About Us
Meet your hearing team in Grass Valley, Rocklin, Sacramento, Lodi, and El Dorado Hills.
Meet Our Team
Kimberly Bonney, Au.D. | License: AU2155
Owner, Doctor of Audiology
Dr. Kimberly Bonney, Au.D., is dedicated to providing the highest standards of personalized service and care for each of the patients at Gold Country Hearing. Her desire to bring unparalleled service to the hearing industry aligns with her deep sense of compassion for those who struggle with hearing loss. Dr. Bonney knew she wanted to change industry perceptions while helping her patients so she utilized her background as an educational audiologist and went to work for a hearing aid manufacturer so she could learn the inner workings of private audiology practices.
After she graduated from Salus University with her Doctor of Audiology degree, she bought the very first Gold Country Hearing location, determined to bring the very best audiology and hearing aid services to the greater Sacramento area. Through her hard work, genuine compassion, and awareness for those who struggle with hearing loss, the practice has grown into four locations, each of them staffed by doctors of audiology.
Dubbed the “Audiology Angel” by her patients, she makes a sincere effort to connect with patients. She knows that hearing loss can be isolating, so she endeavors to help them stay connected with their friends and family, knowing that a sense of connection is vital for her patient’s well-being.
Diana Vercellino, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Originally from Pittsburgh, PA (Go Steelers!), Diana is based in Phoenix, AZ. When she isn’t improving processes, managing communication, and helping inspire growth, Diana can be found by the pool with her husband, their son and golden retriever.
Diana fell in love with the hearing healthcare field almost instantly. She has been lucky enough to work with and learn from some of the most respected professionals in the industry and is committed to the growth and expansion of Gold Country Hearing & Balance to continue to serve the community.
Marissa Gilger, Au.D. | License: AU3451
Doctor of Audiology
Dr. Marissa Gilger, Au.D., knows how vital staying connected to the world is for her patients and that hearing well is the first step to that connection. As someone who has struggled with hearing loss since childhood, Dr. Gilger brings her unique perspective and first-hand experience to her patients. Inspired to become an audiologist after visiting her own audiologists for treatment as a child, she is excited to use her knowledge as both a patient and a provider to serve her community.
After completing her undergraduate degree at California State University, Sacramento, Dr. Gilger attended the University of the Pacific, where she graduated with her doctoral degree in Audiology. She then gained valuable experience working at Kaiser Permanente before transitioning into private practice at Gold Country Hearing, where we are lucky to count her as part of our team. In her spare time, she loves hiking, being outdoors with her husband Jake and their two Great Danes, Rosie and Ruth, as well as reading interesting books, traveling, and learning new things.
Meet the Professional
Kortney Mathiesen, Au.D. | License: AU3820
Doctor of Audiology
Dr. Kortney Mathiesen, Au.D., is devoted to helping people reconnect with their friends and family through better hearing. She knows that untreated hearing loss contributes to social isolation, and she is grateful for the ability to give others a chance to enjoy the things they’ve been missing. Her first introduction to audiology and the serious, but often overlooked implications of untreated hearing loss was on a study abroad trip to Belize. There, she led a government-based language camp while performing community-based rehab and hearing screenings. She fell in love with learning about the complexities of the ear and dedicated her career to helping those with hearing loss lead richer, more connected lives.
Dr. Mathiesen obtained her Doctor of Audiology degree from Pacific University in Hillsboro, Oregon. She never gets tired of the thrill of witnessing the instant gratification of helping people improve their hearing in as little as one appointment, and as a Nevada County native, she finds it rewarding to now be able to do this while serving the community she grew up in.
When she’s not working, Dr. Mathiesen loves spending time with her friends and family, and her Australian shepherd, Mayzie. She loves to ski and enjoys the many wonderful outdoor activities that Nevada County has to offer. An avid traveler, she’s explored Thailand and Europe, including London, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Greece, and Italy, and is excited to travel to more places, with Spain and Portugal at the top of her list.
Kristin Hallstrom, Au.D. | License: AU2376
Doctor of Audiology
With nearly two decades of experience, Dr. Kristin Hallstrom, Au.D., still marvels at the perfect mix of art and science, blended together to help patients improve their quality of life through improved communication and social interactions. To her, audiology is an extremely rewarding profession. She brings diverse experience in clinical and rehabilitative audiology, specializing in diagnostic hearing evaluations, hearing aid fittings, and vestibular assessments for those patients with dizziness/imbalance issues. She takes a team-like approach with her patients to develop an individualized treatment plan to best suit their needs, thus allowing her to establish a personal connection, something that is important to her.
Dr. Halstrom received her master’s (M.A.) degree from Ohio State University in 2002 and went on to receive her Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree in 2008 from Salus University. She completed an audiology fellowship at the California Ear Institute in Palo Alto, CA, before accepting a position at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center. Clinical teaching and precepting audiology students had always been a passion of hers, so she left UCSF to join the clinical faculty team at the University of the Pacific (UOP). She then served as the Director of Clinical Audiology at UOP for two years prior to working at Kaiser Permanente. Now, Gold Country Hearing and Balance is lucky to count her as part of their team.
Outside of the clinic, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, skiing, golfing, hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, and of course, following Ohio State football (GO BUCKS!).
