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About our board

John DeLeon, President

John has been the Vice President of Sales and Operations for MTI Events for more than 10 years. He prides himself on building mutually-beneficial relationships to enhance his business and his community.  He has graciously volunteered his time and MTI resources to the KC Blind All Stars Foundation for more than 5 years, serving as Board President for the past 2 years. John is a sales executive who travels the world to give MTI clients a memorable and lasting company-wide experience.  “Incentives build memories, they motivate and if built properly they don’t cost. They pay.”

John is a product of Kansas City, Kansas attending USD 500 schools and graduating from Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Jon Harding, Vice President

Jon has extensive experience working with students who have multiple disabilities, students with visual impairments, including Deaf-Blind, and the systems that are meant to serve these low-incidence populations. After four years serving as a special education teacher in Kansas schools, Jon worked for five years as an Assistive Technology Specialist at the Missouri Technology Center for Special Education, located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Jon also worked as a Technical Assistance Specialist for the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) for 14 years. NCDB is a national technical assistance agency funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to provide leadership and support to all 50 state Deaf-Blind projects across the United States.

In 2013, Jon was hired as the Director of Instruction at KSSB. He was named Interim Superintendent in the summer of 2017, and is presently serving as the Superintendent.

Larry Hisle, Secretary 

Larry serves as Executive Director of Greater Kansas City Federal Executive Board, which is a catalyst for communication, coordination and collaboration among federal agencies in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. His professional background is sales and nonprofit management. He studied Business Administration at Central Missouri State University and Thomas Edison State University.

Larry is married with three children (ages 23, 19, & 10), 1 dog, 3 cats, 2 hermit crabs, and whatever else the kids have brought home recently. He serves on the boards of the Sherwood Autism Center (President),  Kansas School for the Blind Foundation (Secretary), Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Advisory Council of the Kansas City, KS Area Technical School.

Tom Johnson, Treasurer

Tom has almost 40 years of banking experience and has worked with Bank of Labor for more than 35 years. Tom is Division Manager for Bank of Labor’s Trust Division. His exceptional strength in overseeing trust operations, custodial management, tax law and investments, has lead to one of the largest Trust departments in the state of Kansas at $6.25 Billion.

Tom is a graduate of the University of Missouri and the National Graduate Trust School. He is also a Certified Financial Planner. Tom enjoys serving as an Executive Board Member of the Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America.

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Marites Altuna

Marites serves as the Director for the Kansas Deaf-Blind Project. In this role, she oversees all aspects of the grant, including managing the budget, coordinating in-service training, identifying children in the state who experience deaf-blindness, providing technical assistance to teams who work with the identified learners, and collaborating with key stakeholders to improve services for students with a combined vision and hearing losses.

Marites is a member of the National Association for the DeafBlind, Council for Exceptional Children, Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society, and  Kansas City Diversity and Inclusion Consortium.  In 2018, Marites was named the Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the Year.

Madeleine Burkindine

Madeleine graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in teaching children with cognitive disabilities and behavioral disorders, and later was certified in visual impairment. Her first and only teaching job was at the Kansas State School for the Blind. In 1995, she became the principal, and in 2007, was named the superintendent.

In 2010, the governor authorized a commission to close or consolidate small state agencies as a cost-saving venture for Kansas. After much study, they recommended that the two schools for the deaf and the blind combine their administrative staff, and that Madeleine be appointed superintendent of both schools. She continued in this capacity until retirement in 2017.

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David C. Byerley

David has over 27 years of legal experience as a trial lawyer and has dedicated his practice to keeping the public safe.  He has received from his peers an “AV” rating which is the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards.  He has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Association as one of the top 100 civil attorneys in the State of Missouri.  David is a native Kansan.  He is a graduate of the University of Kansas where he studied history and political science.  He earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Amy Jungk

A native Kansas Citian, Amy Jungk attended the University of Missouri, earning her degree in Special Education. After teaching with the Blue Springs School District, Amy took a break from teaching to help her father with his new business, Old World Spices & Seasonings.

Amy continued working with special needs children through various volunteer, fundraising and mentoring programs, while helping to build the family business. Her experience in sales and marketing has helped build strong relationships with business owners and industry leaders across the country.

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