Nominee(s) for President-Elect

Kathy L. Shapley, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Chair and Professor of Speech Language Pathology at Mississippi University for Women. She has authored numerous publications and presented at state, national, and international conferences. She has received research funding from foundations, state and federal agencies.
Dr. Shapley served on the MSHA telepractice Adhoc committee and currently serves as the chair of the Ethics committee. At the national level she has served on the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Board of Directors (2015-2017) and as the National Advisor for the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) (2015-2017). Dr. Shapley was recognized for her dedication to service and teaching with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas (UAMS), Excellence in Service Award (2012) and UAMS Excellence in Teaching Award (2014). She has been recognized for her commitment to student education, receiving two University of Arkansas at Little Rock Graduation and Retention Advocate Awards (2013, 2014). She is also a past participant of the ASHA Pathways program. Dr. Shapley received Honors of National NSSLHA in 2017, the highest award bestowed by National NSSLHA. She volunteers as an academic accreditation site visitor for the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA). She has served as both a reviewer and a topic co-chair for the ASHA convention for several years.

Dr. Shapley received a bachelor of science in chemistry from Stephen F. Austin State University, master of arts in communication disorders from the University of Houston, master of arts in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and a PhD in communication disorders from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

I am running for President of MSHA because it is important to be engaged in our professional organizations. An organization continues to grow and evolve by having different leaders serve the organization. I also think it is important to serve as a role model for students who will soon be joining our organization when they graduate. Membership organizations need leaders who value being of service to others and that is my philosophy for both my job and volunteer work.

Courtney Turner, Au.D., CCC-A, is an educational audiologist at The Children’s Center for Communication and Development and has served as an adjunct instructor in the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi. She also serves as a clinical supervisor, helping to prepare undergraduate and graduate students in the field. She has demonstrated a commitment to advocating for students who have hearing loss by increasing awareness of the educational impact of hearing loss and providing support to professionals in school districts across Southern Mississippi. In addition to her role as educational audiologist, she also serves on the The Children’s Center’s grants and professional development teams.

Courtney has demonstrated a zealous commitment to service through MSHA. Over the past three years, Courtney has served on the MSHA Executive Board as VP of Public Relations and Marketing. In this position, she has collaborated with fellow board and committee members on many projects for MSHA, notably completing the MSHA rebranding project through design and procurement of new promotional and retail products for the association. Prior to serving on the Executive Board, she volunteered as Conference Exhibitor Chair for two years.

She has been an active member of the Audiology Committee, helping to create the document Best Practice Recommendations for Infant Diagnostic Hearing Evaluation Following UNHS Referral, as well as an avid participant in Legislative Day, speaking with legislators and drafting documents to advocate for MSHA’s legislative initiatives – most recently including universal licensure for speech and hearing professionals and insurance coverage of hearing aids for children. She has also served on ad hoc committees, including Bylaws, ASHA Grant, and Student Leadership. She has given numerous presentations at MSHA conference on topics relating to pediatric and educational audiology. She also serves, at MSHA’s recommendation, on the Mississippi State Department of Health Speech Pathology/Audiology Advisory Council.

In addition to her service with MSHA, Courtney serves as the Mississippi representative and advocacy committee member in the Educational Audiology Association, and she sits on the MS Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Council. She is a proud graduate of the ASHA Leadership Development Program and was selected for ASHA’s inaugural Early Career Professionals program at the 2018 Convention.

Alison Webster, MS, CCC-SLP, CALT, C-SLDS, is the Professional Development Coordinator at the DuBard School for Language Disorders at The University of Southern Mississippi, a university-based public school for students with significant communication disorders. Previously, she served as the school’s enrollment coordinator and a classroom speech-language pathologist. She is a practicing nationally certified speech-language pathologist, a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), and a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist (C-SLDS). She currently is an undergraduate instructor in the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences and a graduate instructor in the Dyslexia Therapy master’s degree program in the School of Education at The University of Southern Mississippi. Additionally, she teaches professional development courses in the areas of multisensory instruction, advanced decoding skills, ethics, and assessment of dyslexia. She has presented sessions in the areas of oral and written language disorders, reading interventions, multisensory instruction, and organi
zation at multiple regional and national conferences. These conferences include the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), International Dyslexia Association (IDA), Mississippi Speech-Language-Hearing-Association (MSHA), Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ArkSHA), and Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSHA). She holds Mississippi licensure in Speech-Language Pathology and Mild/Moderate Disabilities (K-12). She is a member of ASHA, MSHA, the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), and the Mississippi Chapter of ALTA. She has served on the Mississippi Chapter of ALTA nominating committee, a conference proposal reviewer for the International Dyslexia Association, and currently serves as the MSHA exhibitor co-chair. She received the Outstanding MSLE Educator in a College or University from IMSLEC, the Distinguished Office Professional in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at The University of Southern Mississippi, and four Awards for Continuing Education from ASHA.

