Candidate for Vice President for Standards and Ethics in Speech-Language Pathology
Lissa A. Power-deFur, PhD, CCC-SLP
ASHA Leader Interview | Video Interview | Video Transcript | All Candidates
Lissa Power-deFur has worked as a speech-language pathologist in early intervention, schools, rehabilitation, education administration, and higher education. She currently serves as Program Director of the CSD graduate program at Longwood University in rural Virginia. She was instrumental in starting the program and achieving accreditation from the Council of Academic Accreditation (CAA). Among the graduate courses she teaches is Ethics and Professional Issues. She has served as principal investigator in a number of grants to support graduate student education, including participation in a multi-university collaborative distance education masters' program.
Prior to joining the faculty at Longwood, Dr. Power-deFur worked at the Virginia Department of Education as a speech-language consultant, Director of Student Services, and policy analyst. Her responsibilities included revising the state's special education regulations, implementing Medicaid billing in schools, and serving as a legislative liaison with the Virginia General Assembly.
Dr. Power-deFur's volunteer work includes serving on the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia board in a variety of positions, including President, and as President of the Communication Disorders Foundation of Virginia, which funds student scholarships. She has volunteered with ASHA as a Legislative Councilor (12 years) and as Chair of the Speech-Language Pathology Assembly. She has served on the Board of Ethics, the Joint Committee for State National Association Relations (Chair), the Long Range Planning Committee (Chair), the Financial Planning Board (Chair), and the Honors Committee (Chair); she has also been a State Education Advocacy Leader and a CAA site visitor.
Dr. Power de-Fur has also volunteered her professional expertise on three medical mission trips in Belize and as Camp Program Director for an overnight camp for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. She is an ASHA Fellow, has received the Friends of the Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education award, and a Faculty Excellence award from Longwood.
The ASHA Leader asked the candidates:
Given the position for which you are running, if you could change one thing about ASHA, what would it be?
Our professional and ethical standards are the foundation on which our professions are built. They define the knowledge, skills and ethical principles that define our practice as speech-language pathologists, audiologists and scientists. Whereas we were all exposed to the standards and code of ethics during our graduate education, our attention to them may slip during the business of our work lives. In this position, I would build upon the association’s current use of technology and professional development to enhance the connections with the membership regarding professional and ethical standards. Further, I would strive to include the value of these high standards in our advocacy messages to policy makers at all levels of government and industry and with our partners in education, health care and research.
Why are you running for a position on the ASHA Board?
What would be your top priority be if elected to your respective position?