Staff - Better Speech & Swallow Corp.

Meet the Better Speech & Swallow Staff

Karen J. Sowers,
Speech Pathologist and founder of Better Speech and Swallow Corporation

Karen J. Sowers, M.S. CCC-SLP received her Masters of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Towson University in 1993. Initially starting her career in Skilled Nursing and Sub-acute care, she established a firm foundation and passion for the treatment of swallowing disorders. Karen subcontracted for Maryland Neuro-Rehab Foundation working with head injury and strokes clients prior to coming to work in Acute Care at the beginning of 2000. Gaining acute care experience, including Modified Barium Swallow proficiency in Radiology and multi-complex care in ICU, she took this knowledge and began mentoring and instructing less experienced clinicians and student speech therapists. Most recently, prior to founding her own company, Karen managed the Rehabilitation Department for Frederick Memorial Hospital including inpatient, the sub-acute unit and campus outpatient program. During this time she has gained certification in both DPNS (Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation) and Vital Stim, both used in the treatment of swallowing disorders. Karen not only has worked in the Frederick area for over 10 years, she is also a local resident. When not at work she enjoys spending time with her husband and 4 children.

Carrie Pollock, M.S., CCC-SLP

Carrie received a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Psychology from Towson University in 2002 and a M.S. degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Towson University in 2004. She started her career in Montgomery County Public Schools working with preschool and elementary school students with a variety of communication disorders. She also provided language enrichment to preschool children from economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse families. Carrie has a strong interest in medical speech-language pathology and enjoys working with patients with neurogenic communication disorders. She is enthusiastic about her profession and believes in lifelong learning. When not working, Carrie enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.

Dalia Frider, MSc, CCC SLP (Photo to come!)

Dalia graduated with a MSc. Degree from State University College of NY at Buffalo in 1979. Prior to studying Speech /Language Pathology, she was an elementary school teacher for 6 years, experience that contributed greatly in remediation and intervention as a SLP. Students and patients were benefited by Dalia's ability to present questions, assess and modify and reinforcing behavior. These skills were applied and utilized during her work as a clinical supervisor, at 3 graduate university programs.

For the last 13 years, Dalia's clinical focus shifted onto assessing and treating geriatric population, with insight and knowledge acquired through years of practicing and teaching the assets of intervention.
She was recognized at the Who and Who’s among Human services (1986-7) and Who’s in American Education (1989). In addition she presented in conferences in the US, and in Japan, and was quoted in multiple news papers.

Jennifer M. Ryder, M.A. CCC –SLP (Photo to come!)

Jennifer received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the George Washington University Columbia School of the Arts. As a speech-language pathologist her clinical and research interests are in adult and pediatric acquired neurogenic communication disorders.

Ms. Ryder’s clinical training included internships at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) and Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC. She worked for 10 years at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, primarily providing services to patients on the brain injury unit, but also spent time providing treatment to cardiac, stroke, musculoskeletal, spinal cord injury, and pediatric patients. She has provided home health SLP services through the Visiting Nurse’s Association and acute care SLP services with Washington Adventist Hospital. She currently works half time at the National Institutes of Health Rehabilitation Medicine Department. She has presented numerous times in multiple formats on the topic of Ethics in Rehabilitation and on treating speech, language, cognition, and swallowing with low level traumatic brain injury patients.

Faye Wade (Photo to come!)

Education: Bachelor of Science in Speech and Audiology, West Virginia University, 1989
Master of Science in Speech Pathology, Towson State University, 1991

Faye has worked in a variety of settings including Outpatient, Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Private Clinic, Assisted Living and Long Term Care. She has had 10 years of management experience with supporting Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists in building of rehab programs in the long term care and outpatient settings. She has been successful in building of rehab programs that focused on higher outcomes for the patients using a teamwork approach. Her clinical experience has been with neurological patients including TBI and Stroke, ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. She does excellent work with retraining of swallowing, language and voice skills which has facilitated great success of returning patients back into the community. She has demonstrated 17 years of experience that has been and will continue to be a strong advocate in therapy programs to build patients independence.

