Cheryl Heppner has served for more than 16 years as the Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons, which has a mission of empowering deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their families through education, advocacy, and community involvement.

She is known for her advocacy work. She has served for the past five years as Vice Chair of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network, a national coalition of organizations of, by, and for deaf and hard of hearing, and has been the "voice in Washington" for the international Association of Late-Deafened Adults for more than 15 years.

During the past 10 years Cheryl was honored by the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (I. King Jordan Award and Brainstorm Award), by the National Association of the Deaf (Meritorious Service Award), by the Virginia Association of the Deaf (Distinguished Service Award), by TDI (14 People Most Influential in Closed Captioning, Masters Award, 30 Most Influential People in Telecommunications) and Glamour Magazine/Saturn (Women at Their Best) national award.

Cheryl graduated from Penn State University with a degree in journalism. Her autobiography, Seeds of Disquiet, was published by Gallaudet University Press. She is the primary author of the national report, Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Communication Access: Lessons Learned Since 9/11 and Recommendations.

Cheryl has been married for 35 years to Fred Heppner, a home inspector and educator. She travels everywhere with her beloved hearing dog, Galaxy.