Presenters at Dysphagia Management: Strengthening Skills, Overcoming Obstacles

Justine Dallal-York, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S (she/her/hers) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Laboratory for the Study of Upper Airway Dysfunction at Teachers College, Columbia University. She completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science with a concentration in Neuromuscular Plasticity at University of Florida. Building on over a decade of clinical experience in otolaryngology and acute care settings, Justine's research examines how multiple organ systems across the aerodigestive axis impact swallow and cough function in medically complex populations. She translates this knowledge to advance clinical practice patterns for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of airway protection disorders.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from Teachers College, Columbia University
• Speaking fee from ASPIRE and Dysphagia Cafe
• Member of Dysphagia Research Society

Raele Donetha Loy, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers) is a speech-language pathologist and current postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) in Dr. Nicole Rogus-Pulia’s Swallowing and Salivary Bioscience Laboratory. Dr. Loy is currently supported by a NIH specialized D-SPAN pre- to postdoctoral K00 fellowship grant. Under this NIA-supported K00 grant mechanism, Dr. Loy is sponsored by Drs. Nicole Rogus-Pulia and Nadine Connor. The overarching aim of this work is geared toward understanding how interrelated physiologic capacities throughout the body contribute to the development of dysphagia in frail older adults. Dr. Loy is also passionate about understanding how health disparities preclude equity surrounding the eating experience. She is an affiliate member of the UW-Madison Center for Health Disparities Research and hopes to improve socioculturally responsive swallowing care by investigating barriers faced by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Employment at University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Grant from National Institutes on Aging
• Co-Chair of Social Determinants of Health Special Interest Group, Clinician Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research Coordinating Center
• ASHA member

Kendrea Garand, PhD, CScD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor within the Department of Communication Science and Disorders (CSD). She also serves as Director of CSD Student Awards. She completed her clinical doctorate (CScD) in medical speech-language pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and earned her PhD in health and rehabilitation sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Garand's postdoctoral fellowship was completed within a joint appointment at the Veterans Affairs (VA) and MUSC’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Her interests include how healthy aging, motor neuron disease (e.g., ALS), and sleep-related breathing disorders (e.g., OSA) impact swallowing function and respiratory-swallow coordination. She has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for approximately 15 years and supervises graduate student clinicians within the UPMC Swallowing Disorders Center. Dr. Garand holds Board Certification in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (BCS-S). Part of her professional service responsibilities include Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups journal (SIG 2), and she is the Chairperson of the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Her work has been supported through NIH, VA, and ASHFoundation, in additional to internal funding awarded through her previous faculty employment as an Assistant Professor at the University of South Alabama.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from University of Pittsburgh
• Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups
• Chairperson, American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders

Jennifer Hanners Gutierrez, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers) completed her PhD at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) in 2019. Gutierrez is currently a medical speech-language pathologist at University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, and serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Otolaryngology, TTUHSC School of Medicine. In 2016, Gutierrez was the keynote speaker for the Nutrition in Palliative Care Symposium (Hong Kong). Gutierrez taught on oral feeding amid critical illness and dysphagia in Lucknow, India (2018-2020). Gutierrez led international training on least risk oral feeding amid life-limiting illness (2019) and conducts associated research, publishing seminal work in 2024. Gutierrez has invented three medical devices; each is focused on improving quality of life in the context of serious health complications.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Employee of UMC Health System with a clinical appointment to the TTUHSC School of Medicine
• Inventor with royalties received from Bionix Medical, Inc.
• Executive Director of the global nonprofit company The Storyteller & the World, Inc. 
• President of Virtual Rehab, LLC
• Member of the National Academy of Inventors

Brittany Horvath, SLPD, CCC-SLP, has built a diverse career in clinical rehabilitation, leadership, and advocacy. She currently provides expert care in home and community-based neurorehabilitation and is passionate about supporting stroke survivors and individuals with neurological injuries and diseases. She also continues to serve those in skilled nursing facilities and individuals receiving hospice and palliative care services. Brittany advocates for quality of life and shared decision-making at the end of life, ensuring compassionate, individualized care. Her research on the impact of online palliative care training on SLPs’ self-perceived comfort and knowledge was published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in January 2025. In addition to her clinical work, Brittany actively contributes to advancing the field through teaching, mentoring, and speaking at conferences on topics related to neurorehabilitation and palliative care. In her free time, Brittany enjoys exercising, coaching her daughters' softball teams, and spending quality time with her family. She is also passionate about giving back to her community and volunteering with Project 4031, a nonprofit organization whose mission focuses on providing peace and comfort to terminally ill children, adults, and their families by easing financial burdens and fulfilling last wishes.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