Nominee(s) for Vice President - Audiology

Beth King, Au. D, CCC-A, F-AAA is a pediatric audiologist and assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. King specializes in pediatric amplification, including bone anchored implants. She is a member of the American Academy of Audiology, American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and the Mississippi Speech Language and Hearing Association. Dr. King is a 2010 Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate from the University of Mississippi. She received her doctoral degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in 2014. Prior to moving to Jackson, she worked in a private practice and served as a contracted educational audiologist for school systems in the surrounding Memphis area. She has a deep commitment to both the healthcare and education related aspects of our field. Dr. King has a strong passion for training and supervising doctoral students. She was recently named Preceptor of the Year at UMMC. Dr. King currently serves on the MSHA Healthcare Committee.

Dr. Victoria Kivlan is a pediatric audiologist the Mississippi Center for Advanced Medicine (MCAM). In additional to her full time position at MCAM, she also serves as a Captain in the United States Army Reserve and an adjunct professor of audiology at Louisiana Tech University. Dr. Kivlan received her undergraduate degree from The Mississippi University for Women and her Doctor of Audiology from Idaho State University. Dr. Kivlan has had experience in various audiology settings to include pediatric hospital settings, an Educational Audiologist at the Mississippi School for the Deaf, assistant professor and adjunct teaching roles, and now a private clinical setting.

Dr. Kivlan serves on the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) advisory committee and has served as their 2020 and 2021 conference exhibit chair, conference planning committee, and participated on the systems building workshop. Dr. Kivlan is currently the central trainer for the ECHO project through EHDI, a pilot program to assist and provide training to childcare facilities in Mississippi to perform childhood hearing screenings. Dr. Kivlan has served as the Chapter President of the Student Academy of Audiology, a Mississippi State Champion for the American Cochlear Implant Alliance, and received the ACE award. She enjoys service and donating her time and audiology expertise to her community by participating in the Health Hearing initiative for the Special Olympics since her first year of graduate school,

Dr. Kivlan is a current member of the Mississippi Speech and Hearing Association and is serving as the 2021 MSHA conference exhibit co-chair. She has enjoyed her experience with MSHA and is looking forward to growing her participation within the organization. As Vice President of Audiology, Dr. Kivlan has many aspirations. The first is to significantly increase not only membership but also participation with MSHA amongst audiologists. Second to get House Bill 13 approved, which is legislation requiring insurance policies to provide coverage for hearing aids and services for deaf and hard of hearing children under 21 years of age. Third, to increase the amount of educational audiologists serving Mississippi Schools.

Haley Messersmith, Au.D. is a clinical audiologist that resides in Oxford, MS. Haley received her Doctorate of Audiology from Auburn University, following the completion of her undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi. She worked as a clinical audiologist at Mann ENT Clinic in Cary, North Carolina before returning to the University of Mississippi in a clinical and academic role in 2012. Haley teaches the Basic Audiology course at Ole Miss and loves introducing students to the field. Clinically, Haley practices audiology at both the University Speech and Hearing Clinic and at ENT Consultants of North Mississippi. Her clinical interests include medical audiology and amplification for both children and adults.

Haley stepped into the role of MSHA VP of Audiology in November 2020. During her short term on the MSHA executive board she has served on both the Legislative and University affairs committees. Haley has enjoyed the opportunity MSHA has provided for her to get to know other professionals in the state and work together to make a difference for patients and their families. Haley and the audiology committee have worked diligently to talk with MSHA leaders and state legislatures to continue moving Mississippi forward in hearing healthcare.

Haley is hoping to continue her work in this next term with goals of advocating for insurance coverage for pediatric hearing aids, increasing membership and involvement of audiologists in the MSHA, and working with other professionals to ensure that our organization is active and beneficial for the Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists that it represents.

Outside of MSHA, Haley’s other professional involvements include serving on numerous University and department committees. Further, she served one term on the SLP/Audiology Advisory council for the Mississippi department of health and she served on one humanitarian audiology trip in which she fit hearing aids on children in Guatemala. When she isn’t in the classroom or clinic, Haley enjoys eating tacos with friends, reading, and spending time outside with her husband and two daughters.

