Our Team 

Christina Gildersleeve-Neumann, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair in Speech and Hearing Sciences at Portland State University (PSU) and a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She runs the Monolingual and Bilingual Speech (MABS) Lab, where she conducts research on speech development and disorder, assessment, and treatment efficacy for speech sound disorders, with emphases on bilingual Spanish-English populations and childhood apraxia of speech. 

Learn more about Dr. Gildersleeve-Neumann here. 

Giselle is a graduate research assistant in the MABS lab. She received a BA in Biological Psychology from CSU San Bernardino and a BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences from PSU. Working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities inspired her to learn more about language, speech, and communication. Giselle’s research interests include bilingualism, neurogenic disorders, early intervention, and alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). Her goal is to become a bilingual speech pathologist who creates a comfortable environment that provides equitable services to a diverse population. Giselle enjoys listening to live music, trying new restaurants, and staying active.

Ana is a MABS lab employee and PSU undergraduate student majoring in Speech & Hearing Sciences and Spanish. Ana grew up in Romania and immigrated to Happy Valley, Oregon, when she was 13 years-old. Fascinated with the intricacies of language, she wishes to use her passion and skills to guide others in discovering the joy of communication. During a study abroad in Spain, she shadowed at a speech clinic where she observed how a different culture approaches this field and gave her a new perspective on SLP services in Spanish. She loves working with children and intends to serve underrepresented bilingual and multilingual populations as a future SLP. In addition to studying speech, Ana enjoys reading, writing poetry, exploring cities and having coffee with friends, traveling and learning about other cultures, and road-tripping with her family. 

Natalia Duran is a MABS lab employee. She is a native Spanish speaker born and raised in Baja California, Mexico who moved to Portland in 2022. Natalia has a BA in Child Psychology and is a post-baccalaureate student in Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. Her interest in speech and language started when she was working as a Pre-K teacher with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, where she learned how a child’s communication can affect their self-image and connections with others. Natalia hopes to become a bilingual SLP who works with Spanish-English speakers, Latinx families, and low-income communities and wishes to counsel parents through psychoeducation on speech and language. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities, exercising, reading, and volunteer work. 

Serapiya Niyokwizigira is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and a CSD in Speech & Hearing Sciences. Her language background and experience tutoring English to speakers of other languages inspired her to pursue speech-language pathology. She hopes to work with bilingual clients in the future in clinics or private practice using the languages she speaks. She speaks Kirundi (her first language) and is working on obtaining a third language—Korean—and studied abroad in South Korea. In her free time she enjoys drawing, working on her Korean, and going to cafes for coffee or Thai tea. 

Mayra is a MABS lab volunteer and fourth year undergraduate student majoring in Speech & Hearing Science. She began her interest in Speech and Language after taking a linguistics class where she was fascinated by the complexity and structure of language. Growing up in a town with a predominantly hispanic population, she has a passion for serving underrepresented populations and intends to continue doing so as a future Speech and Language Pathologist. Mayra enjoys volunteering, working, reading, being outside and learning new things! 

Dania is an undergraduate student majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences at PSU. After taking a career exploration course in high school, she learned about the speech-language pathology field and its opportunities for working with children. Learning English as a second language showed her the importance of finding ways to communicate with others and further encouraged her to pursue an SLP career. Through this lab, she hopes to learn about bilingual speech sound disorders, multilingual research, and how to diagnose disorders in children. In her free time, she enjoys building puzzles, thrift shopping, and spending time with her family. 

Sarah is a MABS Lab volunteer and first-year graduate student in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Department at PSU. She completed her B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders at California Baptist University in Riverside, CA. Her experiences growing up in Mexico and Colombia and working in low-income communities led her to the field of Bilingual Speech Pathology. As a future clinician, she plans to advocate for greater education of SLPs and parents on bilingualism/multilingualism and provide equitable services to individuals from all backgrounds. Sarah enjoys buying new plants, baking, reading, and going on long walks in her free time!

Matt is a MABS lab volunteer and a post-baccalaureate student in the CSD department at PSU. Matt grew up in Boston, and received their BA with Honors in Political Science from Skidmore College. Matt’s fascination with language began at a young age–they began learning Spanish from the age of five, learned conversational Russian in college, and taught themselves Portuguese. In 2021, Matt moved to Madrid for two years, where they taught English in a public high school and further developed their passion for bilingual language acquisition. In the future, Matt hopes to work in clinical settings with bilingual children and adults. In their free time, Matt likes to practice their languages, take long, meandering walks in the rain, sing karaoke, cook seafood, and eat as much sushi as they can reasonably afford. 

Bio coming soon!

Jennifer is a MABS Lab volunteer and first-year graduate student in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Department at PSU. She received a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a B.A. in Studio Art at the University of Redlands. Her experiences growing up as a Chinese adoptee in a multicultural home created the foundation for her interest in bilingualism/multilingualism. As a future SLP, she is motivated to advocate for and serve underrepresented communities and is interested in pursuing research. Jennifer enjoys baking, reading, dancing and is always trying out a new hobby in her free time!