Stephanie Utzman
Executive Director

Stephanie Utzman is a dedicated mother and advocate. She became an advocate the day her son Adler was born. At 32 weeks gestation, he had special medical needs that continue to this day. Through her experiences of advocating for access to augmentative communication for her son, she founded Adler’s Voice. 

With over two decades of management experience in both the legal and real estate fields, her professional career and educational background have prepared her for the path she has chosen to pursue. Stephanie is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Assistive Technology and is eager to help other families who are touched by a disability obtain the tools and education they need to become effective advocates. Stephanie is a certified Person Centered Plan Facilitator, a Council Member for the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities, and a 2012 Graduate of Oregon Partners in Policymaking.

Alexander Haberer
MA, Creative Director

Alexander Haberer studied history of art, philosophy, and German literature in Augsburg and Munich, Germany. He has always had a passion for type design and typography and has worked on many book typography and graphic design projects since his university days. Besides running his own studio for type development, font engineering and communication design, he has worked as lead font engineer and co-designer for Robert Strauch Type Design, most notably on the development of the new corporate typefaces for the BMW Group and the BMW automotive brand. When he is not working on type design projects, he is pursuing his doctorate in philosophy. The main interest of his research lies in the field of logic, hermeneutics, and the philosophy of language.

In 2015, he learned about Adler’s Voice and was so moved by the story and the mission of the program that he offered to share his knowledge and experience for further promoting the work of the organization. From that time on, he has collaborated with Stephanie on numerous projects for Adler’s Voice, such as streamlining the grant application process and creating a new application form, revising the design of the printed materials, and setting up the new learning management system for the online courses. In 2017, he started to develop a new brand identity for Adler’s Voice, created new designs for printed materials, and coded a custom template for the content management system underlying the new bilingual website of the organization. He is thankful for the opportunity to take part in the wonderful project of providing children with access to communication.

Jennifer Cruickshank
President

Jennifer Cruickshank has developed a deep passion for Adler’s Voice and the children and young adults it serves. She has witnessed the positive impact on the quality of life of the individuals who have been served through the educational programs, the emotional and professional support, and the AAC devices Adler’s Voice promotes and distributes – all without charge to these children and their families. Her background is in Education, Social Science, and Human Resources. Her most satisfying experiences have been working with non-profits in a service leadership role. She has worked with Migrant Seasonal Farmworker Programs, is Past President of a county-wide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has volunteered many hours in service to others. She believes in giving back and is humbled and blessed to work with such an incredible and passionate team of caring individuals who support the mission of Adler’s Voice.

Jennifer currently works for a large non-profit healthcare organization at the corporate level. She feels that her deep connections to her community will continue to be an asset to Adler’s Voice sustainability in the future, and she will work tirelessly to spread the news of its efforts. She is currently pursuing her MBA. She is a mother of four, a grandmother of seven, and her first love – both grandchild and child – is the little guy and his mom who inspired Adler’s Voice and brought it into existence: Adler and Stephanie.

Marlena Inghels-Bellavia
Secretary

Marlena Inghels-Bellavia earned a Master’s degree in Linguistics and Psychology and has worked as an educator ranging all grade levels. In 2005, she co-founded a home for vulnerable children in Zambia, Africa, where she spent ten years of her youth. Interested in and advocating for children and adults facing challenges, she is presently pursuing medical research on brain injuries and mental disorders for an educational program with the National Institutes of Health.

Over the last years, she has also been the sole caregiver for three family members who suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries, Stroke, and Cortico-Basal Degeneration and were severely affected by speech disabilities as consequence of those conditions. As a result she is very aware of the spectrum of issues related to the difficulties faced by speech limitations. After attending a fundraising event for Adler’s Voice, she wanted to join the efforts to provide children with access to communication assistance services.