Nominee(s) for Vice President - School Issues

Melanie Reeves Clyatt, M.S. CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist who has worked in the public schools for more than 16 years. Prior to that, she worked as a teacher for autistic students at Magnolia Speech School, as a Speech Language Pathologist with a hospital system in Florida and as Clinic Director at Mississippi Society for Disabilities. She is currently serving as a therapist for the preschool and high school population for Clinton Public Schools. Prior responsibilities in Clinton included serving every age level from 3 to 21, coordinating personal FM devices for students in the district, and serving on the district’s eligibility committee.

Melanie attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where she graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and audiology in 1999 and a master’s degree in speech pathology in 2001. She is a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association and has received the ASHA award for continuing education twice.

Melanie currently serves as the State Education Advocacy Leader for MSHA where she has gained experience in collaborating with other school speech language pathologists from all around the country.

She was the 2019 recipient of the Outstanding School Clinician for the Mississippi Speech and Hearing Association for her contribution to service delivery and implementing innovative strategies that move beyond her own students. In 2018 she, along with colleague and instructional designer, Jesse Emling, began developing iPad apps for speech therapy. (Spark Speech Apps) Her clinical interests include preschool and young school-aged populations, Life Skills for high school populations, creating therapy materials that are engaging and easily used for family carryover, and the use of technology as a supplement to the personal interactions, guidance, and feedback that a trained therapist provides.

Stacey Mathis, MS, CCC-SLP graduated from Delta State University with a bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. I then attended the University of Mississippi receiving a master’s degree in Communication disorders. I have 22 years of experience as a pediatric SLP. During my first 9 years as an SLP, I served the pediatric population in various medical settings: private therapy clinics, outpatient rehabilitation, and home health care. However, the last 13 years have been dedicated to serving students in the school setting. For 8 of those years, I worked as a school based SLP at Pleasant Hill Elementary in DeSoto County serving Pre-K students with developmental delays, community-based classrooms, and kindergarten inclusion students. I currently serve as Lead SLP for DeSoto County Schools and have done so for the last 4 school years. As Lead SLP, I work closely with 57 SLPs and Speech Associates to ensure quality evaluations and services in our district. I am also responsible for consulting with and evaluating students in our district with AAC needs. I currently serve on the MSHA Schools Committee and have served on the MSHA Membership Committee in the past. I also served 2 years on the Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Board for Pearson Clinical.

I am running for Vice President of School Issues because I value the SLPs in my district and other districts and want to be able to impact positive change in our profession that will in turn positively impact the education of our students. I am not only running as an SLP, but positive change will impact me as a professional and as a parent of a student with a disability.

Nominee(s) for Vice President - Public Relations & Marketing

Hi! My name is Rebecca Haas, and I am running for election for Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing. I live in Madison with my husband Brock and identical twin daughters, Sadie and Shea. I have enjoyed working with children the past twenty years who have speech and language delays.
Although I have worked with many different age groups, I especially enjoy working with toddlers. I own a speech therapy practice, Talking With Toddlers, Ltd. in the Metro Jackson area. I work with private therapy clients and contract with Mississippi’s early intervention program, First Steps, which serves children age birth to three. Before that I worked with the Savannah Chatham County Public Schools and with the early intervention population through my business, Rebecca Hawkins & Associates, in Savannah, Georgia. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communicative disorders from the University of Mississippi (1999) and a Master of Science degree in communicative disorders from Jackson State University (2001).

With MSHA, I currently serve on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. I was also a member of the GA Speech and Hearing Association while living in Savannah.

I absolutely love giving back to my community and have a passion for staying active and involved in organizations I care about. I have served in several leadership capacities throughout the Metro Jackson area. I am a member of the Junior League of Jackson where I currently serve as Chair Elect of the Sustainers Steering Committee, Sustaining Advisor to the Social Development Management Team, and Fund Development Advisory Committee. I am a Life Member of the Junior Auxiliary of Madison County where I served as President in 2018-2019 and Public Relations Chair in 2016-2017. I was also a member of the Vestry (church board member) at the Chapel of the Cross in Madison from 2017-2020. While in Savannah, I served as the Public Relations Coordinator with the Healthy Savannah Initiative from 2009-2011 as well as other leadership positions.

I am excited about the possibility and opportunity of serving MSHA as Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing. MSHA and its programs mean very much to our profession and me. If elected, I will pledge my time and talents to our organization.