Programs accredited by the Council for Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) elect the academic and practitioner members of the CAA. Each program, whether accredited in audiology or speech-language pathology, may cast one vote for each vacancy on the CAA, regardless of whether the position is in audiology or speech-language pathology.
Program directors are encouraged to include all faculty in the relevant profession in the discussion regarding the vote to be cast by the program. Programs are encouraged to review the roles and responsibilities of CAA members as outlined in Part 2, Section V: Operation of the Council on Academic Accreditation in the Accreditation Handbook [PDF] when considering the candidates for each position.
The CAA provides the program director for each accredited program in good standing with voting instructions and a link to the election site. Online voting for the 2027 member elections is open August 26–September 15, 2026.
All candidates will be notified as described in Chapter VI: Nominating Committee of the Accreditation Handbook. After the candidates have received notification, the election results will be announced via appropriate publication vehicles.
The CAA Nominating Committee develops the following slates to serve on the CAA beginning January 1, 2027. Accredited programs will participate in an election to select from among the candidates to fill the vacancies, each serving a 4-year term. Candidates are presented alphabetically by last name and include a statement by each candidate.
Mark DeRuiter, PhD, ASHA CCC-A/SLP
Professor and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
With more than 20 years of experience in CAA-accredited Doctor of Audiology programs, I bring extensive expertise in admissions, accreditation standards, curriculum development, clinical education, and program leadership. I have frequently served as the CAA Program Director of record and, for over a decade, as a CAA site visitor—roles that have provided a comprehensive, practice-informed perspective on accreditation.
Accreditation is essential to ensuring quality, consistency, and public trust in audiology education. It safeguards patients by ensuring graduates demonstrate the knowledge and clinical competencies required for effective care. It also supports student success by validating that training meets the expectations of employers, licensing boards, and certification bodies. Equally important, accreditation drives continuous improvement through ongoing program review, ensuring curricula remain aligned with advances in science, technology, and clinical practice.
Finally, accreditation strengthens public confidence by assuring communities that audiologists are prepared through programs that meet rigorous national standards.
As a potential CAA member, I would contribute my depth and breadth of experience to advance the interests of patients, students, the public, and the profession.
Kelly Pritchett, AuD
Professor of Practice
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
I bring substantial experience in accreditation processes, standards implementation, and graduate program operations that directly support the work of the CAA. I currently serve as an academic audiology member on the Council, beginning my term in 2025 to fill a board vacancy. In this role, I have developed a deep understanding of the accreditation standards and the process of evaluating CAA‑accredited programs to ensure they meet both the intent and requirements of the standards. I actively participate in program reviews and contribute to discussions that shape accreditation decisions.
During my time on the CAA, I have also been actively involved in the review and revision of accreditation standards for both speech‑language pathology and audiology. This work has required thoughtful consideration of current professional practice, educational trends, and the evolving needs of programs and students, and I have contributed meaningful input during these discussions.
Within my own institution, our AuD program recently completed a successful reaccreditation cycle. I played a key leadership role in preparing materials for our site visitors, ensuring they had all required evidence demonstrating how our program meets the CAA standards. This experience strengthened my practical understanding of standards application and evidence-based documentation. Additionally, I contribute to ongoing evaluation and refinement of the AuD curriculum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, supporting continuous improvement in both academic and clinical training.
These combined experiences equip me to make informed, constructive contributions as a CAA member.
Amy LeBert, EdD, CCC-SLP
Associate Teaching Professor and Clinical Education Director
University of Southern Mississippi Speech and Hearing Sciences
Biloxi, Mississippi
I bring extensive experience in academic and clinical education, program operations, and accreditation within a CAA-accredited graduate program. As Associate Teaching Professor and Clinical Education Coordinator, I am actively engaged in curriculum development, clinical training design, student assessment, and program governance. My work includes revising coursework and practicum structures, and ensuring alignment with accreditation standards and current professional practice. Additionally, I play a significant role in preparing the CAA Annual Report, which has provided me with a strong working knowledge of accreditation standards.