Dr. Meghann Keehner, Au.D. | License: AU3445
Doctor of Audiology
A teacher at heart, Dr. Meghann Keehner, Au.D., feels most at home teaching others about the importance of hearing health. Whether she is teaching the newest generation of audiologists or teaching her patients how to treat and manage their hearing loss, she believes that a well-informed patient/doctor relationship is the key to success and better hearing. She’s learned that patients feel safer and more comfortable with medical decisions if they are provided more information, and she finds it incredibly rewarding when her patients are able to relax with her.
Dr. Keehner graduated with a Doctorate of Audiology from University of the Pacific (UOP) in 2019. Following her graduation, she worked for Kaiser and UC Davis, while also teaching and precepting students at UOP and Sacramento State University, California.
Endlessly fascinated with the brain and how humans acquire languages, she became an audiologist in order to explore these connections. With a background in neurobiology and linguistics, she had originally planned to become a Speech Pathologist, but found the ear so much more interesting.
Outside of work, Dr. Keehner likes paper and sewing crafts, building Legos, and running and hiking. She also enjoys traveling, most especially when there is a museum or aquarium close by.
Dr. Mary Kate Donegan, Au.D. | License: AU3915
Doctor of Audiology
Originally from Chicago’s southwest suburbs, Mary Kate Donegan, Au.D., settled in Northern California after earning her bachelor’s degree and Doctorate of Audiology from the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!). When she entered college, she liked to say that audiology found her.
Growing up in a family where many struggled to hear, Dr. Donegan became aware at an early age of the impact and isolation of untreated hearing loss. With an inherent desire to help others, she relishes the opportunity to treat the unique needs of her patients. Whether she teaches her patients why they might have trouble hearing in background noise, understanding the cause of their dizziness, or providing hearing aid assistance, she loves that each day brings something new. Dr. Donegan is always striving to help improve the quality of her patient’s lives.
When she isn’t working, she loves hanging out with her cat, Sylvie, exploring new places, reading, or watching movies and television. She also loves to travel, and each year tries to explore at least one new place in the United States.
Dr. Donegan can often be heard encouraging her patients with her motto, “All we can do is give it our best shot.”
Meet the Professional
Camille Smith, BC-HIS | License: HA8487
Hearing Care Specialist
Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist, Camille Smith, is dedicated to finding solutions to help people hear their very best. Her deep sense of compassion for the hearing-impaired in her community has inspired her to learn and seek out the latest in hearing aid technology and ways to best to serve her patients. Following her passion for helping others lead healthy and connected lives, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders and Deaf Education from Utah State University. Camille loves that she has the opportunity educate her patients about their hearing loss and its impact on them and their loved ones. She is determined to help end the stigma around hearing aids and is always excited to demonstrate how hearing instruments can help restore hearing loss and enrich lives.
Meet the Professional
Samantha Poulos| License: HA8381
Hearing Care Specialist
Hearing care specialist, Samantha Poulos, joins Gold Country Hearing with a commitment to excellent patient care and education. She believes that better hearing changes lives by enhancing not only her patient’s lives, but also the lives of their families. She loves this part of her job and feels it’s an honor to help others improve their life by treating their hearing loss. A native of Southern California, she is a graduate of CSU Sacramento where she majored in audiology and speech-language pathology, with a minor in deaf studies.
Samantha and her husband recently bought their first home in Sacramento where they live with their beloved dog, Friday.
Meet the Professional
Teresa Kasiarz | License: HA4118
Hearing Instrument Specialist
To Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist, Teresa Kasiarz, improving the quality of someone’s life is incredibly rewarding. She works to develop long-lasting relationships with her patients and is dedicated to helping them strengthen communication with loved ones through better hearing. She draws upon her background as a nursing assistant and her training as a Hearing Aid Dispenser to give patients the gold standard in care. An avid traveler, she returns as often as she can to her favorite places in the world-Costa Rica and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Fluent in English and Polish, she also speaks some Russian, helping to expand Gold Country Hearing and Balance’s service. She adores her two cats, Rysiek and Mishia, and lives by a personal motto she borrowed from Bob Marley, “Love the life you live, live the life you love.”
Meet the Professional
Insurance
At Gold Country Hearing, we work with many of the major insurance providers to better help you afford hearing and balance care. If you have any questions about your coverage, we recommend calling the phone number on the back of your insurance card. If you need additional assistance, we have an insurance specialist on our team who can answer any of your questions and help you.
Please Note: Auditory processing at Gold Country Processing is not in network as they are a separate entity from Gold Country Hearing and Balance. Auditory processing testing will be out of network. If you have any questions, please contact us directly at our Rocklin office.
We work with the following insurance providers.
- Anthem
- BlueCross BlueShield
- Medicare
- Health Net
- Medicare Railroad
- United Healthcare
- Hill Physicians
- Cigna
- Nivano Physicians
- Aetna
- Pers Health Insurance Program
- UC Davis Health
- Adventist Health
Care Credit
We accept CareCredit ®, the leading healthcare credit card, to make improving your hearing health easier and more affordable. With CareCredit®, you can get the hearing instrument you need and conveniently pay for it over time with monthly payments that easily fit into your budget
Your Healthcare Credit Card
CareCredit ® is a healthcare credit card for every member of the family. CareCredit® offers special financing on purchase of $200 or more* for healthcare costs not commonly covered by insurance, including hearing aids.
It’s the convenient way to improve your hearing health. Learn more by contacting our office.
