Bridget Shanahan is a fourth year AuD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently completing her externship at Boston Children’s Hospital with an expected graduation date in May 2017. She is starting her second year in the Leadership Education for Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Training Program in Boston. Bridget completed two research projects. One entitled “Portable VRA Hearing Screenings in the Community” focused on the effectiveness of a behavioral hearing screening tool for 6-months to 2.5-year-old children. The second project, “The Joe Project: Using the Jolene Mannequin to Educate Students About the Detrimental Effects of Noise Exposure” was completed with her Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) Chapter in which Bridget coordinated the data collection with undergraduate and graduate chapter members. Leadership positions that Bridget has held include President of her local SAA Chapter and committee member for the Student Academy of Doctors of Audiology (SADA).  She is currently on the Board of Directors and Media Chair for the national SAA. Accomplishments in these roles included recruitment strategies to increase graduate and undergraduate membership, development and execution of “Advocacy Day”, creation of undergraduate resources, and connecting resources to students through various media outlets. For her achievements, she was awarded the 2015-2016 American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF) Student Leadership Scholarship and the 2016 Wisconsin Speech Language and Hearing Association (WSHA) Student Leader Award. Bridget has an avid passion for the profession of audiology. She is a dedicated advocate for AuD students present and future and for practicing audiologists by meeting with national and local representatives to discuss the current Audiology legislation. In the next five years, Bridget aspires to become a pediatric audiologist in a pediatric academic medical center as a member of a multidisciplinary team for children going through cancer treatments or who have a traumatic head injury.

Diane E. Cheek is a third-year Doctor of Audiology student at The University of Arizona. Her unique journey to this profession began in the United States Air Force, where she served both as an enlisted member and later as a commissioned officer. It was through her military experiences that she gained an invaluable perspective of the world and insight into what she sought in a profession following her military service. Having been called to the audiologic profession, Diane’s motivation and drive stems from her passion for clinical audiology and a belief that all individuals deserve someone to help them attain improved hearing, communication, and quality of life. Her ultimate professional goal is to become a clinical audiology instructor where she can inspire and mentor the next generation of audiologists and help them cultivate their own passions within the field.

Outside of the classroom and clinic, Diane enjoys working with fellow students in many leadership and community outreach endeavors. She is currently serving her second term as President of The University of Arizona Student Academy of Audiology where she leads the chapter in promoting student professional development and philanthropic events aimed to improve the hearing health of southern Arizona’s underserved populations. This year, she also serves as a member on the National Student Academy of Audiology Programs Subcommittee where she collaborates with audiology students across the country to achieve common goals. Furthermore, Diane has been involved in numerous research projects involving neuroaudiology and speech perception. The focus of her current research is the electrophysiologic investigation of cortical auditory evoked potentials across stimuli with differing spectro-temporal properties.

Diane looks forward to the upcoming year as she seeks out fourth year externship opportunities and is enthusiastic about the journey that lies ahead!

Paige Waddell is an Au.D. student at East Tennessee State University currently completing her fourth year externship with UNC Hospitals. Clinically, Paige has become passionate about helping those with intellectual disabilities and those with low income.  Since beginning her externship with UNC’s Adult Cochlear Implant Program, Paige has also become passionate about working with adult cochlear implant candidates and recipients. Paige’s goal as an audiologist is to encompass qualities such as compassion, patience, and knowledge in order to target patient-centered care by using evidence-based practices.  Paige served as the President of ETSU’s Student Academy of Audiology for the 2015-16 year.  During this time, she helped develop the SAA Amplification Assistance Scholarship, which allows the chapter to fundraise and provide amplification devices each year for a patient who otherwise would have no amplification options due to financial constraints.  Serving as President also allowed Paige to be an active student leader by advocating for and bringing awareness to hearing loss and balance disorders through community outreach projects. Her passion in life is helping others and she plans to continue to strive to provide the best care possible for her future patients.

