Presenters for the ASHA Health Care Summit 2026: Grand Rounds in Pediatric Aerodigestive Disorders

Transforming Uncertainty Into Confidence

ASHA Health Care Summit 2026 features expert clinicians from Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and other notable institutions. 

Matthew T. Brigger, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UC San Diego and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Rady Children’s Hospital, where he is the Director of the Center for Pediatric Aerodigestive Disorders and Airway Surgery. His primary clinical interests are conditions and diseases of the upper aerodigestive tract, with a focus on surgical management of children with breathing and swallowing disorders. With a background in engineering, Dr. Brigger seeks to develop innovative surgical approaches for the most complex children who require multidisciplinary care.

Disclosures:

• Salary paid by University of California 
• Past President of the Aerodigestive Society

Numan Demir, Pt, PhD, SLP, MSc, is an Associate Professor at Hacettepe University and President of the Swallowing Disorders Research and Application Center. As the pioneering founder of dysphagia therapy in Türkiye, he leads national research as President of the Turkish Dysphagia Research Society. Dr. Demir serves on the boards of the European Society for Swallowing Disorders (ESSD) and the Asian Dysphagia Society (ADS). He is an Associate Editor for the journal Dysphagia and has authored numerous academic publications. His work focuses on extensive clinical practice and advanced instrumental evaluations, including FEES and VFSS.

Disclosures:

• None

Andrew Dickerson, MD, is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Rady Children’s Hospital and an assistant clinical professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). With a focus on esophageal disorders, he specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions such as dysphagia, esophageal dysmotility, esophageal strictures, and eosinophilic esophagitis. Dr. Dickerson is skilled in advanced diagnostic techniques, including esophageal manometry, EndoFLIP, pH-impedance, esophageal incisional therapy, and esophageal dilation, in addition to standard endoscopy. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Dr. Dickerson completed his medical training at the University of Tennessee before moving with his wife to California for residency (Children's Hospital of Orange County, CHOC) and fellowship (UCSD).

Disclosures:

• Consultant and speaker bureau participant with Takeda and Sanofi/Regeneron.

Amy S. Faherty, MS, CCC-SLP, is an SLP at Seattle Children's Hospital (SCH) since 1986, with responsibilities including rehabilitation therapy and development of instrumental swallowing evaluation, VFSS, and FEES procedures. She's been a contributing member of the SCH Aerodigestive Clinic and Esophageal Airway Treatment Center since inception. Faherty has also worked since 2014 as an SLP at University of Washington Medical Center to develop a therapeutic feeding and swallowing program on a Level IV NICU, including initiation of VFSS and FEES programs for the NICU. Over the years, Faherty has provided multiple presentations and publications regarding pediatric swallowing and feeding challenges.

Disclosures:

• None

Virginia Floco, PA-C, is the Clinical Coordinator for the Center for Pediatric Aerodigestive Disorders and Airway Surgery at Rady Children’s Hospital and an Otolarynology Physician Assistant. She serves in the Advanced Practice Provider position on the Executive Committee of the Aerodigestive Society.

Disclosures:

• None

Ethan Frank, MD, is a pediatric otolaryngologist at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.

Disclosures:

• Salary from UC San Diego 

Tzyynong (Tina) Friesen, MD, is an associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at University of California San Diego, and a pediatric otolaryngologist at Rady Children's Hospital. She is a member of the Aerodigestive Team and the Complex Sleep Apnea Clinic at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego.

Disclosures:

• Salary from University of California San Diego

Lisa Horvay, MS OTR/L, is an Occupational Therapist II at Rady Children's Hospital. Lisa has been an OT since 2012 and has worked at CT Children’s Medical Center and Shriner’s Hospital, where she provided services in the inpatient setting, Feeding Team, Myelomeningocele clinic, Cleft Lip and Palate clinic, and in an aquatic therapy setting. She currently works as an inpatient therapist at Rady Children’s, providing services to the NICU, PICU, and Rehab units. She joined the Aerodigestive team in 2019 and covers the Aerodigestive Feeding & Vascular Ring clinics.

Disclosures:

• None

Lauren Jalali, RD, LDN, is a Sr. Clinical Nutrition Specialist in the Aerodigestive Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. She specializes in caring for patients with feeding difficulties, enteral nutrition, and receiving blenderized feeding and is a Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition. She sees patients in the outpatient setting as part of the multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Center team.

Disclosures:

• Salary from Boston Children's Hospital

Soma Kumar, MD, is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego.

