Tommie Robinson, Jr., Ph.D., is director of the Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders in the Children’s Hearing and Speech Center at Children Hospital in Washington, D.C. and is an associate professor of pediatrics at The George Washington, University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He specializes in communication disorders in children, with a specific focus on children who stutter. Dr. Robinson’s research and writings have focussed on normal fluency behaviors in children and adults as well as service delivery to children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Dr. Robinson is the 2010 president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and has served on various boards and committees: ASHA vice president for Quality of Service in Speech-Language-Pathology (2005-2007), the Board of Ethics, Council on Professional Standards, Council for Clinical Certification, Committee on Nominations and Elections, Honors Committee and Clinical Certification Board.

Alejandro Emris Brice, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. His research has focused on transference or interference between two languages in the areas of phonetics, phonology, semantics and pragmatics related to speech-language pathology. In particular, his expertise relates to the appropriate assessment and treatment of Spanish-English speaking students and clients.

Mary Spremulli, M.A., has practiced as a medical speech-language pathologist for more than 25 years and maintains an active nursing license. She currently serves as Coordinator of Speech-Language Pathology at Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda, FL, and conducts training and lectures related to the care of tracheostomy patients throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Ms. Spremulli helped to develop collaborative standard of care for the trach patient that received Joint Commission recognition as a model for improving patient safety and outcomes. She has served on her hospital’s Board of Ethics and developed and published a screening tool for assessing decisional capacity in patients, including those with impaired communication. Ms. Spremulli is a Clinical Consultant for Passy-Muir Inc., and has trained with the Bayer Institute on Healthcare Communication to provide continuing education programs on patient-physician communication.

Dawnyale B. Foster, M.S., is the founder and owner of Fostering Communication, a communications consulting firm: providing diagnostic and speech-language treatment services to children and adults; preparing individuals for media interviews; and helping individuals achieve personal communication goals. In addition to managing her own company’s goals, Ms. Foster provides independent contract speech therapy services for Easter Seals of Florida, Inc. and Lamperts Home Therapy, Inc. in the Tampa Bay area. She enjoys the added professional diversity of working as a party representative for Super Duper Publications, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Board for Speech Pathology.com.

Mary Ann Lowe, SLPD, is Program Professor in the Programs for Speech, Language, and Communication Disorders and Director of Academic and Faculty Support at Nova Southeastern University. She teaches courses in AAC and Language Disorders in Children. Dr. Lose has presented at state, national and international conferences on AAC topics.

Ianessa A. Humbert, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She has conducted research on the effects of electrical stimulation on hyo-laryngeal movement in healthy and dysphagic adults and vocal fold movement in healthy adults. Dr. Humbert’s current research activity focuses on understanding swallowing neurophysiology in healthy young and old adults and in Alzheimer’s disease. She is also conducting studies that examine the effects of heightened sensory stimulation and cortical stimulation on swallowing.