the Washington School for the Deaf where she worked with students and taught ASL as a first language. Her background as an immersed member of the Deaf community and drawing from her experiences as a Deaf individual contributes to her passion for language learning, especially with ASL. Lyra joined Western Oregon University as faculty in 2014, teaching in the same BA program she graduated from! She teaches courses focusing mostly on ASL Linguistics, First and Second Language Acquisition, and ASL core courses (ASL 1-9 and other electives).
Judy Lorenzen, President
Judy Lorenzen graduated from Willamette University with a BA in English Literature after which she taught English at North Salem High School and Sunset High School. She then went to Lewis and Clark where she received an MA in Special Ed, Hearing Impaired. Ms. Lorenzen began teaching Language Arts at the Oregon School for the Deaf in 1972. She taught in both the Middle and High School Departments, ultimately becoming High School Supervising Teacher, a position she held until her retirement in 2004. During her career, Ms. Lorenzen was also Adjunct Professor at both Lewis and Clark and Western Oregon University, teaching Methods of Teaching Reading in their teacher training programs.
Friends of OSD Advisory Council
In 2014, FOSD created an Advisory Council of 14 members to lend support and advice to the Board of Directors. Members of the Advisory Council make the following commitments:
- Lend their names to and endorse the work of FOSD
- Lend their expertise to advise FOSD when needed
- Participate in projects, events and activities according to their interests and abilities
- Receive FOSD’s annual report and provide advice, guidance and suggestions for the good of the organization
The FOSD Advisory Council held its first joint meeting with the Board of Directors on April 17, 2014 and most recently met on April 24, 2016. If you are interested in joining the Advisory Council, please contact FOSD.
Advisory Council Members – 2017
Meredith Brodsky
Teacher at OSD from 1970-73, worked at the Oregon Mental Health Division, Central School District, and is a retired Professor of Special Education at Western Oregon University.
Jerry Curtis
Retired Portland-Area Businessman
Lisa Heydemann
Parent of OSD graduate
Roquelyn Rocky Jastak
Retired physician, internal medicine, who does volunteer Hospice work. Her interest is due to the excellent, caring education, which her granddaughter received at OSD.
Dr. Elisa M. Maroney
A faculty member at Western Oregon University in the Division of Special Education since 1993, where she coordinates and teaches in the undergraduate ASL/English Interpreting program and the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies program.
Tom Pfaff
Independence insurance agent and parent of former OSD student
Larry Austin
Jill Bailey
Mary Bunn
Retired Special Education Specialist at Oregon
Dept. of Education and former teacher at OSD.
Verne Duncan
Retired Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction
Chad Ludwig
President of the Oregon Association of the Deaf.
Kevin Marshall
Employee of Garten Services, Inc.
Pam Rimmer
Retired head of psychological services and testing at OSD
Tim Rocak
CEO of Garten Services, Inc.
