The Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement recognizes an individual's significant accomplishments in the advancement of clinical service in audiology and/or speech-language pathology. The recipient of the DiCarlo Award is chosen from among individuals who have been nominated by their state association for the State Clinical Achievement Award. This award is supported by the Louis M. DiCarlo Fund.
2022
Awarded $2,500
- Shanna Stack
- Speech-Language Pathologist and Co-Owner
- Moving Mountains Therapy Center
- Missoula, MT
Shanna Stack is recognized for co-founding, with an occupational therapist, the Moving Mountains Foundation, to improve access to health care services and therapeutic interventions for children and their caregivers. This nonprofit organization raises funds for family-centered speech, occupational, and physical therapy; mental health services; wheelchair seating and positioning; assistive technology; and postural care services for children with disabilities in rural and tribal communities of western Montana, an area characterized by widespread gaps in health care access. The organization provides invaluable resources for onsite developmental skill screening, travel reimbursement for therapists serving rural regions, telepractice equipment for online interventions, and continuing education for service providers.
2021
Awarded $2,500
- Veena Kallambettu
- Medical Speech Pathologist
- Wexner Medical Center/James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University
- Columbus, Ohio
Veena Kallambettu is recognized for designing the Speech-Intelligibility Testing in Head and Neck Cancer (SIT-HNC) and Velopharyngeal Functional Assessment Program (V-FAP), two outcomes assessments for patients with oral cavity cancer. While working with head and neck cancer patients, she found no comprehensive methodology to measure speech outcomes or assess treatment efficacy during recovery. She responded by developing the research-based tools to determine which treatments and interventions are most effective for improving speech rehabilitation and enhancing quality of life post-surgery. This approach, which elevates multidisciplinary care, has been adopted as part of the Center’s Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol. Plans include scaling the successful programs to outpatient head and neck cancer clinics nationwide to support patients’ functional recovery.
2020
Awarded $2,500
- Susan Ostrowski
- Co-Creator; Director
- Reading2Connect®
- Niantic, Connecticut
Susan Ostrowski is recognized for creating Reading2Connect, an innovative organization to enable older adults to independently read again by providing adapted reading materials and supportive environments. Working in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, she observed how little the residents interacted with people and materials. She developed the organization to help prevent adults with dementia from experiencing boredom, helplessness, and loneliness. Recognizing the need for resources to support cognitive-communication therapy, she created dementia-friendly books that are ability- and age-appropriate for adults. The organization also provides interactive trainings to teach staff, families, and volunteers the strategies to encourage adults to read.
2019
Awarded $2,500
- Verna M. Chinen
- Education Specialist
- Hawaii Department of Education
- Honolulu, Hawaii
Verna M. Chinen is recognized for creating a professional learning community (PLC) for speech-language pathologists and special/general education teachers across Hawaii’s public school system. With a goal toward state-wide consistency in training and implementation of assessment and classroom service delivery systems, the PLC supports interdisciplinary collaboration to learn best practices, increase professional knowledge, and improve outcomes for students. She also developed a return-to-learn protocol to train SLPs to support students returning to school after concussions/mild traumatic brain injuries. The resulting network of trained local leaders, mentors, and coaches has produced a system-wide change for effective educational service-delivery throughout the state.
2018
Awarded $2,000
- John Consalvi
- Founder & CEO
- SPEDhunters LLC
- Evanston, Illinois
John Consalvi is recognized for his efforts to provide high-quality services for culturally and linguistically diverse populations. As a speech-language pathologist and businessman, he developed model programs to support and train new graduates who want to specialize in bilingual speech-language pathology. He worked to establish a bilingual immersion training program to teach Spanish to certified SLPs, and founded LinguaHealth to design supportive partnerships with school districts to match bilingual professionals with caseloads in need of services. Through these and other initiatives, he has mentored and assisted speech-language pathology graduate students in identifying clinical settings that match their professional goals.
View Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement recipients before 2018 [PDF].