Jane R. Madell, Ph.D., CCC-A/SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, FAAA

Jane R. Madell, Ph.D., CCC-A/SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, FAAA, is an audiologist, speech-language pathologist, and LSLS certified auditory-verbal therapist. Her clinical and research interests include hearing in infants and children, management of severe/profound hearing loss including hearing aids, cochlear implants, and remote microphones, and auditory processing disorders. She has published seven books as well as authored numerous book chapters and articles. She writes the Hearing and Kids section of the HearingHealthMatters.com blog. She is the recipient of the Marion Downs Award for Excellence in Pediatric Audiology. She is the producer and director with Irene Taylor Brodsky of the film The Listening Project, which interviews 15 young adults with hearing loss. Dr. Madell presents nationally and internationally on topics related to hearing loss in children.

Elizabeth Tyszkiewicz, LSLS Cert. AVT

Elizabeth Tyszkiewicz, LSLS Cert. AVT, is an independent trainer and mentor in auditory-verbal therapy in the UK and numerous other countries. She previously spent over 25 enjoyable years mainly in children’s cochlear implant programs, as well as in education and the voluntary sector. She values the highly individual coaching interactions offered by work with caregivers and from mentoring relationships with aspiring auditory-verbal therapists. She continues to be fascinated by many aspects of children’s thinking and communication, and by their play, and enjoys learning from a wide range of parents and their children in different countries and settings.

María Fernanda Hinojosa Valencia, Ph.D., LSLS Cert. AVT

María Fernanda Hinojosa Valencia, Ph.D., LSLS Cert. AVT, is currently founder and director of the Aurea Lab Development Center in Mexico City, Mexico, where people with hearing loss, language, and learning difficulties are comprehensively accompanied from early childhood to adulthood. She is Cum Laude Doctor in Educational Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid, has a degree in Neuroliguistics from the Colegio Superior de Neurolingüística in Mexico, and a degree in Psychopedagogy from the Ministry of Education of Spain. She is a member of the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language board of directors and the global affairs committee, and is also on the board of directors of the Mexican Association of Therapists in Human Communication. Dr. Hinojosa is a supervisor for the auditory-verbal therapy services provided within the program for Spanish speaking families of the John Tracy Center in Los Angeles, California, with which she has collaborated for 25 years.

Brianda Campero C. Gutiérrez, B.Sc, SLP (Mexico)

Brianda Campero C. Gutiérrez, BSc, SLP, is a speech-language pathologist at Aurea Lab in Mexico City. She provides therapy and guides families from different Spanish-speaking countries mainly through telepractice under the supervision of María Fernanda Hinojosa.

Ritu Nakra, B.Sc, B.Ed, LSLS Cert. AVT (India)

Ritu Nakra, B.Sc, B.Ed, LSLS Cert. AVT, is a parent of a child with hearing loss. She also is a director of Hear Me Speak, an early intervention center based in Delhi; founder of AVTAR (Auditory-Verbal Trainer and Resources) mobile application and online session portal for parents and professionals; and co-founder of Online AVT. Ritu has developed various resource materials in Hindi and has mentored numerous professionals and helped establish early intervention centres across India.

Anna Persson, ME.d, Ph.D., LSLSL Cert. AVEd (Sweden)

Anna Persson, ME.d, Ph.D., LSLSL Cert. AVEd, has worked at the Hearing Habilitation at Karolinska University Hospital supporting children with hearing loss and their families for almost 20 years. Since 2005, Anna and three of her colleagues have carried the auditory-verbal therapy torch around Sweden and Scandinavia. Currently, she is back in the clinic after having pursued a Ph.D. in Speech and Language Pathology at Karolinska Institutet.

Trudy Smith, BSpecEd, ME.d, LSLS Cert. AVT, Ph.D. Cand. (Australia

Trudy Smith, BSpecEd, ME.d, LSLS Cert. AVT, Ph.D. Cand., is the Manager of Continuing Professional Education at Next Sense (formerly the RIDBC Centre in Sydney, Australia). Trudy has been a teacher of the deaf since 1998, and worked as an auditory-verbal therapist, supporting children and families in rural and remote settings, earning her certification as a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist in 2007. She worked as the state-wide education advisor at the Hearing for the Department of Education in Queensland and Rehabilitation Manager at MED-EL before returning to her role at NextSense.