Members of the Hispanic Caucus are continually busy within our community. Please take a moment to see what some of our members are doing!
Riquelme Named to the Medical Advisory Board of the MGA
Luis F. Riquelme, M.S.,CCC-SLP, BRS-S, Director of the Center for Swallowing & Speech-Language Pathology at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, NY and Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Speech-Language Pathology at New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY was recently appointed to the Medical Advisory Board of the Myasthenia Gravis Alliance, also known as the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of Greater New York, Inc. Riquelme is the first non-physician appointed to the Alliance’s Medical Advisory Board. His expertise is in the areas of communication and swallowing disorders in adults. The Alliance, a 501(c) (3) non-profit group, is an alliance of patients, families and health care providers dedicated to empowering people who live with Myasthenia Gravis to maximize their quality of life by educating patients and providers of care, as well as running support groups and working together with the medical community towards better treatments and eventually a cure. Myasthenia Gravis, also known as MG, is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease. For more information on the Alliance please visit http://www.mgdirect.org/.
ABC 7 New York Spotlight on Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology
ASHA Recognizes Diversity Champions
ASHA celebrated 40 years of diversity at the 2009 Convention in New Orleans. As a part of the celebration, the association recognized "Diversity Champions." Theses are people who: "have made significant contributions to advance multicultural infusion in our professions and ASHA. They have demonstrated respect and value for differing backgrounds and points of view and their achievement addresses the impact of culture and/or language on speech-language pathology, audiology, or speech-language or hearing science." Congratulations to the following members/contributors to the Hispanic community who were recognized! Check out the ASHA Web Site to learm more about the "Champions" and their accomplishments:
- Alexsandra Lopez, Buffalo, NY
- Aquiles Iglesias, Philadelphia, PA
- ASHA's MIB Board
- Alina de La Paz, Miami FL
- Barbara Rodriguez, Albuquerque, NM
- Briseida DeLeon Northrup, Dallas, TX
- Carmen Vega-Barachowitz, Boston, MA
- Carol Westby, Albuquerque, NM
- Carolyn Conway Madding, Long Beach, CA
- Catherine J. Crowley, New York, NY
- Christina Gildersleeve-Neumann, Portland, OR
- Dolores Battle, Buffalo, NY
- Donna Marie Valenti, Brooklyn, NY
- Ellen R. Cohn, Pittsburgh, PA
- Ellyn Arwood, Portland, OR
- Gloria T. Weddington, San Jose, CA
- Henriette Langdon, San Jose, CA
- John Saxman, New York, NY
- Karla Morelli, Adrian, MI
- Kelly Nett-Cordero, Miami, FL
- Kenneth Bleile, Cedar Falls, IA
- Luis Riquelme, Brooklyn, NY
- Minnesota SLHA Multicultural Affairs Committee
- Ann Derr, St. Paul, MN
- Anne Pionkowski, St. Paul, MN
- Christine Paz, St. Paul, MN
- Deanine Mann, Lino Lakes, MN
- Kris Christians, St. Paul, MN
- Lilian Duran, Salt Lake City, UT
- Marilyn Fairchild, Minneapolis, MN
- Sonja Griebel, St. Paul, MN
- Maria Claudia Franca, Carbondale, IL
- Marlene Salas-Provance, Las Cruces, NM
- Nancy Castilleja, San Antonio, TX
- Raquel Strauss, Durham, NC
- T. Rosario Roman, Albuquerque, NM
- Terry Saenz, Fullerton, CA
- William Reyes Zayas, Gurabo, PR
Raúl Rojas Receive New Century Scholars Program Doctoral Scholarship
Raúl Rojas, a Ph.D. candidate at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, was a 2009 recipient of the New Century Scholars Program Doctoral Scholarship program. This $10,000 award is granted through the ASHFoundation to support strong doctoral candidates who will commit to attaining the research doctoral degree and to working in a higher education academic community in the field of communication sciences and disorders in the United States. Find more information at the ASHFoundation Web Site. Congratulations Raúl!!!
Professor Cate Crowley and Columbia University Students Work on Sustainable Services for Communication Disorders in Bolivia
For the past three years graduate students at Teachers College Columbia University in New York City travel to La Paz, Bolivia for one month to provide speech and language services to children with disabilities. Under the director of Hispanic Caucus member Cate Crowley, and supervised by three ASHA-certified SLPs, including Miriam Baigorri clinical director of the Bolivia program, these SLP students work in the national pediatric hospital; a school for the deaf; and a school for children and young adults with developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism. As part of the experience the students receive intensive Spanish lessons and give presentations in Spanish to parents, teachers, and medical professionals on disability issues. The ultimate goals-borrowed from the Peace Corps philosophy-are to "be respectful of our hosts' culture and make the program self-sustaining for them," says Crowley. Past participants maintain that their experiences in Bolivia have provided them with knowledge and skills that infuse their practice and allows them to provide high quality SLP services to bilingual and multicultural populations in the U.S.
With the Bolivia project's focus on sustainability, Crowley has established a year-round aural habilitation telepractice for the students in the school for the deaf. With funding from the Downey Family Foundation, Melissa Inniss, an audiologist and SLP and Ray Diaz a technology expert, traveled to La Paz in August 2008. While Melissa fit donated hearing aids on a number of the students at the school for the deaf, Ray set up computers in the school computer lab and made sure they were equipped for Skype internet connections. In September, seven Teachers College SLP students with native Spanish skills began providing aural habilitation therapy in real time from the Teachers College SLP clinic in New York City to the school for the deaf in La Paz. This program continues and is a viable option as a clinical experience as part of the Teachers College SLP program.
Find more information about this program online at: Columbia University Bolivia Project
To submit a news item to "In The News" please contact Nate Cornish at: nate.cornish@ashahispaniccaucus.com