SPEAKER NEWS
Sherry
Curtiss, M.A., CCC-SLP
Ms. Sherry Curtiss
is a speech language pathologist who graduated from Appalachian
State University in Boone NC with a master’s degree in
Communication Disorders in 1995. She has been an active volunteer
since graduation in the North Carolina Speech Hearing Language
Association (NCSHLA). She was President of NCSHLA 2006-2007. The
theme of her presidency was “Stay Connected” and opened up the
door for multiple areas of communication for the versatility of
our professionals. Sherry is currently the President of the
Council of State Speech-Language-Hearing Association Presidents (CSAP)
where she communicates the theme of “We Are CSAP” and “More of the
best to come.” She is the Chair of the NCSHLA Professional
Affairs Committee and Speech Language Pathology Editor of the
Communiqué. Additionally, she is the President-Elect of the NC
Association for Speech Language Pathology and Audiology
Supervisors. She is the very proud mother of two beautiful
daughters, Eden and Gemma. Leadership, Advocacy, Education,
Supervision, and Dysphagia Management are among a few of her
professional passions. Her passion for sharing successes in
leadership have been motivated by being in the ASHA Leadership
Development Program for 2008 and being a member of Sigma Sigma
Sigma Sorority where she has learned to live the vision of “the
more we give the more we receive.”
Marilyn
Daniels, Ph.D.
Dr. Marilyn Daniels is Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences
at the Pennsylvania State University. She a nationally &
internationally known expert on using American Sign Language (ASL)
to improve children’s literacy. For over two decades she has
been teaching college, producing visionary research, writing,
lecturing and instructing parents, caregivers, and educators on
the benefits and use of ASL. Her book, Dancing with Words:
Signing for Hearing Children’s Literacy, is the most used and
quoted book in America on this subject.
Traveling across the United States, in the United Kingdom, Canada
and Japan to conduct research and present her findings Dr. Daniels
continues to painstakingly mold an effective argument for enabling
typical & special needs children to become full participants in
language and communication with family and peers through the use
of sign language. She has recently authored a series of books to
help parents and childhood educators successfully and
informatively sign with children at each stage of development.
Sign to Speak: Babies Can Talk and Sign to Speak: Toddlers
at Play are the first two volumes in the collection.
In addition to being the author of five books, Professor Daniels
has published more than twenty-five articles in peer reviewed
academic journals. Her research receives attention in the popular
media and is featured in magazines such as Business Week
and Family Circle, newspapers including the New York
Times and the Toronto Star, plus radio and television
segments on outlets like NPR’s Morning Edition and
NBC’s Everybody is Talking.
Marilee L.
Fini, M.A., CCC-SLP
Ms.
Marilee Fini is a
practicing speech pathologist in Cleveland, OH running her own
private practice, MLF Speech Therapy. She graduated from John
Carroll University with a B.A. in Communications in 1991 and
graduated from Kent State University with a M.A. in Speech
Pathology in 1993. Marilee regularly speaks on the subject of
stuttering throughout the U.S., often being an invited speaker for
speech and language conventions as well as presenting for seminar
companies, schools, hospitals and other agencies. In her
workshops, she sheds a unique light on the subject of stuttering
since she has spent most of her life dealing with her own
stuttering
Diane J.
German, Ph.D.
Dr. Diane German
is a Professor at National-Louis University, Chicago, Illinois.
She is holder of the Endowed Chair in Special Education; funded to
support her research in Word Finding. She has also been selected
as an ASHA fellow and a fellow of the International Academy for
Research in Learning Disabilities. She has conducted extensive
research in Word Finding, published many articles, presented many
technical papers, and conducted numerous state, national, and
international seminars in the area of Word Finding. She is the
author of the standard in Word Finding assessment: the Test of
Word Finding - Second Edition (TWF-2), the Test of
Adolescent/Adult Word Finding (TAWF), and the Test of Word Finding
in Discourse (TWFD). Further, she has authored the Word Finding
Intervention Program, Second Edition (WFIP-2) and a user friendly
self help book in word finding, It’s on the Tip of My Tongue, Word
Finding Strategies To Remember Names and Words You Often Forget.
Deborah
Hayes, Ph.D.
