Meet the Board

  • President: Kelly Ann Peña, M.S., CCC-SLP, CBIST

    Kelly Ann is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice at Rutgers University’s Masters in Speech and Language Pathology program. She is a trilingual (English/Spanish/ASL) Latina clinician who has a significant interest in neurogenic communication disorders in pediatric and adult populations, cognitive communication, clinical education, and interprofessional practice, in addition to the intersection between SLPs, social justice, and cultural responsivity. She has clinical experience working in various medical settings, such as NICU, PICU, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient rehabilitation with adults and pediatric populations, focusing on brain injury and cultural responsivity. She is excited to serve the Hispanic Caucus as President!

  • Vice President of Professional Practice: Paula V. Pineda, SLPD, CCC-SLP, TSSLD-BE

    Paula is a pediatric bilingual speech-language pathologist in NYC. She is the Chief Clinical Supervisor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is passionate about increasing representation in the field of CSD and working closely with graduate students to help them develop the tools and skills needed to feel confident when providing assessments and interventions to CLD populations. Her areas of interest include culturally and linguistically responsive practices in communication disorders, and using a family-centered and trauma-informed approach to interventions and assessments.

  • Vice President of Public Relations: Inéz C. Esparza, M.S., CF-SLP

    Inéz C. Esparza is a first-generation Mexican-American Speech-Language Pathologist. She is a passionate advocate for culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Her clinical interests are neonatal care, pediatric acute care, and pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders. She hopes to use her experiences to contribute ideas that can help support future multilingual and multicultural professionals and students in audiology and speech-language pathology.

  • Treasurer: Ivonne Maldonado De la Rosa, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers)

    Ivonne is an Assistant Professor at A.T. Still University’s Speech-Language Pathology Program. She is a Spanish-English bilingual with experience working with the pediatric and geriatric population in outpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facilities, private practice, and teletherapy. Her research areas of interest include bilingualism, feeding, swallowing disorders, and multicultural issues.

  • Editor: Yoseline Ramos MS, CCC-SLP

    Yoseline is a bilingual speech pathologist with 7 years of experience. Her interests include bilingualism, language disorders, and early intervention. She currently works as a part-time SLP and shares Spanish resources to support speech and language skills at home via YouTube and Instagram, Aprendiendo con Yosie.

  • Secretary: Ludy Arnin MS, CCC-SLP

    Ludmila “Ludy” Arin is a speech language pathologist in Gainesville, FL. She graduated from Cal State University of Northridge with my undergraduate and graduate degree in Communication Disorders. Her SLP career kicked off in Arizona where she completed her CF in a small hospital. She returned to Los Angeles in various settings all at the same time. The pandemic brought her to Florida and primarily works with Head and Neck CA patients. She is a certified medical interpreter at her hospital. She looks forward to serving on the board!

  • Undergraduate Student Representative: Alan Acevedo

    Alan is an undergraduate senior at CSULA. He began his undergraduate studies at the University of Houston. His interests include bilingualism, literacy, and language disorders. Alan is currently a Spanish tutor at the ELAC Language Lab. He hopes to be able to work abroad one day and collaborate with speech therapists in other countries. Alan is committed to increasing the number of bilingual SLPs and SLPAs across the nation. Alan plans on attending grad school in southern California or Texas.

  • Graduate Student Representative: Grecia Acevedo (she/her/hers)

    Grecia is an optimistic first-generation Mexican-American college student. She is a graduate of the SLP BS program at CSUSM. Her and her SLP research mentors are currently examining language disorder prevalence by comparing the juvenile justice system and the general population of adolescents in Southern California. This research addresses culturally and linguistically diverse population needs while advocating for individuals of lower socioeconomic status that face adversity.

  • Doctorate Student Representative: Salvador A. Núñez, MS, CCC-SLP

    Salvador is a bilingual speech-language pathologist with 17 years of experience working with students in public schools. He has worked with a variety of age groups, including early childhood, elementary, and middle school. Salvador is a founding member of the BRIDGE (Bilingual Response to Implement Dual Gap Evaluations) team for his school district and is involved in assessing culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students district-wide. Coming from a CLD background himself, he is passionate about ensuring that CLD students in the public education system are being assessed fairly and that their cultural and linguistic diversity is recognized as an asset rather than a hindrance or, worse, a disability. He is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology program at Rocky Mountain University.