Meet the Schools Conference Speakers
Rita L. Bailey, EdD, CCC-SLP, BRS-S, is a speech-language pathologist, Board Recognized Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders, and assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Illinois State University. Her primary clinical and research interests include management of dysphagia in infants and school-age children, communication and swallowing issues associated with tracheostomy, augmentative/alternative communication, and service-learning pedagogy and practices. She has presented locally and nationally for school districts and professional groups, and organized and provided consultation for multiple school and hospital-based pediatric dysphagia programs.
Mary J. Beasley, MA, CCC-SLP, retired after spending 27 years in education as a speech-language pathologist and an administrator in special education. As a member of the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (KSHA), she has served as president and received the Honors of the Association in 2006 for her work in promoting the caseload/workload initiative. She led an ASHA/KSHA-sponsored pilot study in Kansas on caseload/workload and has contributed to articles published in The ASHA Leader and Division 16's Perspectives on the topic. She currently is the coordinator of the KSHA Caseload/Workload Task Force and providing support to districts, cooperatives, and the Kansas State Education Department on the initiative.
Alina de la Paz, MS, CCC-SLP, is the executive director and owner of the Center for Bilingual Speech and Language Disorders, Inc. Focusing on pediatric populations, Ms. De la Paz has developed specialized assessment and treatment approaches for bilingual populations to ensure appropriate linguistic assessment and treatment: Two-Way Bilingual Assessment (TBAM), and Two-Way Bilingual Intervention Techniques (TBIT). She has incorporated the TBIT approach to facilitate multilingualism in persons who are deaf or hard of hearing as well.
Sylvia F. Diehl, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor at the University of South Florida, where she teaches courses in language disorders, autism, augmentative and alternative communication, and developmental disabilities. She has extensive experience assisting students, teachers, and therapists to provide meaningful educational opportunities for students with language disorders. She has served as a consultant in autism spectrum disorders for the National Educational Association and ASHA along with numerous school districts. Her research and publication interests focus on consistent frameworks to support children with developmental disabilities in classroom contexts. Most recently, she co-authored a chapter on language learning disabilities in Language and Communication Disorders in Children (6th ed.).
Barbara J. Ehren, EdD, CCC-SLP, is the director of the doctoral program in language and literacy at the University of Central Florida. Before this, she was a researcher with the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KUCRL) where her focus was adolescent literacy. Before joining KUCRL she completed eleven years of service to the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, where she last served as manager of professional development. She also served as the manager of exceptional student education, program planner for inclusive education, and program planner for Speech-Language Impaired. Prior to that she was a professor of learning disabilities and communication disorders for fifteen years at Florida Atlantic University. She has been a speech-language pathologist, as well as a classroom teacher, in the schools. She is a Fellow of ASHA.
Ted Feinberg, EdD, assistant executive director for professional development for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), has over 30 years of broad-based human services experience in the mental health field. He has extensive background in consultation and counseling with children, adolescents, adults, and families, and has worked in both the public and private sectors. Dr. Feinberg completed his doctoral and postdoctoral training at the State University of New York at Albany. He has been a member of the graduate school faculties of the University of Maryland and George Mason University. In October 1995, the New York State Association of School Psychologists selected Dr. Feinberg as Practitioner of the Year.
Joleen R. Fernald, MS, CCC-SLP, is currently a PhD candidate studying with Dr. Stanley Greenspan on infant mental health and developmental disabilities. She is the New Hampshire Selective Mutism Connections Coordinator and was elected to the Selective Mutism Group's Board of Directors in 2007. After ten years working within the special education system, Joleen began a private speech and language practice where she focuses her skills on working with children who have autism spectrum disorders and other communication disorders. Joleen enjoys public speaking and has presented nationally on the topics of childhood apraxia of speech and selective mutism. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two young daughters, the older of whom has a social anxiety disorder and selective mutism.
