BIO: Donna Smiley, Ph.D., CCC-A is the Chief Staff Officer for Audiology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Her portfolio of work at ASHA includes liaising with the Audiology Practices, Accreditation, Certification and Ethics teams. Additionally, she has been leading the work at ASHA to build competency frameworks for each profession. Prior to joining the ASHA staff, she was the coordinator for the EARS Program (Educational Audiology/Speech Pathology Resources for Schools) at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Smiley has been an audiologist for over 35 years, co-authored a textbook about school-based audiology practice and was named a Fellow of ASHA in 2018. She received her Ph.D. in Hearing Science from the University of Tennessee Knoxville (2002).
Disclosures: Financial: I am a salaried employee of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Non-financial: None to report.
Session: The Future Sounds Different: A Crystal Ball View of Audiology
Jennifer McDougal is an Assistant Professor at East Carolina University in the Department of Addictions and Rehabilitation Studies. She has over 20 years of mental health and addiction experience as a licensed clinical mental health counselor, licensed clinical addiction specialist and certified rehabilitation counselor. Dr. McDougal currently focuses research on interprofessional education and barriers to mental health care for reproductive concerns as well as pregnant and postpartum populations.
Disclosures:
Session: Motivational Interviewing in Communication Sciences Clinical Practice
Melissa Segal, LCSW, a facilitator and the founder of InterHuman Solutions, partners with organizations to create work cultures in which people and teams can thrive. Drawing on her extensive experience in the field, she designs and delivers trainings, facilitates conflict resolution using restorative practices, coaches leaders and team members, and provides tailored programs, such as team retreats, culture consultations, change management, and strategic planning. An engaging extrovert and seasoned trainer, Melissa blends deep listening with evidence-informed frameworks to help organizations transform communication, elevate teamwork, and unlock collective success.
As an army brat, Melissa quickly learned how to join new groups and create welcoming spaces for all. Her early experiences led her to a career in social work, where she initially focused on women’s health and interpersonal relationships. What began as a focus on people evolved into more than 25 years of experience leading business operations with both strategy and heart.
Driven to make a positive impact wherever she is, Melissa has led culture change initiatives, built peer support and upstander programs, integrated restorative justice practices, and launched other efforts to create healthier workplaces. Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts from Duke and her Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania.
Disclosures: Melissa Segal, LCSW has no relevant financial or non-financial disclosures.
Session: Strengthening Our Teams
Bio: Jennifer Butler, AuD, is a pediatric audiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital with over 10 years of experience in pediatric diagnostic audiology. She serves as the coordinating clinical audiologist for the inpatient audiology service, with a particular focus on auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing, including bedside audiologic assessments for medically complex patients, evaluations under sedation and general anesthesia, and oversight of the newborn hearing screening program. Dr. Butler is also a member of the clinical trial team under site principal investigator Dr. Eliot Shearer, MD PhD for two industry-sponsored gene therapy trials for hearing loss.
Disclosures: Dr. Butler is employed by Boston Children’s Hospital. She serves as associated study staff on Phase I/II OTOF gene therapy clinical trials sponsored by Akouos/Eli Lilly and Decibel/Regeneron, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Eliot Shearer, MD, PhD. She participated as a Medical Advisory Board member for Regeneron at the AAA Conference in San Antonio, Texas. She served as invited faculty for Decera Clinical Education through an educational grant supported by Lilly.
Session: Caring for Children with Congenital Hearing Loss in the Era of Gene Therapy: The Audiologist's Role in Counseling, Diagnosis, and Clinical Care
Anthony Solari received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Rutgers University and his master’s and Ph.D. in political science from Duke University with focuses in American Government and Politics, Political Economy and Legislative Politics. From 1998 to 2007 he was the policy analyst and lobbyist for North Carolina’s Smart Start Program. While there he helped produce the first Economic Impact Analysis of the Child Care Industry in North Carolina and consulted extensively with other states in their effort to replicate the Smart Start initiative. From 2009 to 2016 he was the Director of Government Relations at the Department of State Treasurer, serving under Treasurer Janet Cowell. Today, he is the president of Solari Government Solutions and is very proud and happy to be representing the North Carolina Audiology Association at the General Assembly!
