91ÉçÇø

Caitlin Al-Mutawa joined the USF Communication Sciences and Disorders Department in June 2022 as a Clinical Instructor. She completed both her Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of South 91ÉçÇø. Caitlin has over ten years of experience working in public school districts in 91ÉçÇø, Georgia, Missouri, and Pennsylvania with a wide variety of student populations. She is experienced in delivering both in-person and telehealth services to school-age children. Her primary areas of expertise include evaluation and treatment of school-age children with developmental language disorder, language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and phonological speech sound disorder.

Dr. Alexandra Brandimore, Ph.D. CCC/SLP joined the USF Communication Sciences and Disorders department faculty in May 2017. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of 91ÉçÇø where she also received her Master's and Undergraduate education. After obtaining her Ph.D in Speech-Language Pathology, Dr. Brandimore completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Laboratory for Upper Airway Dysfunction within the Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University. During her post-doctoral work she established and coordinated the Clinical Research Neurorehabilitation Center at Teacher's College, served as co-investigator and/or study coordinator for various large-scale NIH and MJ Fox funded projects, and provided mentorship and teaching to Master's level SLP students. As an academician, Dr. Brandimore interfaces her passions for teaching, research, and clinic. Her primary research goals target the development of evaluative techniques and therapeutic paradigms to improve upper airway dysfunction, primarily dysphagia (disordered swallowing) and dystussia (disordered cough), in persons with neurodegenerative diseases (i.e. Parkinson's disease). Her clinical work has mainly been in the area of Movement Disorders where she has evaluated and treated the motor speech, voice, AAC, and airway protective needs of hundreds of patients. She currently participates in a collaborative, multidisciplinary clinic for the management of patients with ALS. Dr. Brandimore has teaching expertise in the areas of: respiratory physiology, cognitive-motor relationships, neural/myogenic adaptations to exercise and training, with emphasis on the swallowing, coughing and respiratory systems, and clinical disorders of motor speech, voice, and airway protection. Dr. Brandimore's teaching interests include dysphagia, voice disorders, motor speech disorders, speech anatomy and physiology, neuroanatomy, and SLP management of complex movement disorders.

Ryan Curfman, M.S. CCC-SLP is currently an Assistant Clinical Instructor and practicing Speech-Language Pathologist in the USF Speech-Language Clinic for the Voice, Fluency, and Neurogenics Practicum. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the 91ÉçÇø. During his professional career as a Speech-Language Pathologist, Ryan has served the adult and geriatric populations in the acute care and inpatient rehabilitation settings. His areas of clinical specialty include dysphagia, neurodegenerative conditions, and stroke rehabilitation. Ryan’s primary areas of interest include instrumental assessment, complex dysphagia cases and adult neurodegenerative disease including ALS and Parkinsons. He holds specialty certifications including MBSImP and SPEAK OUT!® Therapy Program for clients with Parkinson’s Disease.

Emily Glass, M.A., CCC-SLP is currently a Visiting Assistant Instructor and practicing Speech-Language Pathologist in the USF Speech-Language Clinic for the Voice, Fluency, and Neurogenics Practicum.  She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Central 91ÉçÇø in Orlando, FL.  During her professional career as a Speech-Language Pathologist, Emily has provided skilled evaluation and intervention services to adult and geriatric populations in the inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, assisted living, and acute care settings.  Her areas of clinical specialty include neurogenic communication disorders (dysarthria, aphasia, acquired apraxia of speech), cognitive-communication disorders, and dysphagia, with primary interest in rehabilitation following stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and mild TBI/concussion.  In clinical practice, Emily has developed a passion for patient/client-centered care with use of functional and evidence-based therapeutic approaches to maximize outcomes and improve quality of life.  Since joining the team at USF, Emily has further developed clinical expertise in progressive neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), and Parkinson’s Disease, and other neurological movement disorders such as Orofacial Dystonia. She is also a Certified SPEAK OUT!® Provider for clients with Parkinson’s Disease, McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP), and VitalStim (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation) treatment for dysphagia. 

Kelli Gorajec, MA, CCC-SLP joined the USF Communication Sciences and Disorders department as an Assistant Instructor in the Fall of 2019. She obtained a Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Central Michigan University in May of 2011. She has vast clinical experience in evidence-based practice evaluating and treating a variety of medical diagnoses in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient therapy settings. Her areas of clinical specialty include adult neurogenic communication disorders with a primary interest in mTBI/post-concussion and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease and ALS. She is a certified SPEAK OUT!® Therapy Program provider and maintains certification in the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment – LOUD. She is also the primary clinical SLP for the USF SPEAK OUT!® Therapy & Research Center.  She enjoys sharing her passion for the field of Speech-Language Pathology with her students, engaging them in clinical research, and prioritizes a life participation approach to intervention for all clinical populations!

Katie Johnson is a Visiting Clinical Instructor on the Language/Phonology Team in the USF Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She received her Bachelor of Sciences in Communication Sciences and Disorders from 91ÉçÇø State University in 2013 and her Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from University of South 91ÉçÇø in 2018. She has worked on Pasco County Schools from 2014 to 2018 serving students with speech and language needs in general education and self-contained classrooms. Katie has been employed by USF since 2022, she was previously employed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center serving on their Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), pediatric TBI and early intervention teams. Katie’s areas of interest are in early intervention, AAC, pediatric TBI, ASD and complex language needs.

