About Your Board Members

I am extremely honored to serve as the 2018 President of this Academy. I have been a part of the board for the past 8 years and have seen firsthand the efforts FLAA supports for the State of Florida Audiologists and the patients we serve. I have also gotten to know many of you and am always impressed with the dedication, talent, and love for Audiology that everyone in this state has! I hope to continue to keep this Academy moving in the right direction! For those of you that don’t know me I can be found at the University of South Florida Hearing Clinic where I serve as a clinical instructor and the hearing clinic director. I enjoy teaching future Audiologists and serving those with hearing and vestibular disorders in the greater Tampa community. I also am actively involved in both ASHA and AAA where I serve respectively on the Task Force looking at 4th year externship improvements and the Ethics Committee.

I am thrilled to be serving as the President-Elect for the Florida Academy of Audiology. As the previous VP of Communications, I have had the opportunity to work with fellow board members and many of you from around the state. It has been an honor to work by your side and I look forward to increasing the engagement of all our members. It is only through teamwork and the selfless efforts of numerous individuals that we will continue to achieve our common goals and move our Academy in the right direction. I am currently the Director of the University of Miami Children’s Hearing Program and have a strong passion for improving the lives of children with hearing loss in the state of Florida. I am a past president of the Student Academy of Audiology, sit on several committees for the American Academy of Audiology (AAA), and am currently nominated for the 2018 -2019 AAA Board of Directors. Outside of work, I love running, biking, snowboarding, and spending time with family and friends!

I am excited to serve as the FLAA Treasurer for 2018. This is my second year on the FLAA Board serving as the Treasurer. We have an amazing group of Audiologists in our organization, and I am proud to be a part of it. I am a clinical instructor at University of South Florida where I see all ages from birth to the elderly diagnosing hearing loss and APD and rehabilitating with cochlear implants and hearing aids. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and training our students to ensure we have knowledgeable, well-skilled, caring future audiologists.

I am currently serving as the Secretary for the Florida Academy of Audiology and have served on the Board since 2016. I currently work as an Assistant Professor and clinical audiologist at the University of Miami Ear Institute. At our clinic, I serve as the Pediatric Clinical Lead for the University of Miami Children’s Hearing Program and enjoy seeing pediatric patients for diagnostic testing, hearing aids, bone anchored devices, and vestibular assessments. I am active on multiple committees within the American Academy of Audiology and have worked closely with the Student Academy of Audiology as well. I am very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to our state Academy and serving the audiologists and patients of Florida!

Dr. Courtney Oliszewski is the Clinical Coordinator of Audiology at Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital (JHACH). She is responsible for the clinical protocols, education, and quality of clinical Audiology services at JHACH. This includes inpatient Audiology, Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) under anesthesia, the newborn hearing screening program serving a 90+ bed, Level IV NICU, and outpatient diagnostic and habilitation/rehabilitation Audiology services at the main hospital, as well as, 6 outreach locations throughout the Tampa Bay area. She has 14 years of experience at JHACH where she also serves as the co-chair of the Hospital Wellness Committee. She is a member of the State Relations Committee and Radiologic Imaging Task Force for AAA for 2018. She obtained her Au.D. from Gallaudet University where she was awarded 2 academic scholarships, one of the first pediatric focus grants and the excellence in writing research award for graduate education. She was raised in Florida and graduated with honors from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) prior to her graduate education at which time she also had the unique opportunity to work as a sign language interpreter in the public and private education sectors. She is passionate in her work with children and loves the opportunity to learn, empower, and educate. In addition to serving, supporting and engaging her incredible team of 20 Pediatric Audiologists, she is most proud to be a wife and mom of two girls, and is also a marathon and triathlon finisher.

Dr. Rachele M. Orsini, Au.D. has been an active member of the Audiology Community in Florida since 2004. She received her undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in 2000. She then moved to Florida where she attended the University of South Florida and received her Doctorate of Audiology degree in 2004. She is licensed by the State of Florida Department of Health Division and Medical Quality Assurance. Dr. Orsini spent eight years working for a retail hearing aid company before she joined Starkey in 2012. She currently serves as the Central Florida Field Sales Representative for Starkey and resides in Tampa. She is also sitting on the board of the Florida Academy of Audiology as the Membership Chair. In her spare time she enjoys dining out at new restaurants, trying new wines, antique shopping, and spending time with her friends and family.

Barry A. Freeman, Ph.D. is Vice President of ZPower Battery, LLC, the leading manufacturer of silver zinc rechargeable batteries for hearing aids. Dr. Freeman was founding Chair of the Audiology Department and a Professor of Audiology at Nova Southeastern University. He continues to maintain adjunct appointments and teach at several audiology programs including the U. So. Florida. Before returning to academia in 1997, Dr. Freeman owned and practiced for twenty years at the Center for Audiology in Clarksville, TN. Dr. Freeman earned his Bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Boston University School of Management and completed his doctorate in Hearing and Speech Science from Michigan State University. He is a past-president of the American Academy of Audiology and served on the Academy’s Board of Directors for six years. He continues to serve on professional boards including VP for Professional Activities for the Florida Academy of Audiology. He received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Academy in 2006.

I am so pleased to continue my service to the Florida Academy of Audiology and the Audiologists of the state of Florida as the Past President of FLAA. I have been a member of FLAA since 2008 and began serving on the Board of Directors in 2010. I am a Clinical Assistant Professor of Audiology at the University of Florida where I specialize in pediatric diagnostics and amplification, electrophysiology, and Auditory Processing Disorder assessments and management. I am also pleased to be a clinical preceptor for our Doctor of Audiology students working to develop their skills as they become the next generation of Audiologists. I am an active member of AAA and serve on the Public Relations committee. Over the years I have had the opportunity to expand my knowledge, forge new personal and professional relationships, and see firsthand the impact that our members can have on our profession and our patients as a result of the work through our Academy. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve the Florida Academy of Audiology, our members, and Audiologists throughout the state of Florida.