In April of 2011, at the Adler Aphasia Center in Maywood, NJ, Elaine and Mike Adler with then CEO Karen Tucker and Director of Research Dr. Audrey Holland invited aphasia leaders from 15 US cities, two Canadian provinces, and Israel to explore what these LPAA leaders might accomplish if they worked toward a common dream.
In April of 2013, the same professionals gathered at the Aphasia Center of West Texas in Midland, TX. After two days of presentations and exploration, the vote was taken, and Aphasia Access was born. Dr. Audrey Holland contributed the first official donation. The founders established a clear vision – creation of a membership association for professionals to share LPAA education and related research, as well as sound governance, fundraising and marketing practices. From metropolitan cities to rural communities, the founders imagined a readily accessible web of quality LPAA providers across North America.
The ACWT board and E.D. Kitty Binek volunteered to allow Aphasia Access to use ACWT’s nonprofit status while serving as fiscal agent and obtaining Certificate of Formation in Texas. Aphasia Access achieved 501(c)3 status in May of 2014. In January of 2014, strategic planning took place in Santa Fe, NM with founding board president Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie, President-elect Kathryn Shelley, Secretary-Treasurer Karen Tucker, and At-large members Dr. Roberta Elman and Dr. Audrey Holland. Roberta Elman drafted the by-laws and application for tax exemption. Kathryn Shelley created the first business plan and grant proposals. Believing in the national potential, Midland’s Abell-Hanger Foundation awarded the new organization a 3-year capacity-building matching grant of $60,000. In March of 2015, with thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Hoover and Boston University, Aphasia Access formally launched with its inaugural Leadership Summit.
Left to right – (Row 1) Karen Tucker/Adler Aphasia Center NJ; Darla Hagge/St Jude Medical Center, Fullerton CA; Ruth Fink/ Moss Rehab Aphasia Center, Philadelphia PA; Elizabeth Hoover/Aphasia Resource Center, Boston University; Wendy Greenspan/ Adler Aphasia Center, Maywood NJ; Sandy Glista/Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI; Audrey Holland/Adler Aphasia Center and consultant, Tucson, AZ
(Row 2) Denise McCall/SCALE Baltimore, MD; Fabi Hirsch/Aphasia Center of Tucson, Tucson, AZ; Darlene Williamson/Stroke Comeback Center, Vienna, VA; Rita Justice/HARC, Houston, TX; Allison Hay/HARC, Houston, TX; Nina Simmons-Mackie/Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA; Melissa Richman/Stroke Comeback Center, Vienna, VA; Beth Crawford/Aphasia Center West Texas, Midland, TX; Maura Silverman/TAP, Raleigh-Durham, NC; Candice Vickers/St. Jude Medical Center/ Fullerton, CA
(Row 3) Janet Whiteside/Aphasia House at University of Florida, Orlando, FL; Stephanie Schmadeke/HARC, Houston, TX; Roberta Elman/Aphasia Center of California, Oakland, CA; Kitty Binek/Aphasia Center West Texas, Midland, TX; Linda Wozniak/Dalhousie Aphasia Clinic, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada, Kathryn Shelley/Aphasia Center West Texas, Midland, TX
Dr. Audrey Holland giving opening remarks with Dr. Elizabeth Hoover and Jerry Kaplan at the inaugural Leadership Summit at Boston University, 2015.