The Dire Need for Diversity and Inclusion Training for SLPs: The How-To-Guide

Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, serves as the Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor with James Madison University. Additionally, she is the acclaimed host of “First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional” a weekly Speech Therapy Podcast that addresses “all thangs” Pediatric Speech Therapy, and is presented by SpeechTherapyPD.com. Michelle authored, "Chasing the Swallow: Truth, Science, and Hope for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders". She is an accomplished lecturer; traveling across the nation delivering courses on best practices for the evaluation and treatment of the medically complex infant, toddlers, and children with respect to their pediatric oropharyngeal dysphagia, pediatric feeding disorder, as well as language acquisition within the framework of Early Intervention. She has served as the Treasurer for the Council of State Association Presidents (CSAP), is a Past President of the South Carolina Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (SCSHA), a graduate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Development Program (ASHA LDP), a recipient of the Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Champion from Feeding Matters, a recipient of the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Outstanding Clinical Achievement from the SCSHA, a recipient of the State Clinical Achievement Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Foundation, recognized as an ASHA Innovator in 2023, and ten-time recipient of ASHA’s ACE Award for continuing education.

Haley Jones, CAE, is the senior manager of member engagement at a trade association in Alexandria, VA. She provides oversight to the state network council program, consults for affiliated state chapters, and leads internal and external diversity and inclusion efforts for the association. Haley’s areas of expertise include volunteer management and leadership development, and she is dedicated to identifying new ways to increase member engagement, especially as it pertains to members in underrepresented groups. Haley has more than 15 years of experience in the association community. From 2011-2019, she was the volunteer operations manager at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Haley’s work at ASHA involved managing the nominations and elections processes for ASHA’s board of directors and advisory councils, as well as managing multiple leadership development and mentoring programs, including the ASAE Gold Circle Award-winning ASHA Leadership Academy. Haley served as the staff liaison to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Next Generation, developing and implementing initiatives to increase volunteer engagement and leadership development opportunities for early career professionals within the organization. Before ASHA, Haley specialized in membership recruitment and retention at the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade, the American Chiropractic Association, and the American Society of Travel Advisors. Haley has been a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) since 2011 and is an active volunteer with the National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the prevention, early diagnosis, and successful treatment of life-threatening blood clots and clot-provoked strokes. A native Washingtonian, Haley received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from The Catholic University of America and earned the ASAE Certified Association Executive credential in 2018.