Board of Directors

NCSHLA Board of Directors

The association is led by a group of committed audiology and speech-language professionals from across North Carolina elected by the membership. The board meets regularly throughout the year and at the association's Annual Convention. If you would like to attend one of the Board meetings, let us know by contacting [email protected].


PRESIDENT 
Erica Altamirano, MS, CCC-SLP
Charlotte

Erica Altamirano is originally from Marion, NC and completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Appalachian State University. She has worked in the North Carolina public school system and clinical settings since 2014. She previously served NCSHLA as VP of Public Relations and University Affairs. She has provided services to all age ranges with special interests in complex communication needs, AAC, and neurodiversity-affirming therapy and she is a two-time ASHA Award for Continuing Education recipient. Erica currently works for Cabarrus County Schools. She currently resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband and two dogs.

 

 

PAST PRESIDENT
Jordan Lupton, MS, CCC-SLP
Thomasville

Jordan Lupton received undergraduate degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill in Linguistics and Spanish, and her Masters in Speech and Hearing Sciences from UNC-CH in 2006. She has worked as a school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) for 14 years and has experience working with children from ages 3 to 21. After 12 years of working for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Jordan and her family moved back home to Thomasville in 2018, where she now works for Davidson County Schools and serves Pre-K through 5th grade students. Her interest areas include facilitating functional communication in young children with autism and cognitive disabilities, teaching and using augmentative/alternative communication, collaborative teaming with other professionals, and literacy and language development. Jordan has served NCSHLA in various roles since 2006, including VP of Public Relations and University Affairs (2019-2020), Secretary to the Board (2018-2019), and 2018 Convention Chair. When she is not wearing her SLP hat, Jordan loves hanging out with her husband, Jonathan, and their two awesome kids.

 

PRESIDENT ELECT
Kellyn Hall, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Durham
Kellyn Dailey Hall, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is a teacher, clinician, researcher, and author with over 30 years’ experience working in a variety of academic and medical settings. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at NC Central University, where she teaches the research courses and directs student capstone projects in addition to teaching courses in dysphagia, voice, and fluency. Her clinical and research interests are in healthy aging, culture considerations in dysphagia, and telepractice. She is also the ASHA State Advocate for Medicare Policy for North Carolina.
VP OF AUDIOLOGY
Deb Culbertson, Ph.D, CCC-A
Greenville

Deb Culbertson is a Clinical Professor of Audiology at East Carolina University. Her primary practice, teaching and interest areas relate to auditory rehabilitation and include communication strategies use, assistive listening devices, auditory training and counseling. She has taught and practiced in these areas for over 25 years. Currently, she is finishing a term as Coordinator of the ASHA Special Interest Group 7 Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation. While at her previous position in Virginia, she served a term as Vice President of Audiology for the Speech and Hearing Association of Virginia.

 

VP OF GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
Sarah Furlong, MA, CCC-SLP
Raleigh
Sarah (Walker) Furlong received her undergraduate degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University in Organizational Communication and Ministry Leadership. She then completed a post-baccalaureate in Communication Disorders and received her Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from Central Michigan University. Sarah has worked as a school-based speech-language pathologist for the past 7 years working for Kinetic Physical Therapy & Wellness in Edgecombe County Public Schools and Johnston County Public Schools. Sarah currently serves as the ASHA State Education Advocacy Leader (SEAL) for North Carolina, Assistant Team Lead for the Johnston County Public Schools Kinetic Team, and is a two-time ASHA ACE Award recipient. Her interest areas include special education policy, clinical supervision, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Sarah currently resides in Raleigh, NC and has been a member of NCSHLA since 2016.
VP OF FINANCE
Rachel Meinel, MA, CCC-SLP
Rachel received her Master’s Degree at UNC-Greensboro where she worked as a research assistant in a lab studying attention in Autistic Children. This sparked an interest in becoming a neurodivergent-affirming clinician. Additional areas of interest include articulation/phonology and building communication skills with young students and their community members. Rachel currently works for Durham Public Schools and enjoys working with her diverse caseload. When she isn’t working, she enjoys reading, running, snuggling with her dog, and traveling. Rachel has participated in the Finance Committee for 4 years and is looking forward to serving the association and learning how to help fill the needs of the professional community.

VP OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
Dawn Botts, Ed.D, CCC-SLP
Boone

Dawn Botts has served as a speech-language pathologist for over thirty years and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Health Sciences at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Her experience includes teaching academic and clinical courses in assessment, speech sound disorders, and language learning disabilities. Dawn conducts research and publishes in the areas of language and literacy and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

 
VP OF MEMBERSHIP
Carley Prenshaw, MDiv, MS, CCC-SLP
Hillsborough
Carley received a BA from Pfeiffer University, an MDiv from Duke University, and an MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from East Carolina University. Carley currently works for UNC Health as an acute care SLP and is the owner of Dogwood Speech and Swallowing. She has been a speech-language pathologist for five years and is a two-time ASHA Ace Award recipient. Her interest areas include swallowing, end of life, dementia, memory, aphasia, ethics, and clinical supervision. She currently resides in Hillsborough with her husband and two children.
VP OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS
Emily Hornback, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
Boone

Emily Hornback is originally from Mount Holly, NC, and now lives in Boone with her family. Emily attended college at Appalachian State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. After working in a skilled nursing facility for four years, Emily returned to ASU as a clinical educator in 2016. Emily specializes in the treatment of adults and geriatrics and is Board Certified in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Emily enjoys being active with NCSHLA, NCASSPA, and the Medical SLP Collective. Emily’s interests include being her family, reading a good book, enjoying the mountain air, and learning to be a new mom to her daughter, Eliza.