Jeanane M. Ferre, PhD, CCC-A, received her PhD in audiology from Northwestern University in 1984 and has been on the faculties of Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, and Rush University. She has published several articles and book chapters and presented at local, state, national, and international levels on CAPD. Published materials include the Differential Screening Test for Processing (LinguiSystems), Processing Power-Guide to CAPD Assessment and Treatment (The Psychological Corporation/Communication Skill Builders), The M3 Model for Treating Auditory Disorders in CAPD: Mostly Management (Allyn & Bacon), and "Managing Auditory Processing Disorders" in the Handbook of Clinical Audiology (5th ed.; Lipincott, Williams, and Wilkins).
Yvonne Gillette, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a professor at the University of Akron, where she directs the AAC/AT Center, teaches courses in AAC and assistive technology for literacy, supervises student clinicians in AAC/AT assessments and interventions, collaborates with schools on AAC/AT issues, and writes and conducts research. She is co-director of a National Institute on Disabilities Rehabilitation research project, the AT Collaborative, which is investigating the use of PDAs, cell phones, and Smart phones for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and traumatic brain injury. She has published in the area of communication interventions for children with developmental disabilities, AAC, and assistive technology.
Sue T. Hale, MCD, CCC-SLP, is director of clinical education and assistant professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University. An ASHA fellow, she is the 2008 ASHA president-elect with extensive previous service in the areas of clinical standards and professional ethics. She frequently presents on the topics of clinical supervision and education, ethics, advocacy and volunteerism, professional stress and burnout, and counseling. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Mississippi.
Laura Justice, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a clinical speech-language pathologist and applied researcher in early childhood language and literacy development, communication disorders, and educational interventions. Dr. Justice is professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at the Ohio State University, where she directs the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab of the Early Childhood Development Center at the Schoenbaum Child Development Center at Weinland Park. Dr. Justice's research activities have been supported by grants from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, the International Reading Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Education. Her research on early language and literacy has received awards from ASHA (Editor's Award, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology), the Council for Exceptional Children (Early Career Publication Award), and the U.S. President (Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering).
Mary E. Koch received her Bachelor's degree from Smith College and her Master's in education of the deaf from Gallaudet University. She has taught in oral, auditory-verbal, and total communication programs. Mary has been working with children with cochlear implants since 1983 and developed the cochlear implant rehabilitation program at the Listening Center at Johns Hopkins. Mary is the author of Bringing Sound to Life: Principles and Practices of Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation, Word Associations for Syllable Perception (W*A*S*P) and Making the Connection: a Workbook for Adults and Adolescents With Cochlear Implants and Their Families. Mary is an independent auditory education consultant, providing workshops, professional mentoring, and program development. She consults with Boys Town National Research Hospital, Advanced Bionics Corporation, Gallaudet University, The Learning Center for Deaf Children, and other schools and programs serving children with cochlear implants.
Timothy P. Kowalski, MA, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist nationally known for his work with Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism. He presents on these topics nationally, internationally, and at district-wide in-services. He is the author of The Source for Asperger's Syndrome, a practical resource for anyone who works with this population and Assessing Social Communication in Asperger's Syndrome: an Introduction to the Conversational Effectiveness Profile.
Henriette W. Langdon, CCC-SLP, received her EdD in psycholinguistics and special education from Boston University in 1977. Her professional interests are in bilingualism and specifically, best practices in identifying possible language/learning disorders in students whose first language is not English, and planning strategies to assist those students. Henriette has written and lectured extensively on these topics at the local, national, and international levels. Her most recent publication, Assessment and Intervention of Communicative Disorders in Multilingual and Multicultural Populations, was released in July 2007 by Delmar Learning.
Richard D. Lavoie, MS, MEd, has served as an administrator of residential programs for children with special needs since 1972. He holds three degrees in special education and has served as an adjunct professor or visiting lecturer at numerous universities including Syracuse, Harvard, Gallaudet, Manhattanville College, University of Alabama, and Georgetown. His numerous national television appearances include the CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, ABC Evening News, and Disney Channel Presents. Rick serves as a consultant on learning disabilities to several agencies and organizations including the Public Broadcasting Service, New York Times, National Center for Learning Disabilities, Girl Scouts of America, Child magazine, and WETA. He is a member of the Professional Advisor Board of the Learning Disabilities Association.
