Advisory Board

From top left to top right: Dr. Victor McCarley, Dr. Lew Lindner, Rev. Bobbi Lindner, Kathy Kooser, Mark Zangara, Marci Johns, Dr. Jack Layh, Dr. Bob Basil, Barb Dunaway - From Bottom left to bottom right: Ben Medlin, Deb Downey, Paula Hraban, Darlene Zangara. Not present for this photograph: Nancy Basil, Dr. Jeffrey S. Bohrman, and Dr. Betty Yung. 

Victor J. McCarley, Psy.D.

Dr. McCarley is a clinical/consulting psychologist with over 24 years of psychological and programmatic experience.  He received his doctorate degree from Wright State University in 1981, his masters’ degree from Ball State University in 1973, and his baccalaureate degree from Central State University in 1972.  He is currently the Clinical Director/Consultant with the Wright State University Consumer Advocacy Model (CAM) Program, a specialized chemical dependency program for persons with other varied disabilities.  He is a clinical and adjunct associate faculty member at the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology.  He maintains a private clinical/consulting practice, serving as the proprietary Clinical Director at McCarley and Associates.  He is a member of the Association of Black Psychologists and the American Psychological Association with whom he holds a specialty certification in the treatment and diagnosis of chemical dependency and other addictive disorders.

Lew Lindner, M.D.

Dr. Lindner is a psychiatrist headquartered in Columbus.  He has been working with deaf individuals for 12 years.  His areas of interest include the psychiatry of disabled persons, American Sign Language and Forensics. He has served as a consultant for the MHDP for several years. 

Rev. Bobbi Lindner

Rev. Lindner is a Lutheran pastor currently serving as a chaplain at the Orient Correctional Institution.  In her capacity as chaplain, she works to up-grade religious services for Deaf individuals at the institution.  Her interests include advocacy for all disabled persons.

Cathy Kooser, LSW

Ms. Kooser is a licensed social worker at Community Services for the Deaf in Dayton.  She specializes in working with those who are hard-of-hearing and late deafened.  She herself has a severe sensor-neural hearing loss.

Mark Zangara, M.A., Assistant Clinical Supervisor/MHDP

Mr. Zangara assists his wife, Darlene Goncz Zangara, in providing clinical supervision as well as lectures for the Mental Health and Deafness Program.  He is also the full time mental health counselor for the Ohio School for the Deaf.  He graduated from the Mental Health Counseling program at Gallaudet University.

Marci Johns, M.S.W.

Ms. Johns has worked in the social work field with a special focus on mental health and deafness. She earned a Bachelor's Degree at the Ohio State University, with a focus on Family Relations and Human Development, and a Master's Degree in Social Work, with a mental health specialization, from the University of Cincinnati. Since 1988, She has worked with the Deaf communities in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. Currently, she works for NORCEN Behavioral Health Systems, Inc., providing outpatient mental health services for children, adults and families impacted by deafness and hearing loss.

John Layh, Ph.D.

Dr. Layh is a clinical psychologist and C.E.O. of Layh and Associates, Inc., which is a large integrated group practice with offices in Greene, Clark and Montgomery counties.  His interest in deafness was sparked by the birth of his oldest daughter who was born deaf thirty-five years ago.

Robert Basil, Psy.D., Program Director/MHDP

Dr. Basil is a clinical psychologist licensed by the state of Ohio. He has been working to provide services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities since 1986. He is a graduate of the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. In addition to administrating the Mental Health and Deafness Program, Dr. Basil also provides psychological services at the Comprehensive Counseling Service in Middletown, where he works with his sister-in-law, Nancy Basil, a comprehensively certified interpreter, to provide services to the deaf community.

