Meet the experts

Heather Koole, PhD, CCC-SLP is associate professor in the Speech Pathology and Audiology Department at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. The combination of Heather’s undergraduate and graduate degrees (social work, speech-language pathology, interdisciplinary health sciences) and clinical work have propelled her to think broadly about issues in the field of communication sciences and disorders. Her research and teaching interests include the following: how people with communication disorders (particularly brain injury) experience success and participate in life in meaningful ways; effective ways for preparing students to support clients in that success; facilitators and barriers to the SLP’s role in providing functional and contextualized intervention.

Diana Martin is a veteran SLP with over 30 years of experience providing services to students in schools. She has spent the last 4 years working exclusively in teletherapy. She is an ACE Awardee, SIG 18 Affiliate, and ASHA Star Community contributor. Diana is also a teacher consultant for the Eastern Michigan National Writing Project and has served as the Telehealth Professional Practice Representative for the Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Jillian McCarthy, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. Her current research focuses on examining and developing evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies to address language and literacy development; more specifically, vocabulary and spelling development for children with complex communication needs who use or benefit from augmentative-alternative communication (AAC). She has received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education to prepare speech-language pathology students in the areas of AAC, language, and literacy, as well as the National Institutes of Health.