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The 2003 Executive Board includes a new president—Glenda J. Ochsner—as well as a new president-elect and vice presidents for governmental and social policies, professional practices in speech-language pathology, and quality of service in audiology.
Lawrence W. (Larry) Higdon , an audiologist, will serve as president-elect for a one-year term before becoming ASHA president in 2004. He is director of governmental relations for the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association, an instructor at the Lott Leadership Institute of The University of Mississippi, and is in private practice. His leadership activities during his more than three decades of ASHA membership include state-level activities, 18 years as a Legislative Councilor, chairing many ASHA boards and committees, and serving as vice president for professional practices in audiology and, most recently, vice president for governmental and social policies.
As president-elect and then president, Higdon plans to address several key professional issues, including reimbursement, literacy, diversity needs, evidence-based practices, reducing workloads, obtaining autonomy for audiologists, expanding ASHA’s Web portal, and consistent funding streams for research and doctoral preparation.
Kate Gottfred , an SLP, founder of the LEAP! (Language Empowers All People) to Language Foundation, and president of Gottfred Speech Associates, takes office as the 2003–2005 vice president for governmental and social policies. She believes "the most important issue facing our professions is a commitment to being leaders in effectively addressing the achievement gap that exists across socioeconomic groups in America."
Celia R. Hooper , clinical professor of speech-language pathology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the 2003–2005 vice president for professional practices in speech-language pathology. She plans to focus on such issues as the eroding national/state support for special education, the doctoral shortage, and public school services, as well as working with research groups, encouraging members interested in evidence-based practice projects, supporting the past work of the ASHA Working Group on Mentoring, and backing the ASHA-PAC.
Neil T. Shepard , professor in the department of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and director of audiology at the Speech Pathology and Balance Center of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, assumes the role of 2003–2005 vice president for quality of service in audiology. Shepard believes that audiology "scope of practice documents need to be firmly established in the minds of third-party insurers and other professionals," while audiologists need to stay within guidelines established for services rendered. He intends to coordinate—in cooperation with the American Academy of Audiology—mechanisms for subspecialty recognition of specific skills influencing state licensure regulations.
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