Marissa James, EdD, CScD, CCC-SLP, is the Professional Practice Leader of a speech-language pathology team at a health care organization in Southern Ontario, Canada. Passionate about improving quality of life for individuals with advanced cancer, Dr. James has conducted research focused on comfort feeding, offering critical insights into patient care at the end-of-life stage. Her work focuses on creating compassionate, individualized approaches to enhance comfort and dignity for both patients and families. When she’s not shaping clinical practice or mentoring fellow professionals, Dr James treasures time spent with family and continues to fuel her love of learning through travel, reading, and a steady game of tennis. Dr. James’s blend of clinical expertise, research contributions, and personal motivation for enriching lives makes her a trusted leader in her field and an advocate for patients in their most vulnerable moments.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

Molly A. Knigge, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is a speech-language pathologist serving the UW Health Voice and Swallow Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin. Her practice and research interests include optimizing evaluation and treatment of UES dysfunction and clinical application of high-resolution manometry. Knigge has a PhD in Clinical Investigation from the UW-Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from UW Health
• Owner of SwallowDx LLC

Bonnie Martin-Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers) is the Alice Gabrielle Twight Professor in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the School of Communication at Northwestern University. Her research interests include swallowing impairment and respiratory-swallowing interactions, assessment, and treatment approaches for patients with head and neck cancer, and neurologic and pulmonary diseases. Dr. Martin-Harris’ research is funded by the NIH, VA, Bracco Diagnostics, and Mark and Evelyn Trammell Foundation.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Grants from NIH and Michael J Fox Foundation
• Royalties from MUSC Foundation for Research Development
• Speaking free and royalties from Northern Speech Services
• Salary from Northwestern University
• Consulting fee from Bracco Diagnostics, Inc.

Ashwini Namasivayam-MacDonald, PhD, CCC-SLP, SLP(C) (she/her/hers) is a speech-language pathologist and Associate Professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Her overarching research goal is to develop a more comprehensive and collaborative approach to dysphagia management that unites the biomedical and psychosocial aspects of care in order to improve health and quality of life within the individual and across the family system. Her current research focuses on: (1) understanding dysphagia in older adults with dementia, (2) developing multidisciplinary interventions to prevent impairment and maintain swallowing function in older adults, and (3) understanding dysphagia-related caregiver burden in caregivers of older adults. Ashwini is highly motivated to conduct clinically salient research that impacts patient care. In 2020, she was the first international recipient of ASHA's Early Career Contributions in Research Award.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

Marilouise E. Nichols, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S (she/her/hers) is the Acute Care Rehabilitation Manager at Duke Raleigh Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. Marilouise has an extensive background in medical speech pathology and has focused her career in neurogenic dysphagia and communication disorders, traumatic brain injury, and iatrogenic dysphagia in adult acute care, long-term acute care, and inpatient rehabilitation. She is a Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Marilouise earned her BA at Spelman College in Atlanta and her MS at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. In addition to her clinical background, Marilouise is passionate about early career professional leadership development and graduate clinical supervision and instruction. She has been a professor and lecturer at several universities and presented on clinical and leadership topics at both state and national conventions. Marilouise is an alumna of ASHA’s MSLP 2013 Cohort, is an alumna of ASHA's Healthcare Leadership Development Program (LDP) 2022 cohort, and was awarded ASHA’s Distinguished Early Career Professional (ECP) Award in 2020. Marilouise was the 2024 ASHA Convention Topic Co-Chair for Adult Swallowing, and she currently serves on ASHA's Multicultrual Issues Board (MIB) and the Board of the Directors for the National Black Association of Speech Language and Hearing (NBASLH). 

