MEET THE GUIDES
Our Guide By Your Side Program serves the entire state of Illinois. This map represents our color coded regions. Many of our guides serve families statewide, some stay within their color region. See the Parent Guide Bio's and color regions below.
Carrie Balian
Program Coordinator
Carrie Balian is the mother of five children. Her oldest, Jack, was born deaf. Carrie and her family reside in Island Lake, IL. She is the Coordinator of the Guide By Your Side program in Illinois. Carrie has presented to groups nationwide and co-authored several publications including the NCHAM e-book. Carrie has served or is currently serving as a board member for the Illinois Genetic & Metabolic Diseases Advisory Council, , an editor for the JEHDI publication and participated on the Illinois Universal Newborn Hearing & Screening Advisory Board and Illinois Deaf Task Force. She also participated as a parent professional on the NICHQ national and statewide learning collaborative teams. Carrie has been recognized and awarded both nationally and locally for her support, commitment and leadership in the field. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management.
Meet our Guides who are located all over our state.
Kelly Hemesath
Lead Parent Guide - Light Blue Region
Kelley is the mother of two children one who is deaf. Kelley and her family live in St. Clair County.
Jaclyn Urbanski
Senior Parent Guide - Yellow Region
Jaclyn is the mother of three children one who is deaf. She is also a Board Member of IL Hands & Voices. Jaclyn and her family live in Lake County.
Lucy Espinoza
Lead Parent Guide - Statwide
Lucia is the mother of two children one who has hearing loss. She assists families as one of our Spanish speaking Parent Guides. Lucia and her family live in Will County.
Anita Cervantes-Bowen
Lead Parent Guide - Statewide
Anita is the mother of four children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She assists families as our Deaf Parent Guide. Anita and her family live in McLean County.
Lydia Hernandez
Senior Parent Guide - Statewide
Lydia is the mother of four children one who is hard of hearing. She assists families as one of our Spanish speaking Parent Guides, she is also a board member of IL Hands & Voices. Lydia and her family live in Cook County.
Christen Nolfi
Senior Parent Guide - Brown Region
Christen is the mother of one child who is deaf. She is also a Board Member of IL Hands & Voices.Christen and her family live in Cook County.
Andrea Stambaugh
Parent Guide - Turquois Region
Andrea is the mother of one child who is deaf. She is also the Vice President of our IL Hands & Voices Board. Andrea and her family live in Kendall County.
Alicia Aaron
Parent Guide
Alicia is the mother of two children one who is hard of hearing. Alicia and her family live in Cook County.
Amy Keslinke
Parent Guide
Amy is the mother of two children one who is hard of hearing. Amy and her family live in Kane County.
Corlee Erkkila
Parent Guide
Corlee is the mother of three children one who is hard of hearing. Corlee and her family live in Livingston County.
Laura Cargill
Parent Guide
Laura is the mother of two children one who is deaf. Laura and her family live in Whiteside County.
Laura Kowalski
Parent Guide
Laura is the mother of two children one who is deaf. Laura and her family live in Cook County.
Laurie Hofman
Parent Guide
Laurie is the mother of one child who is hard of hearing. Laurie and her family live in Kankakee County.
Nellie Sandoval
Parent Guide
Nellie is the mother of four children one who is hard of hearing. Nellie and her family live in Cook County.
Ramona Martin
Parent Guide
Ramona is the mother of four children two who are hard of hearing. Ramona and her family live in Sangamon County.
Sarah Esparza
Parent Guide
Sarah is the mother of one child who is hard of hearing. Sarah and her family live in County.