eAudiology: Join the Discussion: Moving from Microaggressions to Cultural Humility: A Critical Discussion for Audiology

Alaa K. Abdelhakiem
PharmD

Dr. Abdelhakiem received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Missouri State University in 2015 and went on to earn a doctorate of pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy in 2019. She completed a postgraduate year-one residency the following year at DHR Health in collaboration with Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy and then went on to complete a one-year post-doctoral academic fellowship at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.

Currently, Dr. Abdelhakiem serves as a clinical assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas at El Paso School of Pharmacy. Dr. Abdelhakiem’s research interests include cultural competency in health care; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); student wellness and resilience; and health disparities.

Lachelle Lazarus
AuD

Dr. Lazarus is an audiologist at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She specializes in tinnitus assessment and management, as well as vestibular diagnostics. In addition to her clinical work, she is also a preceptor to doctoral audiology externs and interns. She completed her fourth-year clinical externship at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Dr. Lazarus is an active member of the American Academy of Audiology and the current chair of the Academy’s Inclusion, Representation, and Equity Steering Group. Outside of direct patient care, Dr. Lazarus has an interest in supervising and mentoring students and new graduates and helping them navigate entry into their careers. With her well-rounded clinical experience, she is continually drawn to the various realms of audiology and looks forward to continuing to develop her specialties while working to provide opportunities for the newer audiologists to excel at their careers.

Erica Friedland
AuD

Dr. Friedland is chair of and associate professor in the department of audiology, Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) where she is responsible for the administration of the department of audiology and its three programs as well as the audiology clinic. She also teaches doctoral courses entitled Pathologies of the Auditory and Vestibular System, Neuroscience for Audiology, and Audiology Clinical Grand Rounds.

Clinically, Dr. Friedland precepts doctoral students in the Audiology Clinic at NSU during the provision of service. Dr. Friedland is the chair of the Academic Programs Committee for the American Academy of Audiology and a site visitor for the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE). Dr. Friedland’s current research is focused on skills-based clinical evaluation of students, preceptor roles, and characteristics of the ideal audiology applicant.

Katie Masterson Colella
AuD

Dr. Colella graduated from Purdue University with her doctorate of audiology in 2012. She started her career at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan before joining the team at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in 2016. As a member of the diagnostic and inpatients teams, Dr. Colella engages in diagnostic evaluations, electrophysiology, and amplification fitting and management.

 Dr. Colella has co-authored multiple articles about avoiding microaggression in audiology and co-created a self-study CEU course titled Toward Cultural Humility: The Black American Experience. She is a member of the Guidelines and Strategic Documents Committee through the American Academy of Audiology, and the creator of the podcast mini-series Amplified: Presented by Lurie Children’s.

Laura Gaeta
PhD

Laura Gaeta, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at California State University, Sacramento.

Jackie Jouette

Jackie is entering her second year in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Audiology (AuD) program. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University. She hopes to focus on increasing the BIPOC representation in the field of Audiology and bring awareness to the field by mentoring high school and college students.

Jennifer Phelan
AuD

Jennifer Phelan is an Assistant Professor of Practice and Audiology Clinic Coordinator at the University of South Dakota. Her clinical interests include diagnostics and treatment within pediatric audiology. As clinic coordinator, she strives to continually support the development of graduate clinicians and clinical educators.

Sonia Cuero
AuD

Sonia is a board-certified audiologist with over twenty years in the field of Audiology. Prior to joining Estes Audiology, Dr. Cuero was the owner of Audiology of Central Texas from 2006 to 2019. She was one of the first audiologists in central Texas to obtain her AuD in 2002 and board certification through the American Board of Audiology in 2003. She is a life member of the Texas Academy of Audiology and a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology.

Dr. Cuero loves audiology and specializes in adult amplification, aural rehabilitation, and hearing conservation. She prides herself in providing exceptional hearing health care and building lasting relationships with her patients. Dr. Cuero furthers her relationships with patients through her bilingualism; accommodating native Spanish speakers and delivering necessary information regarding their hearing health. Her expertise in hearing conservation prompted her to conduct audiology tests throughout Texas, American Samoa, and Guam as a subcontractor for the U.S. Army Reserve. Furthermore, Dr. Cuero has performed compensation and pension evaluations for Veterans since 2006.

Jocelyn Tubbs
AuD

Jocelyn joined Hearing HealthCare Centers in 2021. She received her Clinical Doctorate Degree in Audiology from Pacific University in Oregon and completed her clinical residency in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Tubbs received her Bachelor Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Bowling Green State University. In addition to being an audiologist, Dr. Tubbs is also an author and a musician. Her book, A Sound Adventure, is a children’s story designed to teach children and their parents about ear anatomy with a fun musical journey through the ear.

Dr. Tubbs started playing piano at an early age, before falling in love with the cello. She has excelled in playing cello throughout her school years, and is now returning to pick up piano again. She says that the multitasking nature of playing piano actually helps her in the routines of practicing audiology. 
 

Suzanne Pak
AuD

Suzanne Pak, Au.D., CCC-A, is a pediatric audiologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, specializing in amplification and electrophysiology. Suzanne earned her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Baylor University and Clinical Doctorate in Audiology from the University of North Texas. Her doctoral research is published in the Journal of the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology, Journal of Communication Disorders, and Journal of Educational Audiology.