Activities

Valerie (MSc, PhD) is Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery. She is the Clinical Director of the Masters in Speech-Language Pathology Program and Program Leader of the Professional Diploma in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Valerie also holds an Honorary Assistant Professor position with the Faculty of Dentistry, HKU and is the Speech Therapist for the Cleft and Nasendoscopy Clinics. Valerie was previously with the Supra regional Craniofacial Unit and the North Thames Regional Cleft Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (UK). She is a recent awardee of the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) grant (Health Bureau, Government of HKSAR People’s Republic of China), to develop and validate a perceptual cleft speech tool for Cantonese-speaking children, a collaborative effort with the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital and the University of Hong Kong. She is also a recipient of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development-Knowledge Transfer Project Fund (SIE-KPF Fund, HK Government) to develop multilingual e-resources for vocabulary acquisition to enhance learning Cantonese as an additional language and maintaining home (heritage) languages for children from culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Hong Kong.

Debbie (PhD, CertMRCSLT) is now an Independent Consultant Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) and Co-Director of Speech@Home (www.speech@home.org), an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Outcomes and Experience Research in Children’s Health, Illness and Disability (ORCHID), Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), London, UK and Visiting Reader in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Surrey. Previously Head of the SLT Department in GOSH and Lead SLT North Thames Regional Cleft Service, she was also Senior Clinical Lecturer, University College London, Visiting Professor, City University London, and Hon. Senior Research Fellow, University of Sheffield. Her PhD study, in Sri Lanka, on speech in patients with unoperated and late operated cleft palate, led to the SLT training course and the profession there. The model used informed courses since developed in Bangladesh & Uganda. Debbie now contributes to cleft charities including CLEFT-Bridging the Gap, the Circle of Cleft Professionals and Transforming Faces, focusing on LMICs. Debbie’s research included the development and testing of perceptual speech outcome tools in cleft palate/VPD, including the GOS.SP.ASS. and the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech-Augmented (CAPS-A). She has led/contributed multicentre studies of speech outcome in the UK, Europe and America. Her current activities focus on the implementation of parent-led articulation therapy intervention in children with cleft palate into clinical practices. Debbie is widely published with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and is a Section Editor for the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) medal from the Queen for services to the National Health Service.

Triona (BA, MSc, PhD) is a Cleft Specialist Speech & Language Therapist. She is a Founder and co-Director of Speech at Home with Dr. Debbie Sell. She previously worked as a Clinical Specialist at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. She completed her PhD thesis on Perceptual and Instrumental Assessment of Nasality and Nasal Airflow errors in 2000, and was a co-developer of the Cleft Audit Speech Protocol-Augmented (CAPS-A) tool. As Adjunct Professor at University of Limerick, Triona lectured/supervised MSc students in developmental speech disorders, clinical phonetics and cleft palate/craniofacial anomalies. Triona has worked with Operation Smile and Transforming Faces in Ethiopia and helped in the development of the SLT training course at University of Addis Ababa. Currently, she is working on parent-led therapist supervised speech therapy for children with cleft palate, using telemedicine. In 2018, Triona was awarded honorary membership of the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain & Ireland.

Subramaniyan B (M.ASLP, Ph.D.), Professor in Speech Language Pathology at Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital. He has held teaching, clinical and administrative positions in universities (SRIHER (DU), KMC (Mangluru) and University of Toronto (Adjunct Faculty). His core clinical and research interest revolves around speech and language intervention for individuals with Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP). His research has focused on evaluating and implementing alternate models of speech service delivery for children with Cleft Lip and Palate living in remote villages in South India. He is a consultant for developing multidisciplinary team care, capacity building and works with international organizations like Smile Train (USA), Transforming Faces (Canada). He is also a Fellow of APLP (Asia Pacific Leadership Program, East-West Centre, Honolulu, USA). He has spent the last decade and a half as a leader: fostering cooperation, promoting ownership, participation and continuous engagement among a variety of stakeholders and has engaged in activities relating to program planning, training and implementation especially in Low and Middle income countries.

Yoshiko (PhD) is a head speech-language-hearing therapist at the Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Showa University Dental Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. She specializes in children and adults with speech sound disorders and speech problems associated with cleft palate, head and neck cancer, ankyloglossia, neurological and neuromuscular diseases. Since she collaborates and work closely with dentists, her clinical research relating to cleft palate focuses on the treatment of velopharyngeal dysfunction by combining speech therapy with speech aid prosthesis. She also teaches courses regarding speech in several institutions for speech-language-hearing therapy students as well as dental students. In the recent years, Yoshiko has also been involved in developing Japanese cleft palate speech assessment tool.

Mikaela (BSpPath, PhD Candidate) is a speech pathologist on The Cleft and Craniofacial Team at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Australia. She also lectures at The University of Sydney where she is a PhD candidate conducting research in the field of cleft. Mikaela is a volunteer speech pathologist for Global Smile Foundation, an organization that provides comprehensive cleft services for underserved children and families. She is also the Director of a Speech Pathology Private Practice located in regional Australia.

Karen Christine Goldschmied Aljaro, SLP, graduated at Universidad de Chile 1997.

She works at Children´s Hospital Dr. Luis Calvo Mackenna, one of the largest referral centre for craniofacial anomalies in Chile, South America. For the past 26 years Karen has been working as a SLT in the craniofacial team at Children´s Hospital Luis Calvo Mackenna and also in private practice, specializing in the care of patients with feeding problem’s related to craniofacial anomalies, velopharyngeal dysfunction and cleft speech. She has lectured nationally and internationally, including seminars and workshops. She is also a frequent presenter in universities. Karen is a member of the Chilean pediatric Association, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and founding member of the Latin American Craniofacial Association. She is also part of the (SAMAC) South America Medical Advisory Council – Smile Train.

Carolina Rivera Gutierrez, SLP, graduated at Universidad Santa Paula, Costa Rica 2010, and has a master’s degree in palliative care from the same university (2014) and is the staff therapist for the Asociación Pro Niño Labio y/o Paladar Hendido in Costa Rica. She specializes in the care of children and families with craniofacial malformations. Providing guidance and advice to therapists who work in schools around the country, and is a teacher for speech therapists and special educators.