2023 Continuing Education Board (CEB)

The CEB develops the policies and procedures of the ASHA Continuing Education (CE) program. It comprises nine volunteer ASHA members and two monitoring vice presidents from the ASHA Board of Directors who serve as liaisons. The ASHA CE staff at the National Office implement the policies and procedures developed by the CEB. Nineteen ASHA CE staff directly support the CEB's work. The ASHA CE program:

Promotes participation in CE by audiologists and speech-language pathologists
Approves providers that meet CEB standards
Evaluates and registers CE courses offered by ASHA CE Providers
Awards ASHA Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to participants in registered courses
Issues official ASHA CE Registry transcripts
Transmits ASHA CEU information to credentialing and licensing agencies
Provides an Award for Continuing Education (ACE) as an incentive for participation in CE
Maintains a computerized recordkeeping service through the ASHA CE Registry

Anu Subramanian, PhD, CCC-SLP, Chair

Anu is a clinical associate professor and director of clinical education at the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa. She supervises graduate students in stuttering (across the age span) and pediatric clinical placements, including early intervention. She teaches classes in Counseling, Supervision, and Foundations of Clinical Practice. Her interests are in early intervention, stuttering, and clinical education. She is an alumni of the CAPCSD Leadership Academy from 2019 and serves on the coordinating committee for SIG 11.

Melisa Abernathy, MA, CCC-SLP

Melisa Abernathy is a pediatric speech language pathologist, currently working in a middle school setting in the state of Georgia. Melisa attended North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT) to complete her undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders in 2014. She attended Syracuse University for her master’s degree in 2016. During her undergraduate studies Melisa was a member of both National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing (NBASLH). While attending NCAT, she presented multiple poster sessions and technical sessions at NBASLH. While attending Syracuse University, Melisa was selected as a member of the Minority Student Leadership Program class of 2015 and attended the ASHA convention. She continues to expand her knowledge within the field and has joined several SIGs. Currently, Melisa is pursuing her clinical doctorate at Nova Southeastern University.

Diana Christiana, MA CCC-SLP

Diana Christiana is the founder and CEO of Clinical Communication Consultants, Inc. (1991) and Clinical Communications, LP (1999) in Houston, Texas. The companies provide consulting, private practice services, and temporary staffing to healthcare systems, schools, corporations, and the Department of Labor in the speech-language pathology and audiology communities. Through these vast clinical and business relationships she has gained a unique insight on regulations and ethical challenges. As a pioneer in telepractice Diana was appointed to the ad Hoc Committee on Telepractice in Speech-Language Pathology. She served on the development team for petition to develop SIG 18 and served on the education committee, the ASHA Convention programming committee (telepractice) and on the Pearson Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Board (telepractice). She continues to present on telehealth at the local, university, state and national levels. Additionally, Diana enjoys and has extensive experience with peer review assignments. Clinically, her area of expertise is working with adult clients with speech-language and cognitive challenges and advocates for equal access to speech-language pathology and audiology services across the lifespan.

Debra Cowley, PhD, CCC-Aud

Debra is the Continuing Education Manager for Starkey Laboratories, Inc. in Eden Prairie, MN. Her role necessitates familiarity with best practices in adult learning and with the rules and regulations around continuing education at the state, national, and international levels. She has presented at a variety of national and international conferences on a variety of topics related to hearing loss, amplification, hearing aid fitting, and counseling. Debra has practiced as an audiologist and educational consultant in school settings with specialization in elementary and deaf education curriculum support. Debra obtained her bachelor of arts in elementary and deaf education at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD and master of arts in audiology at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD. Debra holds her doctorate of audiology degree from Arizona School of Health Sciences. Debra is on the ASHA Intersections Advisory Group and has been a fivetime recipient of the Award for Continuing Education (ACE) from ASHA.

