Meet The Board
> Ted M. Hankins, President
TED M. HANKINS, Regulatory Operations Director for CenturyLink, currently handles the regulatory operations for Louisiana and other states. He is responsible for the development and presentation of CenturyLink advocacy before regulators and legislators concerning broadband, competition, pricing and a variety of other issues.
Ted has worked in the telecommunications industry in various capacities since 1980, and has served on a number of industry committees and state telecommunication associations. Ted currently serves as Second Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Telecommunications Association, and serves on the Oklahoma High Cost Fund Board. During his carrier, he has held positions in Fixed Asset Accounting, Cost Separations, Retail Toll Billing, Carrier Access Billing, Intrastate Settlements, Economic Analysis and Pricing, State Government Relations, and State Regulatory Operations.
Ted received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the California State University – Chico. He has also completed additional course work toward a Master’s of Business Degree as well as courses on industry topics.
CenturyLink is a global communications, hosting, cloud and IT services company enabling millions of customers to transform their businesses and their lives through innovative technology solutions. CenturyLink offers network and data systems management, Big Data analytics and IT consulting, and operates more than 55 data centers in North America, Europe and Asia. The company provides broadband, voice, video, data and managed services over a robust 250,000-route- mile U.S. fiber network and a 300,000-route- mile international transport network.
> Karen Babineaux, Vice President
After college graduation, Karen began a career in the banking industry as an executive secretary to the president/ceo of New Iberia National Bank (now Iberiabank, the largest bank in Louisiana). With a Masters in Education, she decided to transition from the business sector to education. For the next 21 years she worked in every facet of education, working with various school organizations and committees. She served on several evaluation teams for the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges collaborating with others for the improvement of education through accreditation. She and her husband started and managed a successful family health club business for 22 years. She has recently completed the Burk Baker School of Real Estate and is licensed by Louisiana Real Estate Commission. She is a realtor with EXP Realty, Lafayette.
Karen and her husband, Baron have three children. Their first child was born with a profound hearing loss. She has witnessed firsthand the isolation the deaf, blind and deaf/blind (her son has usher’s syndrome and is now deaf/blind) have experienced because of communication. She is also aware this carries over to speech impaired, hearing impaired and HOH. Karen is passionate about assisting in making communication services available to all. She was present at the Capitol when the first relay call in Louisiana was made by Baron, Jr to then governor, Honourable Edwin Edwards.
> Don Dewald, Treasurer
Don DeWald is a Utilities Specialist with the Louisiana Public Service Commission specializing in telecommunications, water, and sewer regulation. Originally from Chalmette, Louisiana, he has been employed with the Commission since August 2014. In his role as a Utilities Specialist, Don conducts utility research and analyses to facilitate regulatory compliance and advise both the Commission and jurisdictional companies in regulatory matters. With years of experience, Don serves as the Commission’s primary telecommunications contact within the Utilities Division. He received a Bachelor of Science in International Trade & Finance in 2013 from Louisiana State University.
> Jana M. Broussard, Secretary
Jana Moon Broussard was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, and began learning American Sign Language in elementary school after meeting a classmate who was Deaf. Through this friendship she became actively involved in the Deaf community over the course of her personal and professional life. She is the current Interim Director for the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf (LCD) and has over 13 years of experience working as an interpreter in educational and community settings, serving four of those years as one of the lead interpreters for the Lafayette Parish School System. She currently holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in ASL/English Interpreting from William Woods University, a certificate in Educational Interpreting from the University of Northern Colorado, and is certified through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf; K-12. She is also a member of the Louisiana DeafBlind Collaboration Team, sits on the Early Hearing Detection Intervention (EHDI) Advisory Board, the Louisiana Board of Hearing Aid Dealers, and is involved in many other collaborations and projects related to the Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing communities around the state of Louisiana.
> Dr. Natalie Delgado
Dr. Natalie Delgado is a Deaf Latina ASL user, and English and Spanish speaker born to hearing parents. Delgado has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s degree in Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, and doctoral degree in Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. She is currently the statewide outreach director of Deaf education at the Louisiana School for the Deaf and has worked in Deaf education for over twelve years. Within her department, she oversees an early intervention program that serves Deaf and hard-of-hearing children ages birth to 5 and their families, as well as school-age support for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students and the school professionals that support them. She also works closely with various statewide agencies and service providers to support the families served within her department. Delgado currently serves on the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Advisory Council, and is the Southern regional representative for the National ASL/English Bilingual Consortium for Early Childhood.