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

Aaron Padilla, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is an acute care speech-language pathologist in New Mexico, a board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders, and a volunteer in the swallowing disorders lab at the University of New Mexico. He currently serves as a member of the Coordinating Committee for ASHA SIG 13 (Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders) and is on the board of directors for the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Current research interests include host considerations, risk stratification, cultural considerations, and implementation science.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• ASHA SIG 13 Coordinating Committee member
• Board member of the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders
• Employed by a health care organization; the presentation reflects the independent views of the speaker and is not affiliated with or endorsed by their employer

Nicole Rogus-Pulia, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Surgery, Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additionally, she is the Director of the Swallowing and Salivary Bioscience Laboratory in the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital as well as Director of the multi-site Veteran Health Administration’s (VHA) Intensive Dysphagia Treatment (IDT) program.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

Amanda Stead, CCC-SLP, PhD, CHSE (she/her/hers) is a full professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Pacific University. She is also the school's simulation program coordinator and is credentialed as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE). Her passion for working with dementia patients comes from personal family experiences and her experiences in long-term care settings. Her personal goal is to educate students and the community about the critical role speech-language pathologists play in the care of patients with dementia and end-of-life care. In addition to teaching a course on counseling and dementia, Dr. Stead teaches graduate courses in communication and aging, progressive neurological illness, and aphasia. She has been awarded a teaching award from the Oregon Speech-Language and Hearing Association (2013), the President's Award for Excellence Graduate Teaching at Pacific University (2019), and the Certificate of Recognition for Special Contributions in Higher Education from ASHA (2022). Her current research examines the pedagogy that best prepares future clinicians for work with geriatric patients and the development of high-quality health care simulations.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from Pacific University 

Catriona M. Steele, PhD, CCC-SLP, S-LP(C), Reg. CASLPO, F-ESSD (she/her/hers) is a clinician scientist working in the area of swallowing and swallowing disorders. She has a background as a medical speech-language pathologist and is Director of the Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory (https:www.steeleswallowinglab.ca) at the KITE Research Institute, the research arm of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network. Dr. Steele is a Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto and holds a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 award in Swallowing and Food Oral Processing. She is a recipieint of Honors of the Association from ASHA.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from University Health Network and Canada Research Chairs Secretariat
• Research grant from National Institute on Aging
• Research contract from Benitec Biopharma Ltd
• Course royalties from Medbridge and Northern Speech Services
• Previous consulting for Nestle Health Science
• Past president and current board member for Dysphagia Research Society
• Former board member for International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative

Debra Suiter, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S (she/her/hers) is Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Director of the Voice and Swallow Clinic at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Her research and clinical interests focus on the assessment of adults with swallowing disorders. She has co-authored two textbooks—Assessing and Treating Dysphagia: A Lifespan Perspective and The Yale Swallow Protocol: An Evidence-Based Approach to Decision Making—and numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. Suiter is a board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders and an ASHA Fellow.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from University of Kentucky
• Royalties from Thieme Medical Publishers and MedBridge

Nancy B. Swigert, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is president of Swigert & Associates. Before retiring from clinical practice, she was the director of Speech-Language Pathology and Respiratory Care at Baptist Health at their acute care facility in Lexington, Kentucky. Prior to that, she had a private practice for 25 years. She has been a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders for 20 years. She teaches and writes in the areas of pediatric and adult dysphagia. The 4th edition of The Source for Dysphagia (ProEd) was released in 2019, and the 3rd edition of The Source for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing was released in fall 2022. She serves on the Medical Advisory Board for the National Foundation on Swallowing Disorders. She is a Volunteer Community Educator for the Alzheimer's Association. She chaired the ASHA Health Care Economics Committee for 6 years, ASHA’s Special Interest Group on Swallowing for 3 years, and the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders for 3 years. She served as president of ASHA in 1998 and of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation 2004–2005. She received her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She received the Honors of ASHA in 2015 and is a life member.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Royalties from ProEd
• Medical Advisory Board for National Foundation on Swallowing Disorders

Michelle S. Troche, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers) is a Professor and Program Director in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research is focused on improving health outcomes and quality of life associated with disorders of airway protection (i.e., swallowing and cough). She is a certified speech-language pathologist. Her research has been funded by National Institutes of Health, Michael J. Fox Foundation, CurePSP Foundation, and National Ataxia Foundation.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Salary from Teachers College, Columbia University
• Grant funds from NIH
• Royalties from MedBridge
• Editorial Board Member for Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
• Board, Executive Committee of Dysphagia Research Society
• Member of ASHA and the International Society for the Advancement of Respiratory Psychophysiology (ISARP)

"I was most impressed by the speakers and their depth of knowledge and experience. This was an impressive and memorable learning experience."