![wsn-logo-blue-yellow[1]_edited.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/40a7c3_d46c5c0f99344f44ae48fc0e3aa8d3b4~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_160,h_45,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/wsn-logo-blue-yellow%5B1%5D_edited.png){kind=logo}
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Committed to the Cause
TOM SCHARSTEIN
Chairman
Tom Scharstein is an entrepreneur and person who stutters from South Florida, USA. Involved in stuttering support for over 23 years, he served on the NSA Board of Directors. Adult Chapters experienced an unparalleled period of growth with his oversight. The dream of bringing together world support group leaders began to emerge. Connect. Share information. Get more done. August 2020 saw the birth of the WSN with one main concept, "Better Together."
TRICIA HEDINGER
Program Development Chair & Vice Chair
Tricia Hedinger, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-F is a clinical associate professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Knoxville, TN. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Fluency Disorders and has been a support group leader since 2013. Ms. Hedinger has published multiple articles related to stuttering, presented at national & international conferences, and co-authored a book titled "Bullyblossom: A Tale of Overcoming Bullies & Embracing Stuttering to Live a Life of Achievement." She focuses on the anti-bully movement in schools and is host of the "Stutter Stories" podcast.
MARVIN WILEY JR.
Online Event Chair & Treasurer
For numerous years, Marvin Wiley Jr. struggled with his stutter, which led him to avoid social interactions. At the age of 23, he birthed a belief that he could work towards developing himself into a more confident speaker. Inspired from his college public speaking course, he became a Toastmaster in 2013. He strives to bring the stuttering world together. We are all in it together. Marvin Wiley Jr. is is the creator & host of Stutter Block Party, a virtual hangout with a mix of breakout rooms designed specifically for people who stutter. He also serves as a Regional Chapter Coordinator for the NSA. Some of Marvin's other passions are video production and golf.
GERALD MAGUIRE, MD
Chair of Research & Development
Gerald A. Maguire, MD, (Jerry) Professor and Founding Chair in Psychiatry at American University of Health Sciences School of Medicine in Signal Hill, California and serves as the Chair and Director of Residency Training in Psychiatry at College Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Dr. Maguire earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of California, Davis in 1987, and his medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1991. He carried out his residency in Psychiatry at UC Irvine from 1991 to 1995, where he was Chief Resident his final year and later served on faculty for 20 years. Dr. Maguire served as residency training director and Sr. Associate Dean of Medical Education at UC Irvine during his tenure. Dr. Maguire also served as the Founding Chair of Psychiatry at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine from 2014-2021.
Dr. Maguire is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (DFAPA) and is a member of the American College of Psychiatrists. Dr. Maguire is very active in the stuttering support community, having joined the NSP (NSA) as a student nearly 40 years ago and later serving on its board of directors for eight years, including four years as chair. Dr. Maguire has also served as Vice Chair of the International Stuttering Association and is proud to serve on the board of the World Stuttering Network.
As a person who stutters, Jerry set forth on his mission to become a physician to understand how best to assist his stuttering community. Dr. Maguire has authored over 80 publications (journal articles, books and book chapters) and has delivered hundreds of invited presentations throughout the world on topics related to the neurologic understanding of stuttering and its resultant, comprehensive, interdisciplinary treatments. Dr. Maguire is currently leading trials of pharmacologic treatments such as gemlapodect (NOE-105) and other therapies for the treatment of childhood onset fluency disorder (stuttering.)
NATHAN MALLIPEDDI
International Advocacy Chair
Nathan graduated summa cum laude with honors from UCLA in June, where he received a B.S in Biology and B.A in Political Science. He is a Junior-elect to Phi Beta Kappa and a Fulbright Scholar. Nathan is founder and CEO of Stuttering Scholarship Alliance, a non-profit organization that tackles a critical issue in the field of speech therapy regarding its lack of access to low income communities. He also serves on leadership teams for several international speech disability awareness organizations. Nathan has conducted both cell biology and public policy research at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he published his work in top journals. As the senior policy intern for the City of Los Angeles Department on Disability, Nathan developed transformative public policy initiatives that created jobs for the thousands of unemployed or homeless persons with disabilities in Los Angeles. Nathan aspires to a career as a physician-researcher-policymaker focusing on improving the quality of care and reducing the disparities for disabled persons in healthcare systems. He currently attends Harvard University pursuing a medical degree in addition to a Master's in Business Administration from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.
FARAH AL QAISSEH
UAE Development Chair
Farah Al Qaisseh is a mother of 3 boys, an award-winning entrepreneur, and a consulting hypnotist. Farah holds a Bachelors of Finance from Zayed University.
Farah launched Stutter UAE in 2013 to raise awareness and support people who stutter through various workshops and events. Farah was featured in a book chapter titled "Game Changers: How Women in the Arab World are Changing the Rules and Shaping the Future." She was one of the recipients of the Abu Dhabi Award, the highest civilian medal granted by the Emirates for her positive impact in the community.
In 2020, Farah partnered with Portugal and launched the iStutter Center, an online speech therapy center focusing on treatment for PWS.
