2021 ASHFoundation Awards and Honorees

ASHFoundation Awards Record-Breaking $867,000 to 77 Innovators

November 18, 2021

Conferred November 18, 2021, during the ASHFoundation’s Awards Celebration Watch Party.

Frank R. Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Career Award

Alison Lemke
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado

Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement
Awarded $2,500

Veena Kallambettu
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio

Rolland J. Van Hattum Award for Contribution in the Schools
Awarded $2,000; School system awarded $500

Rachel K. Powell  
Brookhaven School District
Brookhaven, Mississippi

State Clinical Achievement Award

Colorado
Megan Morris
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Florida
Charlene Westman
Building Blocks, Inc.

Illinois
Patricia Larkin
Illinois State University

Kentucky
Robert Marshall
University of Kentucky

Mississippi
Machelle Aultman
Aultman Speech Therapy

Missouri
Sarah Cutshall
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital

Ohio
Veena Kallambettu   
The Ohio State University

Oregon
Ana lia Oliva
Northwest Regional Educational School District

Pennsylvania
Stephanie Ash
School District of Philadelphia

South Carolina
Michelle Dawson
Francis Marion University

South Dakota
Brittany Schmidt
Autism Behavioral Consulting

Clinical Research Grant
Awarded $50,000 - $75,000

Adam Buchwald
Associate Professor, New York University
Proposal: Combining Aphasia Rehabilitation With Robot-Assisted Arm Therapy

Suma Devanga
Assistant Professor, Western Michigan University
Proposal: The Collaborative Referencing Intervention (CRI) in Aphasia: Replication and Extension of a Phase-II Treatment Study

Pui Fong Kan
Associate Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
Proposal: Identifying Bilingual Children at Risk for Language Impairment: Evidence From a Response-Speed Judgment Task

Windi C. Krok
Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Proposal: Validating a Sentence Diversity Priming Task as a Dynamic Assessment

Emily D. Quinn
Assistant Professor, Oregon Health and Science University
Proposal: Optimizing a Remote Caregiver-Implemented Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention (ORCA)

New Century Scholars Research Grant
Awarded $25,000 each

Kim R. Bauerly
Assistant Professor, University of Vermont
Proposal: The Effects of Attentional Focus on Speech Motor Control in Adults Who Stutter With and Without Social Evaluative Threat

Marika King
Assistant Professor, Utah State University
Proposal: Bilingual Codeswitching Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Panying Rong
Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
Proposal: A Novel Multimodal Framework for Automated Objective Evaluation of Speech Impairment in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Yagmur Seven
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Kansas
Proposal: Development and Initial Validation of the Family Need Assessment Survey

Alan Wisler
Assistant Professor
Utah State University
Proposal: Validation and Toolkit Development for Non-Linear Kinematic Speech Stability Measures

New Investigators Research Grant
Awarded $10,000 each

Nichol Castro
Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo
Proposal: Determining the Distance of Spreading Activation in the Phonological Network of Persons With Aphasia to Inform Selection of Treatment Generalization Probes

Mackenzie E. Fama
Assistant Professor, The George Washington University
Proposal: Inner Speech and Executive Function Ability in Aphasia

Annalise Fletcher
Assistant Professor, Utah State University
Proposal: Assessing Speaker Implementation of Communication-Based Treatment Strategies

Jessica Gormley
Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Proposal: Teaching Acute Care Providers to Use Visual Supports and Create Communication Opportunities in Healthcare Routines: Effects of a Just-in-Time Augmentative and Alternative Communication Training

Christopher C. Heffner
Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo
Proposal: Speech Perception in Parkinson’s Disease: Loudness and Rate

Thea Knowles
Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo
Proposal: Prominence and Communicative Intent in Dysarthria 

Marion C. Leaman
Assistant Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center
Proposal: Therapeutic Use of Everyday Communication to Improve Conversation in Aphasia

Kelsey Mandak
Assistant Professor, Carlow University
Proposal: Development and Evaluation of the Family-Centered Augmentative and Alternative Communication Scale

Jessica Obermeyer
Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Proposal: Treatment to Improve Multi-Modality Discourse Production in Mild Aphasia: An Extension of Findings From Attentive Reading With Constrained Summarization-Written

Pumpki Lei Su
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Delaware
Proposal: Word Learning from Infant-Directed Speech in Bilingual Children
Lois Bloom Language Development Research Fund

Student Research Grant in Audiology
Ira M. Ventry and Brad W. Friedrich Memorial Funds
Awarded $2,000

Jani Hammit
PhD Candidate, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Mentor: Candace Hicks
Proposal: Event-Related Potentials of Linguistic Dichotic Ability and Binaural Integration in Adults With Normal Hearing

Student Research Grant in Early Childhood Language Development
Arlene M. and Noel D. Matkin Memorial Fund
Awarded $2,000 each

Keysha Martinez-Torres
PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt University
Mentor: Stephen Camarata
Proposal: Social Validity of a Teletherapy Parent Training Program for Latinx Families of Children With Autism