Charlotte King, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS joined the USF Communication Sciences and Disorders as a full-time clinical instructor for the fall of 2023, serving as the interim Speech-Language Clinic Co-Director from August 2024-April 2025, and beginning her current role as the Clinic Director in May 2025. She completed her Clinical Doctorate in April 2022, during which time she completed a clinical research study comparing two different interventions for acquired apraxia of speech. Through this and past clinical research projects, she has had the opportunity to present at state, national, and international conferences. She has experience in the inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings, with a broad focus on adult neurogenic communication and swallowing disorders and primary interests in treating individuals with aphasia, motor speech disorders, and voice disorders. She completed board certification with the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders. She is a certified SPEAK OUT!® Provider and also has certification in LSVT LOUD, as well as a Knowledge Badge in the Life Participation Approach for Aphasia (LPAA). She enjoys membership with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), participating in recent years as a S.T.E.P. mentor and Coordinating Committee member of SIG 2, and with the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders (ANCDS) in the Evidence-Based Clinical Research Committee on acquired apraxia of speech. She enjoys sharing her passion with students for providing patient-centered and evidence-based care. 

Gabrielle is a state licensed bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) who holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence.  She currently serves as a clinical instructor for the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She provides auditory based speech-language therapy for individuals across the lifespan, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and those with various medical diagnoses.  Prior to February 2016, Gabrielle practiced as a contract SLP in early intervention settings, Hillsborough County Public Schools, and private practice.  Her clinical area of specialty is in working with infants and children with hearing loss to achieve a listening and spoken language outcome through a family centered model. 

Dr. Maxfield joined our faculty in August 2005. He earned his Ph.D. at the City University of New York, Graduate Center. His research focus is on cognitive neuroscience investigations of speech, language and hearing processing. A portion of his work, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on language and cognitive processing in people who stutter. In this line of research, Dr. Maxfield uses brain electrophysiological measures alongside more traditional behavioral measures to investigate how people who stutter process language in real time in preparation for speech production. Dr. Maxfield's clinical focus is on working with people who stutter. Among other people, Maxfield trained under Pat Richard Sacco who, for many decades, directed a residential treatment program for stuttering at the SUNY-Geneseo campus (with Dr. Harold Starbuck) before bringing that program to USF in the early 1990's. Both Sacco and Starbuck were students of Dr. Charles Van Riper, and many of Van Riper's core treatment principles make-up the intensive treatment program developed by Sacco and Starbuck. Sacco retired in the late 1990's, but Dr. Maxfield recently revived Sacco's summer intensive treatment program for stuttering (now called the Program for Advanced Treatment of Stuttering, or PATS). Dr. Maxfield also supervises preschool and school-age fluency clinics at USF. Dr. Maxfield enjoys clinical teaching and mentoring students in research; he supervises undergraduate and graduate thesis projects, as well as doctoral student projects.

Natalie Mikkelson is a Visiting Clinical Instructor in the USF Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of 91ÉçÇø in 2006 and her Master of Arts in Communication Disorders from Louisiana State University in 2010. She has worked with the Bay Area Early Steps program both as a contract and internal provider since 2010. Natalie has been employed at USF since 2014, previously working in the Department of Pediatrics as a Speech-Language Pathologist/Early Interventionist with the Bay Area Early Steps program. In this role, Natalie participated in developmental evaluations, and provided natural environment-based treatment of speech, language and feeding/swallowing disorders. She also served as a peer mentor to other Early Steps therapists. Natalie’s areas of interest are in the use of routines-based intervention and caregiver coaching in the birth-3 population.

Melitza is a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist with over a decade of clinical experience and research specializing in disability and higher education. She holds a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the 91ÉçÇø (2014) and an Erasmus International Master's in Adult Education for Social Change (2019) from multiple European universities. Originally from Colombia, Melitza has worked with culturally and linguistically diverse populations from early intervention to adults, both in-person and via Telehealth, across multiple states in the U.S. She's also served as a Professional Development Coordinator. Melitza specializes in the evaluation, treatment and diagnosis of diverse individuals across the life span, and has developed trainings on: cultural differences, accommodation and transitions, higher education, and working with multilingual individuals.

Timothy Stockdale is a clinician-educator with extensive experience in medically complex speech-language pathology, with a primary focus on oropharyngeal dysphagia. His work spans acute and medically complex care settings, graduate-level instruction, and the development of continuing education for practicing clinicians nationally.

Dr. Stockdale has designed curriculum for over six graduate courses and has presented nationally on dysphagia curriculum development. He has taught across three universities, with courses covering dysphagia (beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels), aphasia and cognitive-communication disorders, medical SLP, motor speech disorders, clinical methods, neurology for the SLP, and clinical practica for beginner through advanced level students. He holds expertise in Flexible/Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) and Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study (VFSS/MBSS) and has been invited to present on dysphagia, flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing, and on teaching and supervision at universities and health systems across the country.

In addition to his academic appointments, Dr. Stockdale is the founder and CEO of Gap Education, LLC, an ASHA-approved continuing education company. Its podcast, Swallow the Gap, targets gaps in education and clinical practice for dysphagia and has been downloaded in 100 countries and territories and over 2,300 cities. He has developed three courses for MedBridge Education and has served on the Professional Development Committee for ASHA's Special Interest Group 13: Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. His approach to education is grounded in a long-standing interest in the gap between SLP training and the clinical demands SLPs face upon entering the workforce.