Disclosures: D
Financial - Mr. Solari is a paid lobbyist representing the North Carolina Audiology Association.
Session: Talk to the Policy Makers: The 2026-2027 Legislative Session and The Audiology Agenda
Bio: Natalie Giduz is a licensed clinical social work associate and the family care coordinator at The Children’s Cochlear Implant Center at UNC. She completed her Master’s Degree in Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill. As part of a multidisciplinary pediatric cochlear implant team, she partners with families as they navigate diagnosis, treatment, and the lifelong journey of raising a child with hearing loss. Through collaboration with audiologists, surgeons, speech-language pathologists, and other members of the care team, Natalie helps families access resources, overcome barriers to care, and feel empowered throughout the cochlear implant journey. Her work is grounded in the belief that caring for a child with hearing loss extends beyond technology and treatment—it means caring for the whole family
Financial: Natalie Giduz is a paid employee of the University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill
Session: Whole Family Care in Pediatric Audiology
Bio: Elizabeth Walker is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Director of the Pediatric Audiology and Language Lab at the University of Iowa. Her NIH-funded research focuses on malleable factors that influence language and literacy development in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. named a Wonder Woman in 2022, 2023 and 2024 from her local chamber as well as being nominated for the Athena International Leadership Award. Dr. Coates is on the medical advisory committee for Johnston Community College. In her personal life, she loves traveling with her family and started the Smithfield-Selma Running Club in 2017.
Disclosures: I receive a salary from the University of Iowa. I receive external grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Education. I received an honorarium and travel compensation from the North Carolina Academy of Audiology.
Session: Optimizing Outcomes for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A 17-Year Longitudinal Study
Bio: Margaret Dillon, AuD, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. She serves as the Director of OHNS Clinical Research and is the Director of the UNC Cochlear Implant Clinical Research Labs. She was the principal investigator of a clinical trial that supported the expansion of candidacy criteria in the United States for cochlear implantation to include individuals with single-sided deafness and asymmetric hearing loss. She currently investigates the effectiveness of individualized fitting of cochlear implant and electric-acoustic stimulation devices for children and adults, variables that influence hearing preservation in cochlear implant recipients, and spatial hearing abilities for individuals with hearing loss.
Disclosures: Research grant provided to the university from MED-EL Corporation. Course faculty for the Institute for Cochlear Implant Training Surgical and Audiology courses.
Session: Stronger Together: Optimizing the fitting of electric and acoustic devices in a new era of cochlear implant candidacy
Bio: Dr. Deborah “Deb” Culbertson has been a practicing audiologist for 43 years. Over the past 15 years, she has been working with tinnitus patients. Inspired by tinnitus research and published tinnitus evaluation and management methods, she has embraced a set of core practices that are eclectic, and evidence based. Tinnitus patients have tested her counseling skills and challenged her mindset as to what audiologists can do to support this population.
Disclosures: Dr. Deb Culbertson is an employee of East Carolina University. She has been offered free conference attendance but has no other financial disclosures.
Session: Eclectic Evidence-Based Tinnitus Practice
Bio: Sherri L. Smith, Au.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences and is the Chief of Audiology across the Duke University Health System. She holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Population Health Sciences and is a Senior Fellow in the Center for Aging. Dr. Smith's core research focuses on improving the assessment and treatment of hearing loss in older adults. Specifically, her work centers on comparing the effectiveness of current hearing interventions, developing new, innovative clinical tools, and examining alternative service-delivery approaches that help patients reach their individual hearing goals and improve their quality of life.
Disclosures: Dr. Smith is a salaried employee of Duke University, and served as a committee member on the NASEM study on Measuring Meaningful Outcomes for Adult Hearing Health Interventions.
Session: Implementation of the NASEM Recommended Minimum Core Set of Hearing Health Outcomes for Adults
Session: Grand Rounds
Bio:
Disclosures:
Session: Grand Rounds
Bio:
Disclosures:
Session: Grand Rounds