Michelle D’Ambrosio (Photo to come!)

Michelle Meleady-D’Ambrosio, Speech Language Pathologist, received her Masters of Science in 1990 from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland. Michelle completed her Certificate of Clinical competence in 1991 working for Easter Seals. Here she focused on providing vocational rehabilitation training to adult Traumatic Brain Injury patients as well as providing early language skills to Head Start children in inner city Baltimore.

After the Easter Seals Chapter closed in Baltimore she went on to work for Maryland Medical Rehabilitation Services {MRSS} and Health Care Rehab Services, {HRS} two sister contract companies providing rehabilitation services to Skilled Nursing Facilities. During this time she focused her training on adult geriatric care, providing, speech language services for a variety of neurological diagnosis, including therapy for stroke survivors, dysphagia/ swallowing disorders, trach and vent, Alzheimer, Dementia and Parkinson’s patients.

She was promoted to a Rehab Director for Speech Services and managed the clinical and financial outcomes for more than 15 skilled nursing facilities. She furthered her training and in 1994 became certified to perform Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing {FEES}. In 1995 these companies were bought by Genesis and until 2000 Michelle worked as a Rehab Director and Program Manager Specialist. In these roles her responsibilities continued to include direct care for SNF patients, managing clinical services for Physical, Occupational and Speech therapist in the Western Md. district. She also was responsible for assisting the clinical growth of therapist, providing continued education classes to a variety of allied health professionals in the area. Michelle was responsible for assisting with the development and implementation of the Bedside Evaluation Swallowing Test {BEST}.

In 2001 to present Michelle has worked as an independent contractor specializing with the remediation of disorders associated with cerebral vascular accidents (CVA/stroke} Alzheimer, and Dementia patients. Outside of work Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband, 3 children and church family. She also is dedicated to volunteering at the Carroll County Prison Ministry and Karis House, a women and children homeless shelter in Baltimore Maryland.

Kym Dixon, M.S., CCC/SLP, CBIS

Kymberli A Dixon, M.S.,CCC/SLP,CBIS received her Masters of Science degree from Loyola College in 1994. She gained a firm foundation in medical speech-language pathology by spending the first seven years of her career in the acutecare and home health settings. From 1999-2001 she served as a clinical coordinator for specialized diagnostic and assessment clinics at an area hospital, assisting in the coordination of various clinics, such as the MS society sanctioned MS clinic. It was in those settings that she developed her passion for differential diagnosis and provision of patient and family education.

Since 2001, Kymberli has worked in the outpatient rehabilitation setting, providing assessment and treatment of speech, language, cognition and swallowing disorders for a variety of neurologic impairments. She has specific interest in traumatic brain injury, stroke and degenerative diseases such as ALS. She has been certified by the American Academy for the Certification of Brain Injury Specialists since 2003. She is also certified to use Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation for swallowing, and the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment program.

Additionally, she spends much of her time evaluating and treating children with speech-language disorders. She specifically enjoys working with families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and is trained in the use of the Affect Based Language Curriculum.

When she is not working, Kymberli enjoys spending time with her husband and son, reading, cooking and watching the Food Network.

Marna Fisher, M.S., CCC-SLP

Marna completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Hearing and Speech Sciences in 2001 at University of Maryland, College Park, and completed her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 2004 at James Madison University.

Her clinical experience includes graduate internships at Shock Trauma in Baltimore and Winchester Medical Center and professional experience at skilled nursing/ sub-acute rehab facilities. She currently works on the Brain Injury Unit at Kernan Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Hospital, specializing in treatment of dysphagia, tracheostomy management, and cognitive and communication disorders. Marna is proficient in MBS (Modified Barium Swallow studies), is a certified provider of Vital Stim (neuro-muscular stimulation for the improvement of swallowing) and is the coordinator of Kernan’s Coma Emergence Program. She has lectured at local conferences on the topics of interdisciplinary rehab approach and disorders of consciousness following brain injury.

In her free time, Marna enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, Don and her Labrador retriever, Oscar.