I have served as a CAA Site Visitor for eight years, providing me with in-depth experience evaluating accredited programs, interpreting standards, and identifying best practices across diverse academic and clinical training models. This role has strengthened my ability to assess program quality, compliance, and continuous improvement efforts from both an internal and external perspective.
My expertise also includes outcome measurement and data-informed decision making. I routinely analyze student performance, clinical competencies, and feedback from students and supervisors to guide programmatic improvements. My scholarship in clinical supervision, particularly related to feedback delivery, further informs my approach to clinical education and student development.
In addition, my leadership roles at the institutional, state, and national levels, including service in professional organizations and policy development definitely provide a broad perspective on the evolving needs of the profession.
Collectively, my experience in accreditation, academic curriculum and clinical program development positions me to contribute meaningfully to the work of the CAA.
I am absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to serve on the CAA!!!
Steven Moates, SLPD, CCC-SLP
Clinical Associate Professor/Clinical Program Director
Baylor University
Texas/Georgia
I bring to the CAA a grounded, operational perspective on what it takes to build and sustain a high-quality, CAA-accredited graduate program in the current higher education landscape. As Clinical Program Director for Baylor University's online Communication Sciences and Disorders program, I work daily at the intersection of curriculum design, clinical education infrastructure, accreditation compliance, and outcome measurement. These are not peripheral responsibilities for me, they are the core of my role.
My expertise spans graduate curriculum development, clinical placement systems, simulation-based clinical education, and adaptive supervision frameworks. I have worked across multiple states in both school-based and higher education contexts, giving me a broad understanding of the diverse settings where our graduates practice and the varied challenges programs face in preparing them well.
My accreditation work at Baylor has deepened my fluency with CAA standards and their practical application in an online program environment, a delivery model that continues to grow across the profession and deserves thoughtful representation in governance conversations.
Beyond program operations, I bring perspective shaped by clinical specialty in fluency disorders, national service with the National Stuttering Association, ASHA STEP mentorship, and committee involvement across five state associations. I have seen accreditation and clinical education from the classroom, the clinic, the community, and the administrative chair.
I am applying to the CAA because I believe the standards that govern our programs should be shaped by people who are actively living them out. That is the contribution I am prepared to make.
Mona Ryan, MS, CCC-SLP
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Oklahoma Health Campus
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
My many years of leadership in our state and national professional associations and in academia have prepared me well to serve in a leadership role for CAA. I have served continuously as a CAA site visitor in the role of Clinical Academic Faculty since 2015 and a CAA candidacy site visitor since 2020.
As a clinical faculty member, I have contributed to the development and implementation of strategic plans for the CSD department. I have been actively involved in two of our department's CAA re-accreditation cycles and participated in the earlier ones. As part of the Education Professions Division Council, I advocated for the SLP program and the certification needs - both at a university level and a state department of education level.
I have served as a content advisor for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant specialty area test developed by Pearson for our Oklahoma SLPAs. This test was developed just prior to ASHA's SLPA praxis.
I have edited documents for the professional licensure board, the State Department of Education Special Services as well as our SLP program. I have updated the clinical handbook for our CSD program. I have served as the Advocacy committee chair/vice president for about 25 years. Through this experience, I have interacted with legislators, members, and others to get our issues moved forward.
Danielle Watson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tenessee
As a recent member of the Council for Clinical Certification (CFCC), I have contributed to the development and revision of certification standards, including those scheduled for upcoming release. This experience has strengthened my understanding of standards development, implementation, and alignment with accreditation expectations.
I serve as an Associate Professor in an under-resourced program, where I hold multiple leadership roles, including Admissions Coordinator, Co-Graduate Coordinator, and department Webmaster, and previously served as Clinic Director. These roles have provided me with a comprehensive understanding of program operations across both traditional and distance education tracks, allowing me to support diverse student populations while maintaining compliance with accreditation standards.
I have been actively involved in accreditation processes, including compiling data for CAA site visits and participating in ongoing self-study and continuous improvement efforts. As Clinic Director, I ensured that students met clinical requirements across the ASHA Big Nine areas, verified supervisor qualifications, monitored clinical placement sequencing, and maintained documentation of student performance and feedback.