Barbara Dunaway, C.T., C.I., Interpreter Supervisor

Ms. Dunaway has been active in the deaf community since 1985 and working as an interpreter since 1987. She earned her sign language interpreting certifications in 1991 and 1994. She received a bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University and an associate’s degree from Sinclair Community College. Ms. Dunaway has worked as a freelance interpreter for eight years, specializing in medical, mental health, theatrical, and minimal language interpreting. She has been working as the interpreter supervisor and instructor for the Mental Health and Deafness Program since 1991.  She has been  an part time instructor at Sinclair Community College and Wright State University since 1990.

Ben Medlin

Mr. Medlin is a long time deaf leader in the Deaf community.  His late wife was also deaf and they have done a wide variety of work for over 50 years.  He has worked in a combined deaf and hearing organization called Progress For the Deaf (PFD) for many years.

Debbie Downey, B.A.

Ms. Downey is a doctoral student at Wright State University's School of Professional Psychology. She has completed research in the area of hard-of-hearing issues and has produced a video presentation on the subject. She has been one of the presenters for the MHDP Saturday didactic series for the past three years. She herself has a sensor-neural hearing loss

Paula Hraban, M.S.

Ms. Hraban is a full-time professor in the Manual Communication Program (MAC) at Sinclair Community College which is the interpreter training program for the area. In addition to being RID certified, Paula has a B.A. in Speech/Drama and Secondary Education and a M.S. in Special Education. She was awarded the OATYC (Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges) Teacher-of-the-Year in 1992-1993. Paula has been recently developing state-wide teleconferences on interpreting for broadcast through Sinclair’s new Interactive Learning Center. She and her husband, Bryan, have been interpreters in southwestern Ohio for many years. 

Darlene Goncz Zangara, M.A., Clinical Supervisor/MHDP

Ms. Goncz Zangara obtained her Bachelor of Science in deaf education at Bowling Green State University. She obtained her teaching certification K–12 in deaf education and later obtained her Master of Arts degree in counseling for the deaf at Gallaudet University.   As well as being the clinical supervisor for the Mental Health and Deafness program, she directs the Ohio Resource Center on Deafness located at the Ohio School for the Deaf in Columbus.  Ms. Goncz Zangara is also an instructor in the Psychology Department at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. She serves as a consultant and a member of the advisory board to Substance Abuse Resource with Disability Issues (SARDI) Program in the Wright State University School of Medicine. Additionally, Ms. Goncz Zangara also serves on the National Training Team for AIDS Prevention with Westover Consultants, Inc., in Washington, D.C.

Nancy Basil, CSC (not present for photograph)

Ms. Basil has been involved in the Deaf Community for over 20 years. She has held RID certification for over 15 of those years. She currently is an Adjunct Teacher at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in the Interpreter Training Program. In addition, she works as a Free Lance interpreter in the Greater Cincinnati area. She has also given instruction in sign language at the Cincinnati Bible College.

Jeffrey S. Bohrman, Ph.D. (not present for photograph)

Dr. Bohrman is the Director of the Deaf/Blind Outreach Program in Columbus.  He was a pharmacological researcher when Usher’s Syndrome caused the loss of his sight as well as his hearing.  He serves as the President of the National Deaf/Blind Association and is a well known presenter. 

Betty Yung, Ph.D. (not present for photograph)

Dr. Yung is an Associate Professor of the School of Professional Psychology at WSU.   She is also the Director of the Center for Child and Adolescent Violence Prevention.   She has been involved in the field of adolescent violence prevention since 1989.   She has served on the Advisory Committee of the Mental Health and Deafness Program since its inception in 1990.  She developed the original grant establishing the Mental Health and Deafness Program and has been supportive of its continuing operation.  Dr. Yung is also involved in projects on improving minority health and increasing child access to health insurance.  She has also served as a trainer and consultant on grant-writing for a variety of local and state organizations.

Valerie Kapp (not present for photograph)

Ms. Kapp is the Director of the Community Services for the Deaf in Dayton.  She has been working with deaf community for 17 years.  She has a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with the Deaf and 20 post-graduate credits from San Diego State University in Administration Programs for the Deaf.