Brenda Seal

Brenda Seal, PhD, CCC-SLP, F-ASHA, is Professor Emerita of Communication Sciences and Disorders at James Madison University (JMU), where she served from 1981 to 2009. She later held the position of Professor and Director of Speech-Language Pathology at Gallaudet University (2009–2019), following her early career as a speech-language pathologist at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (1973–1981). Brenda is also a retired nationally certified sign language and oral interpreter (RID, 1975–2015). Since 2019, Brenda has volunteered at JMU as a clinical educator and research assistant on a project focused on infant language acquisition. From 2022 to 2024, she has served as a consultant for the Virginia Department of Education on a statewide initiative to improve language acquisition for deaf and hard-of-hearing children ages 0 to 5. Brenda is an active member of her state professional organization and contributes to a statewide foundation that supports graduate scholarships in speech-language-hearing sciences. She is a Fellow of both the Speech and Hearing Association of Virginia and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and frequently presents and publishes on topics including oral and written language disorders, deaf education, and interpreter training. She also serves as an expert witness in civil, criminal, and due process cases. Her scholarly contributions include multiple peer-reviewed papers, three textbooks, and numerous state and national training and research grants. Her most recent publication, *Single at Seventy: Thinking about Future Choices* (2023), explores life decisions and reflections on aging, and is available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon-Kindell Press. Brenda’s career reflects a lifelong dedication to language access, inclusive education, and advancing the field through research, mentorship, and advocacy.