Researchers

Laura Corcoran is a speech-language pathologist and Auditory Verbal Therapist fluent in English, Spanish and ASL. For over a decade, Laura provided speech-language and auditory verbal therapy to children with hearing loss...Laura Corcoran is a speech-language pathologist and Auditory Verbal Therapist fluent in English, Spanish and ASL. For over a decade, Laura provided speech-language and auditory verbal therapy to children with hearing loss and their families and was Director of the Kellogg Child & Family Program at HEAR Wisconsin, an early intervention program based in the Milwaukee area. Currently, Laura is a Consumer Engagement Manager in the Midwest Region for the MED-EL Corporation... Read More >

Dr. Chad Ruffin is an ENT Doctor, Cochlear Implant Surgeon and advocate for adults and kids. Born with severe hearing loss, he is uniquely equipped with the skills and experience...Dr. Chad Ruffin is an ENT Doctor, Cochlear Implant Surgeon and advocate for adults and kids. Born with severe hearing loss, he is uniquely equipped with the skills and experience necessary to improve the lives of hard of hearing patients. Dr. Ruffin completed surgical training at Indiana University, one of the most rigorous otolaryngology residency programs. He also completed advanced training in ear surgery and cochlear implant research as a... Read More >

Nagish is a tech company at the intersection of accessibility, natural language processing, and telecommunication. Prior to pursuing his life mission of making communication more accessible, Tomer worked as a software...Nagish is a tech company at the intersection of accessibility, natural language processing, and telecommunication. Prior to pursuing his life mission of making communication more accessible, Tomer worked as a software engineer at Bloomberg L.P., a research assistant at Columbia University, and an Intelligence Analyst in the IDF. Tomer holds a degree in Computer Science (Magna Cum Laude) from Columbia University and has co-authored and published academic papers in Natural Language Processing... Read More >

Thomas A. Powers, Ph.D., provides management consulting to the hearing health industry. Dr. Powers serves as an expert audiology consultant and strategic adviser for the Hearing Industries Association, and limited...Thomas A. Powers, Ph.D., provides management consulting to the hearing health industry. Dr. Powers serves as an expert audiology consultant and strategic adviser for the Hearing Industries Association, and limited partner in RemotEar, LLC. Dr. Powers received his B.S. from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in audiology from Ohio University. He began his career as a partner in an audiology private practice... Read More >

Nolan Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in habilitation of the deaf and hard of hearing from Texas Christian University and his master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Fontbonne University. Prior...Nolan Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in habilitation of the deaf and hard of hearing from Texas Christian University and his master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Fontbonne University. Prior to joining MED-EL in January 2022, he worked at Cochlear where he provided technology and rehabilitation support to cochlear implant recipients, and researched ways to improve the overall experience for cochlear implant candidates and recipients. Read More >

Chuck Sabin is responsible for market development and research at the Bluetooth SIG and leads a wide range of market research, market planning, and business development initiatives. Working with the...Chuck Sabin is responsible for market development and research at the Bluetooth SIG and leads a wide range of market research, market planning, and business development initiatives. Working with the Bluetooth SIG executive team, board of directors, and member companies, Chuck helps to expose insight, trends, and projections that influence and drive the development of strategic business priorities. A proud member of the Bluetooth SIG team for ten years, Chuck... Read More >

Scott Michael Robertson, Ph.D., is an autistic adult and a senior policy advisor in the Office of Disability Employment Policy in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). He spearheads ODEP’s...Scott Michael Robertson, Ph.D., is an autistic adult and a senior policy advisor in the Office of Disability Employment Policy in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). He spearheads ODEP’s $3.8 million Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship (PIA) in his role as the federal project manager. Dr. Robertson also advances work to propel support for neurodiversity in workplaces and improve access to gainful employment and career paths for job seekers on... Read More >

Kelly Tremblay, Ph.D., has a 30-year history of serving and advocating for people with hearing loss as a clinical audiologist and tenured professor. In addition to being a member of the...Kelly Tremblay, Ph.D., has a 30-year history of serving and advocating for people with hearing loss as a clinical audiologist and tenured professor. In addition to being a member of the HLAA Board of Directors, she leads the HLAA Task Force on Employment. Dr. Tremblay retired from the University of Washington in 2019, where she taught audiology students how to prevent, assess and treat hearing loss, and where she led a... Read More >

Grace Fitzgerald has been the Director of Clinical Operations at Frequency Therapeutics since 2020. Prior to joining Frequency, Grace was at ICON overseeing large global phase III studies and at Otonomy,...Grace Fitzgerald has been the Director of Clinical Operations at Frequency Therapeutics since 2020. Prior to joining Frequency, Grace was at ICON overseeing large global phase III studies and at Otonomy, Inc. conducting trials that involve intratympanic delivery for Meniere’s Disease. She also had trial oversight responsibilities for pediatric trials in cisplatin-induced hearing loss and otitis media. Read More >

Carl LeBel, Ph.D., has been the Chief Development Officer at Frequency Therapeutics since 2018. He started LeBel Consulting LLC after serving as the Chief Scientific Officer at Otonomy, Inc., from 2009...Carl LeBel, Ph.D., has been the Chief Development Officer at Frequency Therapeutics since 2018. He started LeBel Consulting LLC after serving as the Chief Scientific Officer at Otonomy, Inc., from 2009 to 2016. Before joining Otonomy, he was President and CEO of Akesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a virtual metabolic disorders company, and prior to that spent more than 14 years at Amgen as an executive director in a variety of R&D management... Read More >