2024 Executive Board Elections

We are holding Executive Board elections for the position of President Elect and Secretary of World Stuttering & Cluttering Organization. The last polling day is August 17, 2024.

Please vote for one candidate for the office of President Elect and for one candidate for the office of Secretary.

Candidates for:
The office of President Elect

Rodney Gabel

I am the Founding Director of the Speech-Language Pathology Division and at Binghamton University. I have nearly 30 years of experience as a professor and clinician, working almost exclusively with people who stutter or clutter.

I have been an active researcher during my career, publishing more than 75 articles and delivering more than 100 papers at professional conferences. I have been an active clinician working with adults and children who stutter. I have been an active member of the stuttering community, sitting on the board of the International Stuttering Association, a member of the American Board of Fluency and Fluency Disorders, and on committees with International Fluency Association.

I believe I can apply my years of experience in leadership and service to the betterment of the community of researchers, professionals, and consumers dedicated to stuttering cluttering.

Norimuni Kawai

I am the director and a professor of the Management Section at the Institute for Diversity & Inclusion, Hiroshima University, Japan. My contributions to WSCO include serving as Secretary-General of the IFA from 2013 to 2015 and chairing the inaugural congress “One World, Many Voices: Science and Community” in 2018. I also serve as President of the Japan Association of Stuttering and Other Fluency Disorders.

WSCO has been instrumental in presenting outstanding research on stuttering and cluttering and nurturing young researchers. While continuing these commendable efforts, I aim to promote interdisciplinary research that integrates technology and to create a global research and support system for stuttering and cluttering regardless of country or region.

My diverse experience is eager to advance WSCO’s mission and foster a global community. I am excited about the potential as president-elect to contribute to the growth and success of this association.

Victoria Tumanova

I am an Associate Professor at Syracuse University where I direct the Syracuse University Stuttering Research Lab and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in communication sciences and disorders. My NIH-funded research focuses on the mechanisms underlying the development of stuttering in young children. The overarching goal of my work is to contribute to the evidence-based assessment and treatment of stuttering as well as to inform our understanding of why some children develop chronic stuttering while others recover.

I would like to be considered for the position of President Elect for WSCO as I am eager to contribute to the WSCO’s mission of advancing science, education, practice and advocacy in stuttering and cluttering.

Candidates for:
The office of Secretary

Naomi Rodgers

Naomi Rodgers, PhD, CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor at the University Iowa where she directs the Iowa Stuttering Lab and teaches courses in stuttering, counseling, and clinical methods. In her research, she uses a variety of experimental and observational methods to understand the cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of stuttering. Her work is inspired by her experiences as a person who stutters, clinician, and advocate in the stuttering support community. To this end, Naomi is interested in the role of WSCO Secretary as this unique opportunity would allow her to immerse herself in the challenges and developments within our scholarly field. Her reliability, attention to detail, dedication to effective teamwork, and deep commitment to the stuttering community will be an asset to this role. She looks forward to working closely with the executive board, committees, and members to help WSCO embody its values and carry out its mission.

Heather Salvo

Heather Salvo, PhD, CCC-SLP is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She earned her bachelor’s (2014) and master’s degrees (2016) from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, and her Ph.D. from Kent State University (2023). Heather has been a member of WSCO since 2018, when she was first introduced to the organization. She attended and presented at WSCO in Hiroshima (2018) and Montreal (2022). She has been actively involved in the WSCO membership committee and the Junior Researcher Network since 2018. She helped plan WSCO’s 30th-anniversary party held at ASHA in 2019. She also regularly attends meetings with the Junior Research Network. Heather is organized and detail oriented, which are skills that make her well-suited for the position of secretary. Heather is interested in the secretary position because she believes in the mission of WSCO and would like to continue contributing to our organization in a meaningful way.