Dr. Deborah Hayes
holds the Kelley Family/Schlessman Family Scottish Rite Masons
Chair in Childhood Language Disorders in the Department of
Audiology, Speech Pathology, and Learning Services, The Children’s
Hospital (Colorado). She is also Professor, Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation, University of Colorado, School of Medicine; and
Professor, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of
Colorado - Boulder. Dr. Hayes has worked extensively in the area
of newborn hearing screening, diagnosis of hearing loss in infants
and young children, and amplification and intervention for babies
and young children with hearing loss. With colleagues at the
Bill Daniels Center for Children’s Hearing at The Children’s
Hospital, Dr. Hayes participated in development of a model program
of early identification and intervention for children who are deaf
or hard-of-hearing. Dr. Hayes is the author of more than 30
journal articles, book chapters, and proceedings. With her
colleague, Dr. Jerry Northern, she is the co-author of the
textbook, Infants and Hearing.
Mark Krumm,
Ph.D.
Dr. Krumm is an associate professor in the School of Speech
Pathology and Audiology at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio
(USA). He has been involved with telehealth applications for over
a decade and has published a number of papers describing audiology
telehealth use with pure tone audiometry, otoacoustic emissions,
immittance, video-otoscopy and the auditory brainstem response (ABR).
Dr. Krumm has also chaired the American Speech Language and
Hearing Association (ASHA) committee on Telepractice and is
presently the co-chair of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA)
task force on telehealth.
Joanne
Lasker, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Dr. Joanne P.
Lasker is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of
Communication Disorders, College of Communication at Florida State
University. During the past 10 years, she has published numerous
papers and chapters related to assessment and treatment of adults
living with acquired neurogenic communication disorders who may
benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
techniques, in particular people living with aphasia. In
collaboration with Dr. Kathryn L. Garrett, Dr. Lasker created an
on-line assessment tool entitled the Multimodal Communication
Screening Test for People with Aphasia (MCST-A), designed for
people with aphasia who may be suitable for AAC intervention. She
has received funding from Florida State University to
systematically investigate a treatment technique combining speech
generating devices and speech practice for adults with apraxia of
speech. She has extensive experience presenting and teaching in
the areas of acquired neurological disorders and augmentative and
alternative communication – both in face-to-face conferences and
in electronic presentation formats.
Keli
Richmond, M.S. CCC-SLP
Ms. Keli Richmond
is a speech-language pathologist specializing in early literacy
development. Keli has a teaching license as well as degrees in
speech-language pathology and audiology with a minor in special
education. Keli is the author of Literacy Speaks! ® Kit 1
(Early Developing Sounds) and Literacy Speaks! ® Kit 2
(Later Developing Sounds). She is the co-author of Literacy
Speaks! ® Vowels and Literacy Speaks! ® Language.
Literacy Speaks! ® is a comprehensive program designed to
improve speech intelligibility while promoting a strong literacy
foundation to support developing reading skills.
Keli has over 12
years experience in the speech and literacy disciplines. Keli
began her career in the medical field with an emphasis on
dysphagia and neurological disorders. Currently, Keli works in
the school systems providing therapy and promoting literacy skills
for preschool through middle school students.
Keli is the
recipient of the 2008 Indiana Speech-Language- Hearing Association
Professional Achievement Award. The award is based on outstanding
professional development. Keli is a founding member of the United
Way Women’s Initiative. The Women’s Initiative is an
organization dedicated to closing educational gaps through early
literacy development. Keli is associated with the Allen County
Education Partnership Project Reads Program. The Project Reads
Program provides intervention for students reading below
grade-level expectations.
Paula
A. Sullivan, M.S., CCC-SLP
Ms. Paula A.
Sullivan is a speech-language pathologist with the Malcom Randall
VA Medical Center, Gainesville, FL. Ms. Sullivan is a board
recognized specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders.
Paula's primary clinical and research focus is in the area of
swallowing disorders in geriatrics and head and neck cancer. She
currently is co-chair of the Veterans Health Administration task
force charged with making recommendations, developing policy, and
leading implementation of a national directive on feeding and
swallowing disorders. She also is serving on the VA/DoD Stroke
Rehab Clinical Practice Guidelines Working Group and the VA
Dysphagia Diet Committee. She is co-author of Swallowing
Intervention in Oncology and Easy-to-Swallow, Easy-to-Chew
Cookbook. Paula is former Coordinator of ASHA’s Division 13,
Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. She is an ASHA Fellow.