Shae Morgan is in his 4th year of a combined Ph.D./Au.D. program at the University of Utah. Being diagnosed with a mild hearing loss in high school, he was introduced to audiology early on, which ultimately led him to pursue a career that would help advance the science and knowledge of the discipline. His professional goals involve completing both the Ph.D. and Au.D. degrees and pursuing employment as a tenure-track professor, where he aims to continue researching and begin teaching future generations of audiologists. His passions lie in social, cognitive, and emotional factors that affect speech perception. He has completed several projects examining perception of emotion in speech, which have all been presented at local and national conferences. He aims to complete the Au.D. and Ph.D. degrees in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Aimee Johnson is a third year Au.D. student at East Tennessee State University. Her interests are divided between pediatric audiology, vestibular assessment, and accessibility of audiologic services and amplification for individuals in rural settings. She works as a research assistant in the vestibular laboratory at the Mountain Home Veterans Affairs Medical Center and is currently involved in several research studies that investigate the effects of noise and blast-related injuries on vestibular function. Through the Vanderbilt Consortium Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, Aimee currently engages in leadership training and disability-related projects with a team of graduate students from several disciplines. Aimee volunteers several times a year with audiology outreach projects through Remote Area Medical expeditions in Southern Appalachia. For her capstone research project, Aimee is investigating the impact of hearing aids on quality of life and barriers to hearing healthcare in the underinsured Appalachian population. She currently serves as President of ETSU’s chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology and enjoys leading through service and involvement with the local community. Upon graduation, Aimee hopes to work in a multidisciplinary medical setting with specific focus on improving access to hearing healthcare for underserved populations.

Laura Gaeta is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) under the mentorship of Andrew John, Ph.D. Laura graduated from the University of Florida in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Health Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. After completing the first year of the Doctor of Audiology program at the University of Arizona, Laura decided to pursue a Ph.D. at OUHSC to focus on research. As a Ph.D. student, she has been involved in various interdisciplinary research projects and served as the Community Outreach Chair for OUHSC’s Student Academy of Audiology. Laura is investigating the effects of hearing loss on cognitive assessment for her dissertation. After graduation, Laura plans to work in academia and mentor undergraduate and graduate students.

Giau Le
University of Arizona

Maggie Schad
University of Cincinnati

Arun Joshi
University of North Texas

Laura Coco
University of Texas at Austin

Brittany Wallace
Washington University School of Medicine

Jordan Racca
University of Texas at Dallas

Margaret Barnett
University of Louisville in Kentucky

Anita Calwas
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Beth Harasha
Arizona State University

Sarah Hayes
University at Buffalo in New York

Stéphane Maison
Northeastern University

Alyssa Pursley
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Aniruddha Deshpande
University of Cincinnati

Sara DiStefano
Arizona State University

Kayla Howerton
University of Oklahoma

Lauren McGivern
Kent State University

Jodi Seligman
University of Texas

Richard Squires
University of Akron

Shruti Balvalli
University of Cincinnati

Carlee Cox
Kent State University

Ian Mertes
University of Iowa

Brittany Rinehart
University of Tennessee

Jennifer Stockwell
University of Texas

Sarah Weber
Idaho State University

Brittany Hensley University of Florida

Imola Major San Diego State University

Andy Lau Salus University

Jennifer Fowle University of Iowa

Alexandra Parbery-Clark Northwestern University

Lisa Dau Towson University

Andrea Fowler Vanderbilt University

Kristin Musser Washington University School of Medicine

Jessica Richardson A.T. Still University

Greta Stamper University of Kansas

Alison Brockmeyer Washington University School of Medicine

Ann Marie DePierro Montclair State University

Rachel Giacontiere Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Katherine Gibbons University of Florida

Kara Schvartz University of Maryland

Brittany Hensley University of Florida

Jonathon Whitton University of Louisville

Maureen D'Antuono University of Maryland

Kelli Wright University of Akron

Kelly Hoffard University of Maryland

Jacquelyn Baudhuin Washington University in St. Louis

Marguerite Dartt University of Texas at Austin

Jovana Diggs Arizona State University

Gretchen Magee University of Oklahoma

Jenny Miller University of South Dakota

Jay Aust University of Minnesota

Jerrica Kettle University of Iowa

Marissa Mendrygal University of Texas at Dallas

Rachel Scheperle Missouri State University

Susan Ternes University of Kansas

Rebecca Benjamin Lafayette, Indiana

Lauren Calandruccio Syracuse, New York

Tiffany Lynn Harvey White Marsh, Virginia

Victoria Lee Evanston, Illinois

Amber Reith Auburn, Alabama

Trevor Courouleau Edmond, Oklahoma

Sarah Friedman Rockville, Maryland

Jennifer Main New Brighton, Minnesota

Allison Paumen Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jennifer Vargo Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania