Member-at-Large

Lindsay Cable, Au.D.

Bio: Lindsay Cable, Au.D. is the Supervisor of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the Saginaw VA Medical Center. While she began her career in elementary education, her work in the public school system led her to Audiology.  She obtained her Doctorate in Audiology from Central Michigan University in 2008.

Since graduation, Dr. Cable has passionately supported Veterans through clinical work and advocacy within the VA’s health system. She has promoted improvement through her efforts in access expansion with growth from 2 to 8 audiologists; implementation of a rural telehealth program with 8 teleaudiology clinics; and efficiency through technology including integration of audiology equipment and tablet computers.

Lindsay lives in Frankenmuth, Michigan, with her husband, Ben, 10-year old daughter, Claire, and 8-year old son, Chase.

Statement: “Over the last 10 years, I have experienced the extraordinary care VA audiologists provide to our patients. I would love to contribute to the work AVAA does to educate, communicate, inform and advocate for VA audiologists. My passions include promoting high quality audiologic care to patients and advocacy for the field of audiology. AVAA is the heart of these pursuits and I want to help in any way I can.”

Jerrica Rieger, Au.D.

Bio: Jerrica Rieger, AuD, is the Director of the Hearing Implant Program at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. Dr. Rieger received her BA from the University of North Dakota, her AuD from the University of Akron and completed her Audiology Externship at the Cleveland Clinic.  Her primary clinical and research interests are in the areas of cochlear implants, amplification, bone-anchored implants and auditory electrophysiologic assessment. Dr. Rieger is a clinical preceptor actively involved in the clinical training of Doctor of Audiology students and externs. She is a member of the Association of VA Audiologists (AVAA), the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and a graduate from the Minneapolis VA Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) Program. In 2018, Dr. Rieger and the Minneapolis VA Interdisciplinary Cochlear Implant Team received the Excellence in Customer Service Team Award from the National Audiology and Speech Pathology Field Advisory Committee. She is also published in the Journal of Educational Audiology.

Statement: “Since the start of my career, I have had the pleasure of working with many VA audiologists across the nation, drawing from their expertise and collaborating on projects. Being a member of AVAA provides an opportunity to address the professional needs and concerns of VA audiologists on a national level as well as advocating for audiology outside the VA. This is my passion and if elected as Member at Large, I would look forward to taking on a more active role, sharing ideas and contributing to the on-going advancement of our field.”

President-elect

Jana DeNisi, Au.D.

Bio:  Dr. DeNisi  is a proud Husky and alumni of the University of Washington in Seattle, where she obtained her B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences and M.S. in Audiology. She obtained her doctorate of Audiology from Salus University, Osborne College of Audiology. She began her career as a CFY at the West Los Angeles VA, which led to a research position under the supervision of Dr. Douglas Noffsinger and Dr. Charles Martinez. She eventually became the Greater Los Angeles VA Vestibular Program Coordinator and served as the primary point of contact for vestibular testing and training. After ten years at the West Los Angeles VA she moved to Chicago and began working at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital under Dr. Vincenza D’Amico and Dr. Christine Ulinski. While working at Hines she was eventually hired as the CBOC Supervisor, in which she served as the primary point of contact for all CBOC Audiology staff.

Over the years her professional activities have included working on the JDVAC Education Committee as the poster co-chair and chair. At the Hines VA she served for 5 years as the AES Ambassador, volunteered on the 4th year and employee interview committees to assist with hiring new staff. She participated in the 2017-2018 New Supervisor Essentials Class and the national VA ASP Leadership Mentoring Program for New Line Managers. She served on the CBOC Leadership Team at Hines, and loved being a preceptor to over 15 fourth year Audiology fellows. Her Audiology research contributions include: Wilson, R. et. All. Efficacy of Digital Noise Reduction Strategies: A Hearing Aid Trail. December 2006. Tremblay K, Kerjriwal C, and DeNisi J, Auditory Training and the N1-P2 Complex. Presented at the International Evoked Audiometry Response Study Group. Vancouver, Canada. July 22-27th, 2001

Statement: “Dr. DeNisi would love to be on the AVAA board because she has a passion for improving and advancing audiology, and what better way to do this than serving on the national AVAA board! She hopes to serve and promote not only our Veteran’s Audiological Care, but also wants to promote her audiology colleagues by helping to improve upon current standards and practices. Dr. DeNisi thanks you in advance for your consideration of her for the position.”

