Jamy Claire Archer is a clinical assistant professor at the University of South Carolina. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue University and worked in a variety of settings before joining the clinical faculty. Jamy Claire is an internationally certified listening and spoken language specialist facilitating speech and language development in children with hearing loss. Additional clinical interests include voice disorders, especially the singer’s voice, vocal hygiene and birth-to-three intervention. Jamy Claire uses her voice therapy background to direct Heart of Columbia, an award-winning acapella chorus. She also serves on the international faculty for Sweet Adelines International promoting healthy vocal education for singers around the world.
Ann Burford-Bilodeau is an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist with 40 years of experience working in adult rehabilitation and clinical supervision. She earned both undergraduate and master’s degrees from Purdue University. Currently, she is the clinic director for the Butler University Speech and Language Clinic in Indianapolis Indiana. In addition, she is a former president of the Indiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association, receiving Honors of the Association in 2010. Her first role with the association was serving as a member of the ethics committee. She has represented Indiana as a legislative advocate with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; lobbying legislators in Washington, DC. Ann is currently a member of the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, appointed by the governor as a board member of the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board.
Laura Bobinsky, CCC-SLP, CLC has been a practicing speech-language pathologist at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for 11 years, specializing in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders. She is also the supervisor of outpatient speech pathology at Riley. Laura is passionate about clinical care and caregiver support in interdisciplinary NICU follow-up clinics, implementation and interpretation of videofluoroscopic swallow studies, NG and g-tube weans in complex patients and neurodiverse and trauma-informed feeding therapy practices. Additional clinical experiences include early intervention and operation of a private practice in Germany.
Chelsea Byard is a clinical assistant professor in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences department at Indiana University. She received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 2013 and her Doctor of Audiology (AuD) in 2016 from Indiana University. Chelsea completed her final-year externship at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Her experience at Cleveland Clinic covered all aspects of audiology. In 2016, Chelsea began working at Advent Health Medical Group in Celebration, Florida specializing in vestibular assessments until taking a position with Indiana University in 2021. Chelsea is currently contracted out to the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) district as an educational audiologist. Chelsea’s professional interests include pediatric diagnostics and amplification, educational audiology and vestibular assessments.
Emma Cox is a school based speech-language pathologist working in Beech Grove, Indiana at Beech Grove Middle School, High School and Holy Name Catholic K-8th grade. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Butler University and master’s degree from St. Ambrose. Emma has worked in the Beech Grove school system for four years, prior to which she practiced in a SNF and pediatric outpatient settings. Her professional interests include best practice eligibility, advocacy and secondary education speech/language services.
James Curtis is an assistant professor of speech-language pathology and the principal investigator of the Aerodigestive Innovations Research Lab (AIR) within the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. His mission is to improve the health and quality-of-life of people with voice, cough and swallowing disorders through clinical innovation, scientific discovery and multidisciplinary collaborations. His current lines of research include: identifying mechanisms of voice, cough and swallowing disorders in people with respiratory and neurological diseases; testing the effects of respiratory-swallow coordination training and cough skill training on airway protective outcomes; and developing novel and clinically feasible techniques for voice, cough and swallowing assessments and treatments.
Cara Drake-Luecking, CCC-SLP, CLC, CNT has been a practicing speech-language pathologist at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for 18 years, specializing in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders. She is also the manager of Inpatient Rehabilitation Services at Riley. Cara has extensive experience working closely with interdisciplinary teams to support infants with complex medical needs including cardiac, neurologic, genetic, and gastrointestinal issues. Cara is a certified Lactation Counselor and Certified Neonatal Therapist, utilizing her skills to support Indiana’s most medically fragile and vulnerable infants and their families. Cara’s expertise includes videofluoroscopic swallow studies, transitioning infants to oral feeding, and implementing evidence-based strategies for safe and effective feeding practices.
