B.A., Elmira College

M.A., Ph.D., Kent State University

Dr. James has been an audiologist and a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing since 1979, and joined Elms College in 1998. She has taught at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels, and has served as director of audiology programs in educational and clinical settings. In addition, Dr. James served as a clinical audiologist in private practice and chief of audiology at Harbor Hospital Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where she performed intra-operative monitoring and was on the team that performed the first cochlear implant in Maryland. She has been a grant reviewer, president of the Maryland Academy of Audiology, and currently serves on the executive board of the Massachusetts Academy of Audiology. Dr. James has presented to international, national, and regional professional meetings, and has published on discourse analysis and on audiological assessment. Her areas of expertise include program development, aural rehabilitation, and amplification.

B.A., M.A., University of Massachusetts

David Bickford worked as a speech-language pathologist and supervisor at the former Belchertown State School from 1976 to 1984, and for the New Medico Head Injury Systems facility in Northampton from 1984 to 1993. He joined Valley Rehabilitation in 1993, working as a speech-language pathologist in skilled nursing facilities throughout Western Massachusetts. He is employed currently as a speech-language pathologist at the Park View Specialty Hospital in Springfield. He joined the Elms College adjunct faculty in 2004.

B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara
Ph.D., University of California and University of San Francisco

Kathleen Dyer is the clinical director of the River Street Autism Program at Coltsville in Hartford, Connecticut and a nationally-recognized expert in autism. A licensed speech-language pathologist and board-certified behavior analyst, she has taught and served children with autism for more than 25 years, and has collaborated with pioneers in the field including Ivar Lovaas, Robert Koegel, and Andy Bondy.

She has been on the faculty of several colleges and universities, including the University of Massachusetts and Temple University, and her research and training techniques have been disseminated at national and international conferences and in more than 30 research articles, book chapters, encyclopedias, and books.

She has recently worked with the Connecticut Department of Education to develop guidelines for the characteristics of effective autism treatment.

M.S., Emerson College
Ph.D., Boston University
Dr. Gould is currently studying the effects of aging on the formation of inferences in language processing. Starting in 1997, he spent four years as a practicing speech-language pathologist specializing in geriatric populations. He also conducted research as a technical assistant in the Speech and Hearing Laboratory at MIT. Dr. Gould has extensive training in linguistics and language education.

B.A., Rhode Island College
M.A., University of Connecticut

Angela Mansolillo has been a speech-language pathologist since 1985. She has practiced in a variety of settings, including hospital, homecare, school systems, and skilled nursing facilities. She lectures nationally on the topic of dysphagia assessment and intervention, and recently earned specialty certification in swallowing and swallowing disorders from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She joined the Elms College adjunct faculty in 1998. In addition to serving as adjunct faculty, Angela is also responsible for providing clinical supervision to student clinicians. She is currently a speech-language pathologist at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.

Dr. Michael Rice has worked with children with learning and behavioral challenges for nearly 30 years as a practicing school psychologist. Following obtaining a Bachelor's and Master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Rice worked as school psychologist for the Greensboro (NC) Public Schools where he began serving students with a wide range of learning disabilities, and their families. He completed his PhD at the University of Rhode Island where he helped establish the Child Evaluation Clinic, and was a coordinator of the Children's Learning Clinic specializing in attention disorders in children.  Dr. Rice has published book chapters on intellectual disabilities and associated conditions. Coming to Connecticut, he became the Clinical Team Leader and head of psychology at the CREC River Street School in Windsor, CT and has received the CREC Student Services Award for leadership and professional service. Dr. Rice has been an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford and Assistant Professor in Residence of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut where he taught graduate courses and supervised practicum and field experiences of students. Most recently Dr. Rice was appointed Associate Clinical Professor in the Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College and teaches in their graduate program in Autism Spectrum Disorders. He also developed the first "Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders" course for undergraduate students at Elms College. Dr. Rice provides staff training and lectures throughout the state of CT on topics related to children with autism and developmental disabilities. He works closely with child psychiatrists, neurologists, and pediatricians and has a special interest in psychopharmacology research as it pertains to improving the response of children on the autism spectrum to behavioral and educational interventions.