Rouzbeh Ghahraman is a Deaf educator, researcher, and community advocate based in Edmonton. He teaches American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture at the University of Alberta. Rouzbeh holds a master’s degree in Special Education and has also successfully completed all doctoral coursework in the same field. His work focuses on Deaf education, sign language access, inclusive communication, and accessible technologies developed in collaboration with Deaf communities. Drawing on his lived experience and professional background, he advocates for approaches that recognize signed languages and strengthen meaningful connections between Deaf and hearing people.

Born hearing.

I had a chronic ear infection which damaged the Eustachian tube. (Eustachian)) tube  6 months old and never recovered with medication -) 

Realized I was deaf at age 1 due to no response.  The doctor made the fatal assumption that I was mute for life; it turned out to be wrong.  

I am teaching ASL under CHHA - Edm at Glenrose Rehab Hospital.

Near a cafeteria, I travel to other places in Alberta to teach ASL and educate people about our Deaf culture, language, and community. 

Greetings everyone, my name is Nicole Nicholas. I am eager to share my experiences with Speech Language Pathologists and how I’ve witnessed their connections with my family and the community. I have a bachelor’s degree in Speech Language Pathology but was too scared to use it. I switched to Audiology when I went for my Master’s. I didn’t feel I possessed the skill to reach every child’s unique needs. Therapy seemed unconstructed, yet all in, with a grab the spoon, the sink and the blender, if needed, to reach every child. Now, I have a 7- and 5-year-old with severe receptive and expressive language delays and I’m doing it anyway daily! I’ve worked with several SLP’s since they were 3. There is one SLP who stands out the most who instilled courage in me to reinforce the groundwork she was laying; she gave short achievable goals to focus on until our next sessions; and she praised my efforts. I am fascinated by the assessment and treatment goals SLP’s can ascertain and formulate within a very short meeting. I appreciate the scientific methodology which powers therapy. I now “trust the science!”

In 2010, Evan Mudryk had a stroke (AVM) downtown in Edmonton. He was drinking, socializing and gradually, at night, his speech was gone, and he collapsed. 10 days in the hospital in a coma, he woke up and was unable to speak. The surgery was successful, but he lost the ability to speak and has aphasia. Now, after many years relearn to talk again, and he is an advocates of the stroke. He survived it and is on his journey.

Akhila Regunathan completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a minor in the Teaching of English in 1997. Akhila went on to pursue coursework in the sciences at Benedictine University and became a research assistant at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, before combining her interests in art and science and enrolling in the Biomedical Visualization Master of Science program. Akhila completed this MS degree specializing in Anaplastology at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2003. As an Anaplastologist, Akhila creates custom facial prostheses for patients who are missing parts of their facial anatomy due to disease, trauma, or congenital conditions. Akhila began working at the Craniofacial Care Program, formerly iRSM, located at the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton in 2004. Her focus includes patient-informed care, implementing digital technology into the treatment of facial prosthetic care, and increasing patient advocacy, recruitment and quality of life. Akhila currently lives in Edmonton, with her husband and 3 children, one of whom was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate in 2014. Because of her deep connection to both the clinical and client world, Akhila often lectures about her son’s condition and its impact on his daily life as well as the ongoing care he receives in terms of oral surgery, orthodontics, plastic surgery, speech and swallowing. In her spare time, she enjoys creating artwork that balances out her realistic art and science career with fluid creations full of abstraction and fun.

Nikki is a brain tumour and stroke survivor who is dedicated to fostering inclusive communities. She brings a strong background in advocacy and a deep commitment to championing accessible communication for everyone.

Lonneke is a pediatric-based speech language pathologist with experience working in a designated special education school, as well as private practice. Lonneke has supported clients ranging from 18 months to 18 years of age across a variety of communication needs. Lonneke's clinical interests include augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), autism, neurodiversity-affirming practice, gestalt language processing, Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Lonneke has supported many individuals with high regulation and support needs, and this is her area of passion. Lonneke is devoted to collaborating with families and interdisciplinary teams to provide individualized, strengths-based care that empowers clients to communicate in ways that are meaningful to them. 

Shannon received her Masters of Health Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Toronto in 2011, as well as a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Voice Performance) at the University of Toronto in 2008. She is currently employed at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, working in voice (voice disorders and gender-affirming voice training) and dysphagia, as has also been involved in the areas of AAC and stroke therapy. Shannon previously treated patients with head and neck cancer at the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM). She is currently a sessional instructor in the U of A CSD department, teaching the resonance portion of Voice & Resonance Disorders. She is also an active member of the choral and musical theatre communities in Edmonton.

Lucero Vargas-Almeida,  R.SLP, is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinical Lead at MultilinguAbilities. Her work focuses on family-centred and intercultural practice, supporting children and families from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. She is passionate about communication as a pathway to connection, participation, and belonging.