Sarah Lynn Neiling
PhD Candidate, The University of Arizona
Mentor: Mary Alt
Proposal: Telehealth and Train-the-Trainer Service Delivery Models for Word-Learning Treatment (VAULT): A Single-Case Experimental Study With Latine Late Talkers

New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship
Awarded $10,000 each

Rachel Hahn Arkenberg
PhD Candidate, Purdue University
Area of Study: Neurophysiology of Pediatric Swallowing and Speech

Nina Benway
PhD Candidate, Syracuse University
Area of Study: Artificial Intelligence for the Treatment of Motor-Based Speech Sound Disorder

Katelyn Berg
PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt University
Area of Study: Improving Cochlear Implant Outcomes
Wayne and Marilyn Olsen Audiology Research Fund

Kiera Berggren
PhD Candidate, James Madison University
Area of Study: Dysphagia and Dysarthria in Myotonic Dystrophy

Ankita Bhutada
PhD Candidate, University of South Alabama
Area of Study: Swallowing Functions in Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders and Exercise Physiology

James Borders
PhD Candidate, Columbia University
Area of Study: Rehabilitation of Swallowing and Cough Dysfunction

Sharice Clough
PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt University
Area of Study: Cognitive-Communication Disorders, Multimodal Communication, and Memory

Sisan Cuervo
PhD Candidate, University of Cincinnati
Area of Study: Early Language and Literacy Development for Children at Risk

Kimberly Dahl
PhD Candidate, Boston University
Area of Study: Voice, Vocal Pathologies, and Gender-Diverse Voice and Communication

Quynh Dam
PhD Candidate, San Diego State University/University of California San Diego
Area of Study: Clinical Assessment and Treatment for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations

Michelle Erskine
PhD Candidate, University of Maryland
Area of Study: Dialect Variation, Language Processing and Literacy Achievement for Children

Hilary Miller
PhD Candidate, Boston University
Area of Study: Neural Mechanisms Underlying Speech Motor Control, Speech Motor Learning

Jessica Salley Riccardi
PhD Candidate, Case Western Reserve University
Area of Study: Long-Term Impacts of Childhood Acquired Brain Injury

Kristin Schaffer
PhD Candidate, The University of Texas at Austin
Area of Study: Patient-Centered and Care-Partner Inclusive Treatment in Primary Progressive Aphasia

Carla Tierney-Hendricks
PhD Candidate, MGH Institute of Health Professions
Area of Study: Implementation Science Research in Aphasia Rehabilitation

Anumitha Venkatraman
PhD Candidate, Purdue University
Area of Study: Voice and Laryngeal Biology and Physiology 

Graduate Student Scholarship
Awarded $5,000 each 

Kristen Bennett
MS Candidate, Vanderbilt University
Speech-Language Pathology

Denisha Campbell
PhD Candidate, Florida State University
Speech-Language Pathology

Paige Ellis
MS Candidate, Arizona State University
Speech-Language Pathology

Adriana Garcia
MS Candidate, Texas State University
Speech-Language Pathology

Samantha Ghali
PhD Candidate, University of Kansas
Child Language

Rachel Lam
AuD Candidate, Towson University
Audiology

Jennifer Lowe
AuD Candidate, East Tennessee State University
Audiology

Elizabeth Lydon
PhD Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Speech and Hearing Sciences

Lesley Meza
MS Candidate, Marquette University
Speech-Language Pathology 

Kendra Peffers
MA Candidate, Michigan State University
Speech-Language Pathology

Camryn Perez
MS Candidate, University of Washington
Speech-Language Pathology 

Rebecca Richardson
MS Candidate, Vanderbilt University
Speech-Language Pathology

Shraddha Shende
PhD Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Speech and Hearing Sciences

Kathryn Tweedie
MS Candidate, University of Washington
Speech-Language Pathology

Susan Wong
AuD Candidate, Washington University in St. Louis
Audiology

International Student Scholarship
Kala Singh Memorial Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Mariana Mendes Bahia
PhD Candidate, Syracuse University
Speech-Language Pathology

Anne Billot
PhD Candidate, Boston University
Behavioral Neuroscience

Suzanne Coomer
MS Candidate, Rush University
Speech-Language Pathology

Minority Student Scholarship
Minority Scholarship Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Caleb Hunter
MS Candidate, Emerson College
Speech-Language Pathology

Summer Khaleq
MS Candidate, California State University, Sacramento
Speech-Language Pathology

Rocio Velasquez
MA Candidate, University of Central Florida
Speech-Language Pathology

NSSLHA Scholarship
NSSLHA Scholarship Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Madeline Hale
MS/PhD Candidate, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Speech-Language Pathology

Iliana Lambert
MA Candidate, University of Maryland
Speech-Language Pathology

Dayana Lituma-Solis
MS Candidate, Southern Connecticut State University
Speech-Language Pathology