David Jedlicka, Au.D.

Bio: David Jedlicka is a staff audiologist at the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System.  He earned his Au.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010.  He completed his 4th year externship at the Pittsburgh VA and remained with the Pittsburgh VA following graduation.  Since that time, Dr. Jedlicka has taken on numerous roles within and outside of the clinic.  In addition to his standard clinical duties, Dr. Jedlicka specializes in osseo-integrated devices, vestibular assessments, and auditory processing disorder diagnosis and treatment.  He has severed on several VA IRB approved research projects focusing on hearing aid performance, auditory processing disorders in OEF/OIF Veterans, and real ear measures.  Dr. Jedlicka has also led numerous VA quality improvement projects, often working as a mentor alongside 4th year externs in the areas of: speech understanding measurements, hearing aid performance in noise, osseo-integrated device measurement assessments, counseling, auditory processing disorders, system redesign, open access clinic patient outcomes, discrepancies in audiometric findings between compensation and pension and non-compensation and pension audiometric evaluations, and exploring ways to reduce the number of lost hearing aids and accessories.

In addition to his work at the VA.  Dr. Jedlicka is employed by the University of Pittsburgh as an instructor for the Audiology Assessment course taught to 1st year Au.D. students.  He also provide special lectures annually to the audiology graduate students in the areas of auditory processing disorders, counseling, and cognition. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Jedlicka serves as a preceptor for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year graduate students from the University of Pittsburgh as well as other institutions for students completing their 4th year externship at the Pittsburgh VA.

Dr. Jedlicka is also a member of the American Academy of Audiology, the American Speech Language Hearing Association, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology.  He is currently the membership chair of the American Academy of Audiology and was also selected for AAA’s Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology Conference in 2016.

Statement: “The guide I follow in life comes from the Boy Scout motto of “leaving things better than you found them.”  One of the most important and fulfilling ways an audiologist can improve the profession and live up to this motto is through volunteering.  I have had the pleasure of volunteering in several capacities with AVAA over the last few years and found these experiences to be very rewarding.  I am running for President of AVAA because of my desire to serve as an advocate for VA audiologists and the field of audiology.

Audiologists help people overcome communication barriers to improve their lives.  Communication is one of the most important aspects to developing and maintaining successful and productive relationships.  For AVAA to be as strong and effective as possible, members and leadership must communicate effectively and remain transparent.  Without this transparency, the organization will not fully meet the needs of its members.  As AVAA President, it would be my goal to facilitate feedback from all audiologists to the AVAA board to optimize communication, encourage transparency, and assure the membership that their leadership is representing them well. 

I believe that AVAA has a responsibility to not only serve all VA audiologists, but to also have a role in advocating for audiology on a national level.  In the last few years, our relationships with national organizations such as AAA and ASHA have improved greatly thanks to forward thinking leadership.  Strengthening these professional bonds will allow us to advocate with greater force on behalf of the VA and all audiologists to ensure that we are committed to serving the best interests of our profession and our patients.

We all have a role in growing and strengthening our profession.  Together we can leave our field much better than we found it not only for VA audiologists, but for all audiologists.  So far VA audiology and AVAA have been a positive force for the field of audiology; but we still have room to grow and to improve.  Most importantly we as audiologists have an understanding that no matter how much we achieve, we can do better today than yesterday, and we will be better tomorrow than we are today, if we work together.  I believe that improving communication, increasing member engagement, and continuing to serve as advocates for patients and audiologists will allow AVAA to continue to grow as a force for good in the world.”