SIGRÍÐUR FOSSBERG
Women & Diversity Advocacy Chair
Sigríður, originally from Iceland and currently residing in Kiruna, Northern Sweden, will be graduating with a masters in adult education in 2021. She is an avid fighter for human rights, has a fondness for languages and is interested in different cultures, views, and politics. Sigríður has served as the chair of Málbjörg, the Icelandic Stuttering Association for the last few years. In 2019 she joined the International Stuttering Association’s board of directors. Sigríður is currently involved in Swedish and transnational projects, revolving around education, awareness and accessibility for people who stutter. Sigridur has found peer to peer meetings to be at the heart of any stuttering association. She believes that providing support for peer-to-peer meetings, will help stuttering associations grow and vice versa. An open and supportive community is key.
ROBERT O'BRIEN
Robert began stuttering at the age of eight and that was to shape his personal and professional life into adulthood. He holds a Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) from Trinity College Dublin along with a National Higher Diploma (NHD) in Television Performance and Presentation from Ballyfermot College of Further Education. During his academic studies, Robert’s goal was to overcome his stutter. This was to lead him to Canada where he attended the Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked as an English teacher to foreign students. As he has matured, his attitude about his speech has changed from one of conquering to acceptance.
Robert published his memoir ‘Just One More Drive: The true story of a stuttering homosexual and his race car’ with Tidewater Press in 2017. In this book, he describes his journey through life as a gay man with a stutter and it has helped him become an award winning public speaker with Toastmasters International. He has appeared in various podcasts, radio and television shows as well as giving workshops with the National Stuttering Association and Canadian Stuttering Association. He speaks on topics around mindset, resilience, stuttering and LGBTQ+ issues. In addition, Robert co-instructs an acting course that brings improvisation skills to people who stutter called ‘The UnBlockables’ in collaboration with Tightrope Theatre and Columbia Speech and Language Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia.
His ultimate message is that there is nothing to fix around our stutters, rather it is about forming a healthy relationship with our speech, as opposed to being defined by it.
JAMIE GOOGAN
EUROPEAN UNION DEVELOPMENT CHAIR
Jamie started to stutter in early childhood. He is a former National Champion in Tae Kwon Do and a proud member of the Irish Stuttering Community. Having struggled with the challenges of stuttering for almost twenty years, Jamie reached out and asked for help. Speaking powerfully now, Jamie has transformed himself and actively advocates for Stuttering and Mental Well-being Awareness. During his time working at Munster Technological University, Jamie set up the first mental health initiative for twenty-two secondary schools in the Cork community. Jamie is the author of "Access The Students Voice" and is often featured on radio and TV promoting Stuttering Awareness and Mental Wellbeing issues. Jamie has represented the Irish community all over the world and has addressed Irelands highest ranking members in the political sector on stuttering.
YOSHIKAZU KIKUCHI, MD, PHD
JAPANESE DEVELOPMENT CHAIR
Yoshikazu Kikuchi. MD, PhD is a Japanese doctor who stutters and has been a member of a stuttering self-help group for 20 years. Dr. Kikuchi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology in the Graduate School of Medicine at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. He has an M.D. in magnetoencephalography of hearing in people who stutter. His interests include brain research, drug research, social anxiety disorder, employment support, anti-bullying, and parent support, etc. He will be in Southern California for 6 months starting in October 2022 to work with Dr. Gerald Maguire.
EMMANUEL ADDO
African Development Chair
The passion to understand all about stammering made Emmanuel Kwaku Addo to join a national support group for Persons Who Stammer (PWS) and later get trained as a Speech and Language Therapist in Ghana. He holds monthly support meetings called African Connections for connecting PWS and their allies across Africa. He is passionate and relentless in his quest to support PWS wherever they may be.
He is currently studying for his PhD under the mentorship of a renowned fluency researcher (Dr. Rodney Gabel) and he aspires to be one of the leaders in stuttering research and support groups in Africa. He is the President of the Ghana Stammering Association.
AASHIMA GOGIA
Indian Development Chair
Aashima is making a difference for women who stutter across India. Her goal is to provide a safe platform where women who stutter can learn strategies to improve their verbal and nonverbal communication. Responsible for the "Shenomics" project in Lead Like A Girl, she strives to ensure stuttering does not hinder personal and professional communication.
LIELE NETSANET, MD
Women in Leadership Chair
Dr. Netsanet is the Founder and CEO of GainHopes in Ethiopia. Gainhopes is a visionary non-profit organization founded in 2021 with a profound mission to foster young leaders and empower women. She firmly believes in the power of integrity, insight, and inclusiveness as fundamental pillars for nurturing outstanding leaders capable of catalyzing transformative change in our world. She brings her vision to the WSN to help empower women who stutter.
ARISSA OKUMURA
Innovation Development Chair
Arissa is a stuttering advocate in Japan. She has run a pop-up coffee shop called Slow Order Cafe since August 2021. She recruits young people who stutter to serve as staff in the shop. The cafe does not have a set location so that she can travel around Japan to reach people who stutter far and wide. She supports those who have dreamt of working with the public but were deterred due to their speaking difficulties. Arissa assists PWS in regaining confidence to pursue their dreams.
KALA RAMACHANDRAN
Adventure Chair
Kala developed blocks in my speech at the age of 9. Life was extremely hard and she had no one to speak to about her stammer. She tried a different way to speak and eventually became a covert stammerer. Being a woman and from a minority background is even more challenging. She manages her stammer and has gained confidence by hiking, trekking, climbing trips. She has climbed Mount Everest! Having a hope, faith and belief can change our mindset for self-growth.