Candidate for Vice President for Speech-Language Pathology Practice
Michele (Shelly) Simler, CCC-SLP
Why should ASHA members approve a slate that includes you as Vice President for Speech-Language Pathology Practice for the Board of Directors?
Michele Simler, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, is a dedicated speech-language pathologist and health care administrator with an extensive background in clinical excellence and organizational leadership. Currently serving as the Director of Risk Management, Ms. Simler leverages a unique perspective that blends frontline health care experience with strategic oversight. Over the course of a distinguished career, she has served across the full continuum of health care—including acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient settings. Although her current role focuses on administrative leadership and risk mitigation, Ms. Simler remains a clinician at heart. Speech-language pathology has always been her primary passion, and she views her leadership through a clinical lens. By transitioning from the bedside to the corporate office, Ms. Simler ensures that the needs of patients and the integrity of the profession remain at the forefront of decision making. A committed leader within the profession, Ms. Simler has a significant history of volunteerism and service to professional organizations.
Her past volunteer positions with ASHA include the following: Chairperson of the Board of Ethics; Coordinator for Special Interest Group 11—Administration and Supervision; and Convention Program Committee, Topic Co-Chair (Acquired Cognitive-Communication Disorders and Business and Practice Management—SLP). Ms. Simler currently serves as a subject-matter expert for the Post-Acute Care InterOperability (PACIO) project (collaborative effort to advance interoperable health data exchange across the health care continuum). She also serves on the Public Policy Steering Committee for the National Academies of Practice. All of the above-listed roles embody her commitment to the ASHA values of collaboration, innovation, and integrity.
Ms. Simler values high-quality patient care. She continues to champion the vital role of communication and swallowing services within the broader health care landscape, ensuring that the patient and clinician voice is never lost in the complexities of health care administration.