In my current administrative roles, I oversee admissions processes, academic and clinical record tracking (e.g., Calipso), and student advising, ensuring alignment between curriculum, clinical training, and accreditation standards. My combined experience in standards development, program administration, and accreditation processes positions me to contribute thoughtfully and effectively to the work of the CAA.
Natalie Benafield, AuD, CCC-A (unopposed)
Educational/Pediatric Audiologist
Arkansas Children's Hospital
Little Rock, Arkansas
I am pleased to submit my application for consideration as an Audiology Practitioner member of the Council on Academic Accreditation. I am an audiologist with over thirty years of experience in both clinical and academic settings. I am currently employed at Arkansas Children's Hospital as a pediatric/educational audiologist, where I provide school-based audiology services to the preschool-12th grade population. Students have always been an integral part of my practice since early in my career. I have extensive experience as an audiology preceptor in the clinical environment (hospital and school-based), as well as clinical teaching experience with both speech-language pathology and audiology graduate students at two universities. I have served as an academic faculty member as well, teaching academic coursework and serving as an Audiology Program Director. My time in academia included being involved in three CAA accreditation visits as part of the academic program, writing annual reports and re-accreditation applications on behalf of programs, responding to CAA inquiries, and working collaboratively to develop graduate curriculum to meet CAA and KASA standards. I recently filled a partial term as an audiology practitioner member on the CAA, and would like to use the knowledge I have gained in this short time to serve a full term. As a member of the CAA, I hope to use my experience to represent the interests of the various practice settings in which I have served.
Kristi Atkins, EdD, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist and Associate Professor
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland, Oregon
I have served as a CAA site visitor since 2021, fulfilling the speech-language pathology practitioner role on one to two site visits annually. Through this work, I have developed a strong understanding of the CAA accreditation standards for speech-language pathology, including how programs operationalize standards related to curriculum, clinical education, student outcomes, and program resources. I also participated in one joint SLP-AuD site visit, which broadened my familiarity with audiology accreditation standards and interdisciplinary considerations in program review. Serving as a site visitor has been one of the most professionally meaningful service roles I have held. I value the opportunity to support high-quality training programs. These experiences have strengthened my skills in document review, interview-based information gathering, and collaborative discussion regarding whether enough evidence is present to confirm a program meets the CAA standards.
In my clinical role, I have developed graduate student training curricula in my specialty areas at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, which I use to support speech-language pathology student interns. My work includes directly supervising students during interdisciplinary evaluations, observing and coaching their assessment and interviewing skills, providing detailed feedback on written reports, and designing learning experiences that build their confidence in contributing to team discussions.
Additionally, as an adjunct faculty member at Portland State University from 2015–2021, I taught two graduate-level, four-credit courses and independently redesigned both courses with faculty mentorship. These experiences strengthened my understanding of curriculum development, graduate instruction, and alignment of educational content with clinical competencies.
Edie Hapner, PhD, CCC-SLP
Co-Director UAB Voice Center, Director of Hearing and Speech
University of Alabama Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
My career in Speech Language Pathology has spanned many years with multiple leadership roles in local, state, and national associations including ASHA and others. I have had experience in monitoring the standards as a site visitor for the CAA for many years prior to serving on the ASHA Board of Directors where we spent a considerable amount of time in work regarding training and implementation of all aspects of our professions. I have had the opportunity to develop curriculum for teaching graduate courses in at Nova Southeastern University in the early 90's, Georgia State University in the late 90's, and University of Georgia for 8 consecutive years starting in the mid 2000's. I have developed curriculum for clinical fellowship training in voice and upper airway and graduate training in this specialty area. I have developed curriculum for online web based educational systems like Medbridge where I am the developer of the voice curriculum. I am currently developing standards for the voice centric clinical fellowship with a group of my colleagues and I am also working on the assessment of graduate curriculums for graduate student externships through an IRB approved multi-institutional project.
I believe that the breadth of my experience in the field, in training undergraduate and graduate students in speech language pathology. and my 24+ years of mentorship to clinical fellows in addition to the breadth of my clinical experience make me an ideal candidate for the CAA Practitioner Position.