CSD: Faculty

Mona Griffer, Ed.D- Faculty

griffer@marywood.edu

I earned a Master's of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Brooklyn College, CUNY in 1982 and a Doctor of Education Degree in Child and Youth Studies from Nova Southeastern University in 1997. As a Board Recognized Child Language Specialist, my clinical areas of expertise and research interests include family-centered early intervention service delivery, pediatric language development and disorders, emergent literacy, pediatric oral-motor/feeding development and deficits, multicultural issues, and the supervisory process. I am an active member in ASHA and PSHA, frequently presenting at the national, state, and local levels. I currently serve as an Associate Editor for Communication Disorders Quarterly, a publication of The Council for Exceptional Children: Division for Communicative Disabilities and Deafness.

 Renee S. Jourdanais M.S. CCC/SLP-Clinical Supervisor, Adjunct Faculty

I received a B.S. degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Marywood University, and a M.S. degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Nazareth College, Rochester, NY. Currently I spend most of my day back in the clinic area supervising the student clinicians, however I do also teach within the department. My courses include Clinical Methods and Processes, Phonetics and Cleft Palate & Craniofacial Anomalies. My particular interests lie in working with individuals with cleft palate/craniofacial anomalies, dyspraxia, and aphasia.

Tina Lavelle- Department Assistant

clavelle@marywood.edu

After working in the financial industry for 30 years coming to Marywood was a big career change for me.  Each day presents a different set of challenges and opportunities for growth both personally and professionally.  As the department assistant I am involved in all aspects of the department, from greeting clients and ordering supplies to supervising the billing function.  I really enjoy working with the students and my peers, but my favorite thing is seeing the client's speech develop after, in some cases, a few therapy sessions.  I feel such a sense of pride for my department when I see a child come in and start a conversation with me when our initial contact was barely a glance.  The thought that I had a small part in this transformation makes coming to work every day a pleasure.   

Mary Margaret Mazzaccaro M.S. CCC/SLP- Clinical Supervisor, Adjunct Faculty

mazzaccaro@marywood.edu

I received my B.S. in Communication Disorders in May 1991 from Marywood University. I then received my M.S. in Audiology and Speech Pathology in December of 1992 from Florida State University. I have worked in many areas of the field but primarily in early intervention and the geriatric populations. I began working here in August of 2001. Most of my involvement with the CSD students occurs in the on-campus clinc during supervision of clinical sessions. The graduate students will also see me as the co-instructor of the Diagnostic practicum. My specific interests in the field continue to be varied due to the diversity of the clients that are serviced at the clinic.

Kara Medeiros Ph.D- Faculty

kmedeiros@maryu.marywood.edu

I earned a BA (1999) in speech pathology from Elmhurst College, a MS (2001) in speech pathology from Texas A&M-Kingsville.  My master’s thesis focused on the level of exposure to multicultural populations in graduate students in speech-language pathology.  I received my Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in August, 2011.  My focus has been on augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) for young children whose verbal development is at risk.  My primary areas of research interest include family-centered services in birth to three, language and communication development using aided communication strategies (AAC) for young children, multicultural issues in service delivery in speech pathology, and the clinical supervision process.  As a speech pathologist I worked across a variety of settings; elementary school, self-contained class rooms for children with multiple disabilities, in-patient, out-patient, nursing home, and early intervention (birth-3).  My primary area of clinical expertise is young children, birth to three, and children, birth to 21, with primary cognitive impairment and multiple disabilities.  My primary assignment in the department is as a clinical supervisor in both the clinical and diagnostic practicum.  I also teach introduction to communication disorders, language sample analysis for both undergraduate and graduate, pediatric motor speech disorders, as well as the diagnostic class.

Andrea M. Novak M.A. CCC/SLP-Department Chairperson, Graduate Program Director

I received my Bachelor of Science Degree from Marywood University and my Master of Arts Degree from Edinboro University. My role in the department is varied. You can call me a "jill of all trades"!  I oversee the daily operations of the department as well as the graduate program and coordinate off-campus internship placements for graduate students. In addition I also spend part of my time as a supervisor in the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and as a part-time faculty member in the department. Currently, I teach Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech and Hearing Mechanism to undergraduate students and Independent Study in Clinical Methods and Processes and Professional Issues in SLP to graduate students.  I am also the advisor to our university chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association.  My clinical areas of interest lie in adult neurogenics, phonology, and swallowing disorders. 

presentations

Vijayachandra Ramachandra, Ph.D-Faculty

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. I conduct research in the area of language and cognition. More specifically, I am interested in exploring the relationship between working memory and novel word learning in children and adults, theory of mind and language in people with brain damage, psychological bases of nonverbal emotions, and linguistic and cognitive aspects of synesthesia. I have published my work in journals such as Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, International Journal of Neuroscience, Reading and Writing, North American Journal of Psychology, and Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology. I have also reviewed papers for journals such as PLoS ONE, Infant and Child Development, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, North American Journal of Psychology, and Biomedical Signal Processing and Control.

research/presentations

Sheri Skrutski, Au.D.- Clinical Audiologist, Adjunct Faculty

I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders from Marywood in 1988. In 1990 I received a Master of Science degree in Audiology from Bloomsburg University. After a few years working as a Clinical Audiologist, I returned to school and received a Clinical Doctorate in Audiology (Au.D.) from the University of Florida in 2001. I began working at Marywood in 1994 as a part-time clinical audiologist. In addition to staffing the Audiology Clinic in the CSD department, I also teach the Intro. to Audiology and Aural Rehab classes. Also, I supervise the graduate Speech Pathology Students during their Audiology practicum. Students interseted in Audiology can also spend time with me during the Assistantship in Audiology class where they get to work in the clinic with me seeing clients for several hours each week. My interests continue to be in the pediatric and geriatric diagnostic and rehabilitative areas of Audiology. I really enjoy working with the students and patients who are seen in the clinic. The blending of the academic and clinical worlds I get here at Marywood is really wonderful!

Bruce Wisenburn, Ph.D- Faculty

bwisenburn@marywood.edu

I am certainly excited to join the faculty here at Marywood. Since arriving here, I have found it to be a pleasure to work in a department with people who are cooperative and supportive and who truly value the students. I received a B.S. in Communication Disorders from UMass Amherst, an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Iowa, an M.S. in Computer Science from Boston University, and a Ph.D in Speech-Language Pathology from the University at Buffalo. My research interests are in augmentative/alternative communication (including the use of natural language processing to improve AAC systems, and on AAC for people who speak Spanish), and aphasia (especially synthesizing the evidence-based clinical research). I have recently published two articles in the journal AAC on natural language processing for AAC, and an article in Aphasiology concerning a meta-analysis of word-finding therapies.

research/presentations