Betsy Tengesdal Bio

Betsy Tengesdal has been a Teacher of Deaf/Hard of Hearing (TOD) since 1999. After graduating from the University of Tulsa with her Bachelor of Science degree in Education of the Deaf, she taught for 9 years in Minnesota. 

While in Minnesota, she worked with all ages of D/HH students from birth through high school graduation. Betsy earned her Master’s degree in Family Sciences from Texas Woman’s University in 2004. From 2008-2014, Betsy and her family moved to Boys Town, NE where she and her husband were trained and served as Family Teachers for the Father Flanagan’s Boys Town organization.

While at Boys Town, Betsy was no longer teaching in the classroom; however, was learning what it meant to raise a D/HH child. While at Boys Town, Betsy and Jon’s middle child was diagnosed with a progressive bilateral hearing loss. After leaving Boys Town in 2014, Betsy and her family moved to Wyoming, and she went back to teaching D/HH students.

Prior to joining Wyoming Department of Education as an Outreach Consultant, Betsy worked with the WDE as a Behavior Consultant. In this role, Betsy collaborated with teams across the state of Wyoming to brainstorm strategies to set students up for success and to teach prosocial skills. This collaboration was a dream of Betsy’s and seeing it come to fruition was a privilege and an honor.

Seeing things as both an educator, as well as a parent of a child with hearing loss, gives Betsy the ability to see situations from both sides of the table and a passion to find ways for parents to feel supported and encouraged in their parenting journey.

In her spare time, Betsy loves cooking, collecting stamps in her passport, exploring the beauty of Wyoming, and drinking tea with friends or alone with a great book!