Disclosures:

• None

Kara Larson, MS, CCC-SLP, serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Communication Enhancement and the Director of the Feeding & Swallowing Program in the Division of Otolaryngology & Center for Communication Enhancement at Boston Children's Hospital. She has over 28 years of clinical experience in pediatric dysphagia. Kara focuses her clinical work and research in Pediatric Aerodigestive Disorders. She is part-time faculty at Boston University. Kara is President-Elect of the Aerodigestive Society. Kara serves as Topic Co-Chair for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing for the 2026 ASHA Convention.

Disclosures:

• Salary from Boston Children's Hospital
• President-Elect of the Aerodigestive Society
• Part-time faculty at Boston University
• Topic Chair for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing for the 2026 ASHA Convention

Daniel Lesser, MD, is the clinical director of the Respiratory Medicine Division at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and a professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego. Dr. Lesser's clinical focus is children with sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea, respiratory manifestations of neuromuscular diseases, and technology-dependent/medically fragile children.

Disclosures:

• Salary from UCSD

Naomi Lowe, MS, CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist at Rady Children’s Hospital.

Disclosures:

• None reported

Katlyn E. McGrattan, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Science at the University of Minnesota, and a clinician at Masonic Children’s Hospital. Her research focuses on the refinement of pediatric dysphagia assessment to enable the provision of targeted interventions that maximize therapeutic effects. She has research lines elucidating normal infant feeding characteristics to allow greater precision in impairment cut-points, development of non-invasive instrumentation to facilitate greater accuracy in the clinical feeding assessment, and carry-over of these methods to high-risk dysphagia populations such as preterm infants and those with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation
• Grant funding from NIH

Kimberly Morris, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, IBCLC, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist with over 16 years of experience assessing and treating children with dysphagia in both the acute care and outpatient settings. She is a board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders and an international board certified lactation consultant. She leads the cardiac and aerodigestive feeding programs at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and is involved in national research initiatives to optimize feeding and swallowing outcomes.

Disclosures:

• Salary from Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego

Amy Obenauer, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is the Associate Clinical Team Lead for the acute pediatrics speech pathology team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and is the speech pathology representative for the pediatric aerodigestive team as well as the multidisciplinary complex dysphagia team. Her clinical interests include complex dysphagia management through the lifespan, including VFSS and FEES, level IV NICU, cardiac ICU, and level 1 trauma care. 

Disclosures:

• Salary from Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Katy Peck, MA, CCC-SLP, CLE, BCS-S, is a speech-language pathologist board-certified in swallowing and swallowing disorders, and a current PhD student. She serves as a clinical lead, bringing more than two decades of experience in delivering developmental, feeding/swallowing, and communication interventions to children with complex aerodigestive conditions. An accomplished presenter, author, researcher, and educator with specialized expertise in high-risk pediatric care, she has ben recognized for her aerodigestive team contributions and co-lead of an infant home NG program.

Disclosures:

• Part-time employee at Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Clinical consultant at Passy Muir
• ASHA Learning Pass access received from ASHA for participation in event

Aparna Rao, MD, is a clinical professor at University of California San Diego and pediatric pulmonologist at Rady Children’s Hospital since 2017. Rao is the Medical Director of the Center for Aerodigestive Disorders and Airway Surgery and completed a pediatric residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a pediatric pulmonology fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Prior to joining Rady Children's, Rao held faculty positions at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and Phoenix Children's Hospital. Rao is a current fellow at Integrative Medicine Fellowship at the Andrew Weil Center.

Disclosures:

• None

Sandra Salzedo, MS, RDN, CLEC, CACFD, is a clinical dietitian with over 25 years of professional practice. She has been an integral part of Rady Children's Hospital team since 2001. Sandra holds a Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition (1998) as well as a Master's in Nutritional Sciences (2001), both from San Diego State University. She completed her dietetic internship in 1999, earning her CDR Registration in 2000. Additionally, she became a certified Lactation Education Counselor in 2007, showcasing her expertise in supporting lactation and infant feeding. In 2024, she competed the National Board Certification in Cystic Fibrosis in Nutrition.

Disclosures:

• Employed by Rady Children's Hospital San Diego

Camille Zaman, MS, CCC-SLP, is a dedicated SLP at Rady Children's Hospital, with experience delivering high-quality care across private practice, outpatient, and inpatient medical settings. Her clinical background includes working with individuals with autism, receptive and expressive language disorders, articulation disorders, pragmatic disorders, fluency disorders, and cognitive-communication impairments.Camille’s inpatient experience spans the CTICU, acute care, and acute rehabilitation environments, where she has provided comprehensive evaluation and treatment for speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. She has also contributed to specialized programs such as the Rady aerodigestive clinic, and the single-ventricle home monitoring clinic, supporting medically complex patients and their families throughout the continuum of care.

Disclosures:

• None