Conference Planning Committee

Michael J. Bamdad has focused his clinical and research activities on patients with traumatic brain injuries and their families for over 30 years.  He has been published and speaks nationally and internationally on the topics of executive functioning deficits and pragmatic disorders.  He is currently working as the Director of Clinical Education in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Kimmerly Harrell, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL is an Assistant Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She specializes in language and literacy disorders and is a Board-Certified Specialist in Child Language. Before coming into academia Kimmerly worked as a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in Georgia and Florida for over 8 years. Prior to becoming an SLP she worked as a Service Coordinator for an early intervention system and as a Mental Health Disability Coordinator for Head Start. Kimmerly's other clinical and research interests include assessment and intervention of reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition in culturally and linguistically diverse adolescents, cultural competence and humility in graduate education, and school-based issues in speech-language pathology. She also uses her knowledge and expertise to provide therapy and professional development in Haiti, Kenya, and Jamaica.

Leanna Lawrence is an associate clinical professor at the University of Missouri in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. She has served as the director of the MU Speech and Hearing Clinic since 2015 and has been a clinical supervisor at MU since 2006. She also teaches courses at the undergraduate (i.e., Clinical Observations) and graduate (i.e., Issues in Professional Practice, Clinical Methods, Clinical and Diagnostic Practicums) levels and coordinates the outplacements for their program's graduate students. She enjoys being on CAPCSD's Conference Planning Committee and is currently serving as chair of that committee.   

Mandie began working in the role of Director of Professional Development for CAPCSD in June 2023. She has had extensive opportunities managing meetings, events and conferences in a destination management company, nonprofit organization, city government agency, and two professional associations, in both professional and volunteer capacities.

In 2010, she joined Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and began serving as a volunteer with the North Florida Chapter. Mandie served on the Board of Directors, and worked with other Florida chapter leaders on a statewide committee for the state's regional conference. She earned her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) professional designation through the Events Industry Council in 2014. She is a member of both MPI and American Society of Association Executives.

Outside work, Mandie enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children. She loves reading, watching true crime shows, creating table settings, and cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tricia Montgomery is a faculty member at Florida State University. She serves as the Director of Clinical Education and the Director of the FSU Speech & Hearing Clinic. She also serves as the VP for Professional Development for the Council for Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Donna Pitts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech Language Hearing Sciences at Loyola University Maryland, where she has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses for 26 years. She currently is serving as the Graduate Program Director. She loves being a clinician and a researcher and tries to incorporate clinical issues/outcomes into her research. She especially loves mentoring students in research and her interests include recreational noise exposure and the relationships between diabetes mellitus and dementia on hearing loss. She received her Au.D. from Central Michigan University, and is currently completing her Master of Public Health with a specialty in health services.

Heidi Verticchio, EdD, CCC-SLP is the Clinic Director and Director of Advisement in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Illinois State University. Her primary responsibilities include managing the business operations of the on-campus Eckelmann-Taylor Speech and Hearing Clinic.  Additionally, Heidi is the academic advisor for graduate students in speech-language pathology and audiology. Heidi has taught CSD 432: Professional Issues. Heidi has served as the Chairperson of the Conference Planning Committee for CAPCSD and volunteered in several capacities for CAPCSD. Additional contributions include presentations and publications in the discipline. 

Erica Williams, Ph.D., CCC-A, is a Clinical Professor in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University. She is currently the Program Director and Clinical Placement Coordinator for the Doctor of Audiology Program. Dr. Williams teaches academic coursework in auditory/vestibular pathologies and diagnostics. She is a clinical educator in the ASU Speech and Hearing Clinic, providing services primarily in adult diagnostics, vestibular evaluation, and amplification. She also participates in an annual hearing healthcare service trip to Guaymas, Mexico in conjunction with the Mesa West Rotary Club, and also provides volunteer services in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul. She is professionally active in national service opportunities as a member of the Council for Clinical Certification (CFCC) and the incoming 2023 Vice-Chair for Audiology. Additionally, Dr. Williams is a member of the CAPCSD Membership and Conference Planning Committees as well as starting her term as a CAA Site visitor.