Lisa Kathman, MS, CCC-SLP

Lisa Kathman has been a speech language pathologist for over 25 years. Her entire career has focused on pediatrics in schools, clinics and home health. Additionally, Lisa served as the lead SLP in the largest school district in Arizona for 6 years. She has a passion for solving issues in the school setting. Lisa is the co-founder of the innovative web app, SLP Toolkit, which launched in January 2016, as well as Bright Ideas Media, an ASHA-approved CEU provider that has hosted courses and conferences since 2019 (including SLP Summit, SLP Telecon, The Speech Sound Disorder Series,The Embracing Expertise Series, and The Equity Series).

Margaret Pierce, MA, CCC-SLP

Margaret Pierce graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders with a double major in child development and family relations and a minor in disability studies, from the University of Maine in 2016. She graduated with her master's degree in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Maine in 2018. She has been working for a special purpose school serving children from preschool through high school. During undergraduate studies she served as a research assistant and as a teaching/research assistant during graduate school. She participated in the Minority Student Leadership Program (MSLP) in 2015. She received the PROGENY award in 2015. She has presented posters and a session at ASHA from 2015–2017. She continued her involvement in the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) as the Vice President for Student State Officers--SLP from 2016-2018. She was a trainee for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) in 2016–2017. She is a member of the Native American Caucus.

Katie Strong, PhD, CCC-SLP

Katie Strong is an assistant professor at Central Michigan University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders where she leads the Strong Story Lab. Katie received her PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from Western Michigan University in 2015. Her research explores how speech-language pathologists can support people with aphasia rebuild their identity and improve their quality of life by co-constructing stories about who they are and will be. Katie is a 2019 Tavistock Distinguished Aphasia Scholar. She is a founding member of the Lansing Area Aphasia Support Group. Katie currently serves as a regional director for A Bigger BRIDGE, a PCORI funded project dedicated to helping those with communication disabilities engage in research that is about them. Katie is a former treasurer for the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CAPCSD). She is also a regular host of the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. Find more about her work at Strong Story Lab.

Ed Strugalla, MHS, CCC-SLP

Ed is a graduate of North Central College (BA, Sociology & Anthropology) and Governors State University (BHS & MHS, Communication Disorders). He completed a master’s thesis on partnering with parents in pediatric feeding and swallowing and was presented as a poster at the ASHA convention. Ed is the Director of Clinical Services at Therapy Care, Ltd. in Batavia, Illinois and serves on the advisory board for Governors State University’s Communication Disorder Department. He oversees all clinical operations at Therapy Care’s outpatient clinic (SLP, OT, PT), supervises and mentors all clinicians in the company, and has been the mentor for several clinical fellows. Ed has several years of diverse experience working in schools (PreK – high school, second language learners), hospitals, home health, early intervention, and outpatient. He treats both pediatrics and adults. He conducted research and co-authored “Therapeutic Use of Personal Electronic Devices: An Updated Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists” in the eHearsay Journal of the Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Fall 2013. Ed also conducted research and co-authored Chapter 10 in the book “Stuttering Meets Stereotype, Stigma and Discrimination” by Kenneth O. St. Louis, West Virginia University Books, March 2015. Chapter 10: Recognizing Positive Aspects of Stuttering: A Survey of the General Public. Ed has provided several in-services and workshops at Chicago area public schools on the topics of deaf and hard of hearing, stuttering, and bilingual evaluation and treatment.

Laura Wolford, PhD, MS CCC-SLP, CSE

Laura is an assistant professor at MGH Institute of Health Professions in the Communication Sciences and Disorders department, where she directs the TASSEL (Teaching And Supporting Student Experience in Learning) lab. Her research explores how clinicians learn “soft” skills like counseling, prioritizing person-centered care, and navigating uncomfortable conversations. As a disability justice activist and certified sex educator, Laura has founded a continuing education organization, The SPICE Institute. It seeks to teach speech-language pathologists how to address intimacy and consent-related communication with their clients. She also provides free and sliding-scale services to clients with communication disorders to address these issues. In her service roles, Laura has co-organized two symposia for the Pan American Vocology Association and has served on the ASHA Scientific and Professional Education Board. She currently acts as a copyeditor for the journal Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences and Disorders and is serving on the Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural-Linguistic Diversity committee for the 2023 ASHA conference.