Rebecca Eberle has served as a clinical educator and academic instructor in the Indiana University Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences for 24 years, previously serving as therapist, administrator and program director, for a combined total of 42 years with neurorehabilitation specialty. Throughout her career, she has served as a leader in executive roles and provided many presentations and workshops for state, national and international professional organizations and she is privileged to serve and advocate for people with acquired brain injuries, their families and communities. Honors have included Fellow of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (2020), ACRM BI-ISIG Special Recognition of Leadership (2022), Honors of the Association – Indiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2023) and Trustee’s Teaching Awards – Indiana University (2004 & 2015), among others. With international colleagues from interdisciplinary teams, clinical professor Eberle has co-authored books, textbook chapters, research papers and most notably she served as co-editor and author of the 2022 publication, Cognitive Rehabilitation Manual and Textbook, 2nd Edition, and co-designed the textbook website.
Kellie Ellis is a professor and the chair of the Department of Clinical Therapeutic Programs at Eastern Kentucky University. She teaches coursework in child language and speech sound disorders. Her research interests include language and literacy development, dyslexia intervention and professional issues in speech-language pathology. Kellie is a former chair of the Kentucky Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, former president of the Kentucky Speech-Language-Hearing Association and former chair of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Governmental Relations and Public Policy Board. She currently serves as the Governmental Relations/PAC Chair of the Kentucky Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a governor appointee on the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
Erin Forward is a speech-language pathologist and certified lactation counselor. Erin works as an SLP at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as the primary inpatient-outpatient provider as well as providing support on the GI and cancer and brain disease institute. She has advanced training in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders, early language, AAC and trauma, specifically for medically complex children. Erin holds an Advance DIR®Floortime provider certification and is a TBRI® trained practitioner. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in CSD and psychology and graduated from the University of South Carolina with her master’s in speech pathology. She is the regular co-host of First Bite: A Speech Therapy Podcast with Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, where she shares her experiences and evidenced-based practices from her time working in early intervention/home health, NICU/PICU, GI clinic and outpatient clinic settings. For her dedication to the field, she was awarded an ASHA Distinguished Early Career Professional Certificate in 2021 and is a graduate of the ASHA LDP program.
Robert Brinton Fujiki is a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Indiana University school of medicine. His clinical practice and research interests focus on the evaluation and management of pediatric voice, resonance and upper-airway disorders. He completed his doctorate at Purdue University with Preeti Sivasankar and his post-doc at University of Wisconsin-Madison with Susan Thibeault.
Samantha Gustafson is an assistant professor at Indiana University Bloomington. Her work aims to improve communication and educational outcomes for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Samantha’s research uses subjective, perceptual and brain-based measures to understand what makes classroom listening challenging and to evaluate the efficacy of interventions (e.g., amplification) in mitigating these challenges.
Matt Hay has a long journey toward deafness and even longer journey toward learning to hear again with an experimental brainstem implant. He first publicly shared his story on National Public Radio (NPR) podcast titled Soundtrack of Silence. The intimate, funny and authentic peek at what it’s like to start a career, fall in love and build a life while battling a rare disease inspired actor Channing Tatum and Paramount Pictures to option the motion picture rights to Matt’s life story. Matt’s memoir Soundtrack of Silence was released in January 2024 by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of Macmillan. When Matt isn’t adding tracks to the soundtrack of his life, he passionately supports the hearing loss community as a member of the Columbia University Genetic Counseling Advisory Board and served as a consultant to the St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf. He’s proudly served as a congressional lobbyist for neurofibromatosis (NF) research funding, the genetic disorder that caused his hearing loss and has raised money for NF research by doing endurance events, including an Ironman Triathlon and most recently, the Boston Marathon. Matt currently serves the rare disease community as the US Director of Advocacy for a global biopharmaceutical company. He lives in Westfield, Indiana, with his wife (whom he’s quick to point out is the hero of his story) and three children.
Lauren Isabell is an Indianapolis, Indiana native. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in speech and hearing sciences from Indiana University in 2014 and a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Cincinnati in 2016. Lauren has experience working as a culturally responsive, trauma informed speech-language pathologist with a passion for supporting families and children in historically excluded communities. Lauren has provided services in a variety of settings to include public schools, private clinic, early intervention and most recently outpatient care at Riley Hospital for Children. Currently, Lauren is a First Steps provider through Pediatric Specialty Associates, Inc. She provides fluency and speech sound disorder treatment to school age children through her private practice, McKinney Speech Therapy. Lauren prides herself on meeting caregivers where they are and educating, empowering and supporting their ability to confidently foster communication skills in their children.
Keegan Koehlinger-Wolf is a school-based speech-language pathologist working in Indianapolis, Indiana at Indianapolis Public Schools, where she provides services for children in 6-12th grade. Keegan has worked in the schools for 10 years, prior to which she worked in the pediatric outpatient setting. Keegan earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Iowa (Go Hawkeyes!). Keegan’s professional interests include varied service delivery models such as co-teaching and push-in therapeutic supports. In recent years, she has developed a passion for the use of school curriculum in speech and language therapy.
Jamie Leopard worked as a speech-language pathologist in a variety of settings providing therapy for both children and adults. Prior to joining PRC-Saltillo, Jamie worked in a pediatric outpatient setting providing comprehensive AAC services. Providing people with a voice and seeing the excitement it brought fueled her passion for the field. Jamie believes everyone has a right to communicate and is excited to help people find what works best for them.
Jaime Bauer Malandraki is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University. She teaches the graduate-level course on counseling in speech-language pathology and audiology and is a passionate educator, mentor and student advocate. She holds a second master’s degree in instructional design and technology and has expertise in designing and implementing innovative instruction to maximize learning and engagement, holistic models of clinical education and supervision and fostering resilience for student and professional wellness. Her primary clinical and research interests lie in the evaluation and management of swallowing disorders across the lifespan, with a particular focus on neurodegenerative conditions and head and neck cancer. She is a board certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders (BCS-S) and currently serves as the vice chair of the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders.
Christi Masters is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University. She received her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and her master’s degree from Arizona State University. Her primary expertise lies in clinical education and in the identification, evaluation and clinical management of speech and language disorders in young children. She is a member of the CAPCSD Clinical Education Committee.
Karla O’Brien has 25 years of experience and is a CERI-certified special education teacher, national presenter and trainer on dyslexia and best practices in structured literacy instruction. As the Executive Director of Professional Development for Slant System™, Karla’s mission is to equip teachers with the knowledge and skill set to reach every student, especially those who struggle to learn to read. She has trained and certified hundreds of teachers across the country in the past several years in the Orton-Gillingham approach. She takes great pride in sharing with other educators her passion and practices that she has successfully used with her own students to help close the literacy gap, allowing them to access their education and ensure a bright future.
Scott Palasik is an associate professor at the University of Akron. He teaches courses in stuttering, counseling, voice disorders and supervises graduate students. He researches mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy and social cognitive perceptions with people who stutter. He’s also co-host of the Act to Live Podcast.
Kaitlyn Palermo is a speech-language pathologist and private practice owner in Indianapolis who specializes in working with children ages 0-7. Kaitlyn is passionate about working with Autistic children, children with language delays and phonological disorders. Kaitlyn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue University.
Jamey Peavler is a co-director and assistant professor in the Reading Science Graduate Program at Mount St. Joseph University. Before joining The Mount, Jamey served as the director of training for the M.A. Rooney Foundation, providing Orton-Gillingham training for teachers across Indiana. She was an instructional coach and classroom teacher for Indianapolis Public Schools for 20 years. Jamey reviews higher-education textbooks and teacher licensure exams for the National Council for Teacher Quality. She is a certified fellow-in-training with the Orton-Gillingham Academy and an International Dyslexia Association structured literacy dyslexia specialist. She serves on the board for The Reading League’s Indiana Chapter.
Caroline Spencer, PhD, is an assistant professor at Indiana University. Her teaching and research interests are neuroscience and speech pathology, especially how the brain and speech system are affected in developmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Julia Rademacher is a clinical associate professor and certified speech-language pathologist in the department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She trains and supervises graduate student clinicians to evaluate and treat clients with voice disorders including professional voice problems, neurologically based voice and speech disorders, gender affirming voice and speech modification and phono trauma-related voice disorders. She also provides expert assessment and treatment to clients who stutter as well as clients with speech and resonance deviations related to craniofacial anomalies. Her clients span the age spectrum. Prior to her work as a speech-language pathologist, Julia trained and worked as a professional vocalist. She completed a master’s degree in voice and opera performance at Northwestern University and sang with opera choruses in the Indianapolis area.
Travis Riffle is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University. He completed both his AuD and PhD at Ohio University and his clinical externship at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Hearing Research Program. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan’s Kresge Hearing Research Institute in Dr. Susan Shore’s lab. There, he worked on a Phase II clinical trial investigating the efficacy of a novel bimodal auditory-somatosensory tinnitus treatment device. Broadly, his research interests are in the area of cognitive hearing science. He is particularly interested in the cognitive processes that regulate auditory attention and distraction, and how those can be assessed and measured in people suffering from tinnitus.
Rebecca Miles Risser comes to the field of speech pathology from a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music focused on vocal performance and pedagogy. She graduated from Indiana University with a master’s in speech-language pathology in 2000. Her work has included both inpatient and outpatient care in the areas of neurocognitive rehabilitation, cognitive linguistic rehabilitation, swallowing and voice. In 2014, she joined Dr. Stacey Halum to become a founding member of The Voice Clinic of Indiana, and it merged with Indiana University to become The IU Health Voice Center of Excellence. Her work is specialized in the treatment of voice disorders for professional and non-professional voices, as well as upper airway disorders.
Mariel Schroeder is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University studying child language acquisition. She recently completed her clinical fellowship at an outpatient university clinic focusing on pediatric speech and language disorders.
Nicole Smith is passionate about sharing her experiences and student successes with others so that AAC awareness spreads. Over the years, she has experienced astronomical growth in overall communication with her students. It has truly been a team approach building capacity within the community. She is excited to empower others to believe their students have unlimited potential. Every person has the right to communicate and learn! Over the last year she has been contemplating how her talents can be utilized to help others in the field. Nicole is elated about the opportunity with PRC and to support individuals in Indiana.
Barbara Solomon is a speech-language pathologist, retired from Purdue University where she was a clinical professor in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) department. She is currently teaching the voice disorders course virtually at Emerson College. Barbara’s interests include the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders throughout the lifespan. She is an ASHA Fellow and received Honors from the Indiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Kalie Standish is the early childhood specialist/co-leader of early childhood programs in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University. Prior to joining Purdue, Kalie worked as an early childhood educator, family specialist and mentor coach for Early Head Start & Head Start programs as well as a preschool teacher and director for public school corporations. She has a strong interest in the science of play-based learning and early childhood social-emotional development.
Alyx Sundheimer was diagnosed with hearing loss at five years old. She grew up wearing hearing aids and was always curious about what caused her hearing loss. This led her to earn her doctorate in audiology and become a pediatric audiologist. She loves working with children and their families to help them understand and appreciate hearing loss.
Carolyn (Carrie) Wade is a clinical assistant professor at Indiana University-Bloomington and currently serves as director of the IU Speech-Language Clinic. Carrie specializes in adult dysphagia management. She works alongside graduate students in clinic, serving adult neuro, voice and dysphagia populations. She teaches Indiana University’s dysphagia course.
Beth Waite-Lafever has more than 35 years of experience working with individuals using AAC and is also a certified assistive technology professional by RESNA. She has worked in outpatient rehabilitation, public schools, taught university courses and has presented on AAC at the national and international level. Beth began working with PRC speech-generating devices in the 1980’s and developed one of the first programs to provide AAC evaluations and therapy in Indiana while employed with the Central Indiana Easter Seals Society. During her 19 years in public school, she provided speech-language services to students with complex communication needs using AAC strategies and served as the assistive technology coordinator and AAC specialist for several school districts. Beth has collaborated with teams to promote implementation of communication strategies at school, home and in the community. Areas of interest include autism, literacy and working with individuals who are at the very early learning stage of communication. In her current position as training and implementation specialist for PRC-Saltillo, Beth provides training and support for PRC-Saltillo products and services.