Vicki Lord Larson, PhD, CCC-SLP, is chancellor emerita, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Dr. Larson is a past president of the Wisconsin Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Association (WSHA) and, in 1991, received the Honors of the Association. She served as an ASHA legislative counselor and is an ASHA Fellow. From 2001–2006, she was the acquisitions manager for Thinking Publications. She has spent two years as a public school SLP and 32 years in the University of Wisconsin system, serving over 20 years in the administrative positions of dean, provost, and interim chancellor. She has presented numerous workshops and co-authored four textbooks with Nancy McKinley on older students with language disorders, most recently Communication Solutions for Older Students. Dr. Larson has also co-authored S-MAPS: Rubrics for Curriculum-Based Assessment and Intervention with Elisabeth Wiig and Joyce Olson, and the book Asperger Syndrome: Strategies for Solving the Social Puzzle, with Nancy Kaufman.
Gail J. Richard, PhD, CCC-SLP, is chair of the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. Her clinical expertise lies in childhood developmental language disorders, such as autistic spectrum disorders, selective mutism, syndromes, language-learning disabilities, and processing disorders. Publications include the Differential Screening Test for Processing, The Language Processing Test, Language Processing Treatment Activities, Differential Assessment of Autistic Spectrum and Other Developmental Disorders, The Source for Autism, The Source for Treatment Methodologies in Autism, The Source for Syndromes, The Source for Syndromes II, Source for Processing Disorders, The Source for ADD-ADHD, The Source for Development of Executive Functions, and several book chapters. Gail is an ASHA Fellow and has received Honors and Fellow of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Tommie L. Robinson, Jr., PhD, CCC-SLP, BRS-FD, is director of the Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders in the Children's Hearing and Speech Center at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., and is an associate professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He specializes in communication disorders in children, particularly in the area of stuttering. Dr. Robinson is an administrator, researcher, scholar, teacher, and clinician. Dr. Robinson holds an adjunct professorship with Howard University and has presented widely at the local, regional, and national levels. He served as the vice-president for quality of service in speech-language pathology of the ASHA from 2005-2007.
Joseph J. Smaldino, PhD, CCC-A, has conducted clinical research, taught, and provided clinical services in a variety of settings. He has served the chief of audiology services at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Temple, Texas, as a professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and at Southern Illinois University, as professor and head of the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Northern Iowa, and as a professor at Northern Illinois University. He is a past president of the Educational Audiology Association and the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology, and is the current president of the Illinois Academy of Audiology. An ASHA Fellow, he has published widely in classroom acoustics and has served on the working groups that have established national guidelines and standards for desirable acoustics for listening and learning. His teaching and research interests span the spectrum of audiology and hearing sciences.
Shelley D. Smith, received her BA from Grinnell College and her PhD in medical genetics from Indiana University, and completed a fellowship in genetics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado and the University of Miami under the supervision of Dr. Herbert Lubs. She is certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics as a PhD medical geneticist. She is currently professor of pediatrics and chief of human molecular genetics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Munroe Meyer Institute. Her research interests are hereditary hearing loss and the genetic etiology of speech and language disorders. The latter include reading disability, speech sound disorder, and specific language impairment, and she is collaborating in four NIH projects in these areas. She also has clinical responsibilities and participates in general genetic clinics, as well as a specialty clinic in Neurosensory Genetics at Boys Town National Research Hospital.
Gary A. Troia, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an associate professor of special education at Michigan State University and a principal investigator with the Literacy Achievement Research Center at MSU. Dr. Troia received his doctorate from the University of Maryland in 2000 after a decade of work as an SLP in the public schools and 6 years as a university clinical supervisor. He is an associate editor of Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools and consulting editor on several other special education journals. His research interests include the connections between oral language and literacy in typical and atypical learners. His recent work examines factors that influence teachers' adoption of innovative writing assessment and instruction practices, and how the interplay of these factors and practices affects student performance and motivation. He has a forthcoming edited volume from Guilford Press titled Writing Instruction and Assessment for Struggling Writers: From Theory to Evidence-Based Practices.
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