Katy Whisenhunt Townsend has been named Development Director of Hearts for Hearing in Tulsa, a local non-profit that helps babies born deaf learn to listen and talk and provides hearing care for adults who desire to hear better. Townsend will oversee all development and external outreach efforts for the organization.
“My husband and I are excited to be back in our hometown where we look forward to raising our family,” says Whisenhunt Townsend. She adds, “It is a particular privilege to have the opportunity to focus my professional energies on two passions; helping children and improving the lives of all people who experience hearing loss. As someone who is hard of hearing, I know firsthand how challenging it is to keep up academically and socially without proper interventions and support.”
Joanna Smith, Founder & CEO of Hearts for Hearing says, “We are so pleased to have Katy join our team as our Tulsa headquarters continues to experience strong growth. Her proven track record, her excitement to return home, and her passion for our mission make Katy an ideal leader to join our team,” adds Smith.
Whisenhunt Townsend, a graduate of Holland Hall, is returning home from Asheville, North Carolina where she most recently served as Resource Development Director at an organization called Children First/Communities in Schools. She was a member of the Senior Leadership Team there and helped guide significant grant requests resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the organization. Her professional career includes tenure at Rural Support Partners and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, both located in Asheville.
Before her work in the non-profit sector, Whisenhunt Townsend was a practicing attorney. She received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and her Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University in New Orleans where she earned a Certificate in Environmental Law.
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About Heart for Hearing: A comprehensive hearing health clinic for both children and adults with offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Shawnee. It was founded as a 501(c)3 to provide funding for the first set of hearing aids for children with hearing loss in Oklahoma. Its mission expanded to become a comprehensive hearing health clinic that provides industry-leading clinical, technology, and research services. Its collaborative model of audiologists and speech-language pathologists working together enables the best outcomes for its patients.
