Governing Board Bios

Shawn P. Saladin grew up hard of hearing and became late deafened later in life. He attended aural schools. From a military family he has been exposed to a variety of different cultures. He is trained as a Special Education teacher then worked in Vocational Rehabilitation for eleven years. During that time he started Deaf caseloads and his career focused on hearing loss. He then earned a PhD in Special Education, Rehabilitation Counseling Education Program at The University of Texas at Austin to develop the Deaf Rehabilitation program at The University of Texas- Pan American (now UTRGV).
Dr. Saladin has published and presented several scholarly works related to Deafness and hearing loss. His service record focuses on hearing loss. He has served as Chair of the Rehabilitation Council of Texas. In addition he was also appointed to Texas Governors Committee for People with Disabilities where he chaired the Employment Subcommittee. He was also President of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. During that time he focused on making the CRC exam equitable for people who's first language is American Sign Language and improved the governing structure of the organization.

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Kathy Sellers of Kosse is Lead Interpreter for Bryan Independent School District and the Brazos Valley Regional Day School for the Deaf where she interprets, coordinates interpreter schedules, and coordinates substitute teachers for Deaf education classrooms. She has been active as an interpreter in public education since 1998 and in the private sector since 2008. Sellers is an active member of the Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf and is a member at large of the Texas Hands and Voices Board of Directors. She is a mother of two adult Deaf children. Sellers received a diploma from McClennan Community College in the Interpreter Training Program.

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Term (2019-2025)

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Keith Sibley, of Bedford, is an adjunct professor of foreign language at Brookhaven College, where he teaches American Sign Language to hearing students. He has been an educator at the secondary and post-secondary level since 1972. He is an alumnus of the Texas School for the Deaf. Sibley received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Gallaudet University and a Master of Science in deaf education and habilitation from Lamar University.

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Term (2016-2025)

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David Saunders has worked in the Trucking Industry for 30+ years, and currently serves as President of a software company specializing in Drug and Alcohol testing serving Fortune 500 companies nationwide.

Having been born with a severe hearing loss, he worked to gain a High School Diploma attending the Bi-County School for the Deaf in Waco and commuted daily from Temple where he lived.

In 1973 the Texas Rehabilitation Commission had begun a “work program” along with minor school curriculums, and was able to graduate in 1976.

Mr. Saunders is a current member of the Texas Trucking Association, where he serves on the education and regulatory committees; he is also an active member and asset to many other state associations around the nation.

Mr. Saunders also serves on multiple regulatory and business committees throughout the nation with the American Trucking Association, and is known by many throughout the industry as a Regulatory Expert and worked alongside the Texas DPS on projects such as a National Drug Testing Clearinghouse as well as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Agency (FMCSA) in Washington DC.

In 2015 David was appointed to the TSD Governing Board.

David resides in Waxahachie. He has 2 sons, one daughter, and two grandchildren.

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Heather Lightfoot Withrow, of Austin, is a mother of three children, one of whom is DeafBlind, one of whom is Deaf, and one of whom is a KODA*. In addition to serving as a mother and an advocate for Deaf and DeafBlind Texans, she received a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from Gallaudet University, a Master of Education in Special Education with a concentration in Orientation and Mobility as well as a graduate certificate in Deafblindness from Texas Tech University. She has taught art, coached volleyball and track & field, and is now a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS).

Heather, also known as Hex, competed in the Deaflympics three times (volleyball in 1997, and track & field in 1997, 2001 & 2005). She is a member of Gallaudet Athletics’ Hall of Fame Class of 2020 for her collegiate performance in women’s track & field.

Heather is also a member of the TSD Parent Teacher Staff Organization, Texas Association for the Deaf (TAD), lifetime member of National Family Association of Deaf-Blind (NFADB), lifetime member of Deaf-Blind Multihandicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT), and member of Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER).

*KODA: Hearing Kid of Deaf Adults

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Lisalee Denyse Egbert

Term (2024 - 2029)

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