I joined the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at WCU as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2014. Prior to obtaining my doctoral degree, I practiced as a speech-language pathologist for 25 years working with both children and adults in a variety of settings, including public schools, skilled nursing facilities, rehab hospitals, and telepractice. Western Carolina is the perfect place for me to be as I love the mountains and being outdoors. I’m a very proud mom of two grown children, Ryan and Rachael. My active little dog Ben (a shih-tzu) is making the nest not so empty.
I teach both undergraduate and graduate courses, including Voice Disorders, School-Age Language Disorders, Pediatric Feeding and Adult Swallowing Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and speech and language disorders in children.
My research interests include social skills and friendship development in individuals with disabilities and currently run a weekly PEERS® social skills/friendship group for young adults on the campus of WCU. I am also very interested in the provision of training activities for speech language pathologists, teachers, and special educators in developing countries with a recent Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad grant to Botswana, Africa. Check out our website at https://affiliate.wcu.edu/botswana2018/ for more information.