We are excited to announce that Lynn Feldman has been selected as RISHA 2017 SLP of the Year! Lynn spent two years at URI as a French Major.  At the end of her sophomore year, instead of taking the next step and study abroad, she decided to look in to other career paths.  Having an aunt with a Developmental Disability, and after visiting URI’s Career Center and learning that SLP’s often work with adults in group homes, Lynn decided to take introductory classes to see if she was interested in Communication Disorders. An Undergraduate Internship at the Ladd Center further convinced her to change majors and to eventually apply to various Graduate Programs in Speech-Language Pathology.  After being accepted to several programs including UMass Amherst, Hunter College in NY, and URI, a Grant authored by Dr. Barbara Culatta at URI provided a unique opportunity to stay at URI with a cohort of 7 students to be trained specifically to work in Early Intervention.  Working as a graduate clinician at Bay Cliff Health Camp for Children in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for two summers, as well as working in the Preschool Program at URI with Geri Theodore, Lynn turned her interest from adults to preschool age children.

After Graduation, Lynn completed her CFY at the Schwartz Children’s Rehabilitation Center in New Bedford, MA working mostly with preschool age children.  She next worked for two years in the Attleboro Public Schools mostly with Kindergarten age children.  After spending 3 years at home raising her two boys, she returned to public school, working with both Preschool and Elementary students with a variety of disabilities in the Cumberland School Department. Lynn will be entering her 18th year this school year!  Lynn has been a member of RISHA since graduating from URI, and in the past four years she has become an active part of a RISHA committee and its Board.