There is no immediate fire threat to Pacific’s campuses. The university is making adjustments to weekend activities, including Commencement, due to air quality concerns. Read More
Dr. Peter Flipsen Jr. has been at Pacific since fall 2013. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in his native Canada and then went on to receive his Master’s degree in in Speech-Language Pathology from Michigan State University. After practicing for four years as a speech-language pathologist in Fort Nelson, British Columbia (at mile 300 on the Alaska Highway), he returned to school and obtained his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is certified as a speech-language pathologist in both the United States and Canada.
David Brown, PhD joined Pacific University in August 2012. Dr. Brown previously served as Director of Audiological Research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and was also on the faculty at University of Cincinnati in Ohio. His areas of specialty include otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem response diagnostics, newborn hearing screening, and pediatric audiologic diagnostics, with a strong research interest in simulation technology.
Dr. Jill Dolata is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Dr. Dolata is interested in the role social communication plays in early language development with particular focus in early identification, assessment of expressive language, and measurement of language outcomes in the population of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Caitlin Fitzgerald is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Director of Clinical Education in the School of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Pacific University. She is dedicated to supporting graduate students in their development as clinicians through a community-based model that values service, collaboration, advocacy and diversity. Her clinical background is in pediatric medical settings, with a particular interest in feeding and swallowing disorders.
Melissa is pleased to serve as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the School of CSD, supervising graduate students in the delivery of speech-language services in the Pacific University Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinics. She teaches in the graduate and post-baccalaureate program, and is a coordinator of an interprofessional practice course with the College of Health Professions.
Ash Jacobs, a Pacific University alumnus, joins the team as the Administrative Assistant in the School of Communication Sciences & Disorders (CSD), bringing a diverse background in personal training and nutrition coaching. Ash will support the School of CSD, ensuring efficient administrative processes that uphold the university's standards of excellence. Passionate about mental health and personal development, Ash aims to infuse these elements into the workplace. Outside of work, Ash enjoys spending time with her family, working out, basketball, reading, and learning, particularly about the mind-body connection.
Katie Lardy joins the School of Communication Sciences & Disorders as Student Services Manager after working for nine years in the Career Development Center at Pacific University as the Assistant Director and Pathways Coordinator.
Mary is an Associate Clinical Professor who finds tremendous joy in working with and from students. Her professional interests include clinical education, language/literacy interventions for school-age students, service delivery in school settings, collaboration, and high quality professional learning.
Dr. Ana Lia Oliva is a bilingual-bicultural Latina who has dedicated her leadership career to the advancement of educational and racial equity in community-based and K-12 public education systems with a special focus on inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive practices.
Deepa Srikant serves as an assistant professor within the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Her interest lays in the domains of bilingualism, dementia, and cognitive communication abilities. Her long term objectives are to continue to study the impact of bilingualism and multilingualism in language preservation and attrition in healthy elderly and persons with neurogenic communication disorders. Her research aims to create awareness on symptoms of cognitive decline in elderly at the earliest stage possible and use strategies to reduce the progression of cognitive linguistic decline.
Dr. Srikant also advises Doctor of Science (DHSc/DMSc) students on their doctoral research projects.
Amanda Stead is an associate professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is also the coordinator of the school's simulation program and is credentialed as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE). Her passion for working with dementia patients comes from personal family experience and from her experiences in long-term care settings. It is her personal goal to educate students and the community about the important role speech-language pathologists play in the care of patients with dementia and in end-of-life care.
Jordan Tinsley has been a member of the CSD faculty since 2020. She brings her background in medical speech-language pathology to teach clinical skills to the next generation of SLPs and to help coordinate community-based student placements. Jordan's professional interests include voice disorders, gender-spectrum voice & communication, and using simulations to supplement clinical learning.
Helen served as the Director of the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders from August of 2016 through April of 2023. She had the pleasure of working with the enormously talented faculty of CSD who remain committed to student learning and to moving the field of speech-language pathology forward through research.