Lucas Steuber
MA-T, MS, CCC-SLP, Board Member

Lucas Steuber is an applied linguist and speech-language pathologist based out of Portland, Oregon. In his capacity as researcher and clinician, Lucas has published on topics as diverse as language disorders in Schizophrenia to the importance of inclusive after-school programs. Lucas specializes in language and social thinking in pervasive developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and a main interest of his professional work lies in the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

In addition to evaluating and implementing AAC, he also serves as co-founder and development director of The Ignite Program, an extra- or co-curricular program for children of any learning profile that combines physical fitness, social cognition, and STEM academics. He is also honored to be the head of clinical research and development for Avaz, Inc., an AAC development firm that created an iOS and Mac app called FreeSpeech, which became the first-ever special education application recognized as the #1 Best New App by Apple and also won “Best of Show” at the Consumer Electronics Show in China in 2016. In addition, he serves on the External Affairs Committee for the Autism Society of Oregon, works in a strategic planning capacity for the Autism Society of America, and consults with many other AAC and educational technology companies in order to help them best serve children in need.

Alison Chapman
MS, CCC-SLP, Board Member

Alison Chapman has been a licensed speech-language pathologist since 2013. She has focused her career around working with children with diverse communication needs. She has high interest in using Alternative and Augmentative Communication to supplement and support speech and language impairments. Alison received her Master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Oregon. She has since worked in various settings to help support children in Central Oregon. She is currently a therapist at Sonos Neurotherapies in Bend, where she has joined with Adler’s Voice to promote AAC access for children in need.

Caroline Skidmore
MS, CCC-SLP, Grant Review Committee

Caroline Skidmore is a speech-language pathologist who began her clinical career in 1996. Caroline received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She holds a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology with an Early Childhood Special Education endorsement from the University of Oregon. She is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensed by the State of Oregon.

Caroline has focused her career exclusively on children. She has participated in a variety of post-graduate training programs including the Hanen Parent Training Program, PROMPT, Relationship Development Intervention, DIR/Floortime, Pivotal Response Training, and the Social Thinking Curriculum. She serves on the Advisory Board for Central Oregon Disability Support Network and the Grant Review Committee for Adler’s Voice.

Since 2002, Caroline has operated Skidmore Speech and Language Services, LLC, in Bend. Prior to starting her own practice, Caroline worked for the Hearing and Speech Institute/Artz Institute at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, and for the Clackamas County Early Intervention Program. Throughout her 20-year career, Caroline has enjoyed working closely with families and other professionals to provide a “whole child” treatment model.

Casey Collins
MA, CCC-SLP, Grant Review Committee

Casey Collins has been a speech-language pathologist since 2006. During graduate school, she focused on the areas of bilingual language learning in children and voice, cognition and swallowing disorders in adults. Upon completion of her graduate training in Boulder, Colorado, she moved to Peru to work for the Peace Corps for two years. She served as a Community Health volunteer in a rural village in northern Peru, providing speech therapy to children in addition to participating in nutrition, exercise and sanitation projects.

In 2008, Casey returned from Peru and began working in schools and hospitals on the east coast before eventually moving back to her hometown of Bend, Oregon. Prior to opening her own therapy practice, Sonos Neurotherapies, LLP, with her business partner Kristin Williamson in 2014, Casey worked for four years as the neonatal intensive care feeding therapist and bilingual speech and language therapist at St. Charles Health System in Bend.

Casey is proficient in the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders, pediatric feeding disorders, and language disorders affecting children who are learning two languages. She has completed research under the supervision of Dr. Lorrain Ramig who developed the widely used Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) and is certified in this therapy. She is also certified in the Lessac Madsen Resonant Voice Technique (LMRVT) for voice disorders and has suffered from and is passionately dedicated to the treatment of vocal cord dysfunction (VCD).

In her role as a Speech Pathologist, Casey has collaborated with Adler’s Voice to support AAC access for children in Central Oregon with a focus on children learning to use AAC for both Spanish and English communication.

Deb Hainisch
MS, CCC-SLP, Grant Review Committee

Deb Hainisch has been a licensed speech-language pathologist since 2007 and a volunteer on the Grand Review Committee for Adler’s Voice since 2012. She was born and raised in Minnesota and received her Master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University. In 2001, Deb moved to Oregon and worked as a school-based speech pathologist. After finding beautiful Bend, she transitioned to St. Charles Medical Center to work in an outpatient pediatric setting.

Claire Cereghino
MS, CCC-SLP, Grant Review Committee

Claire Cereghino is a practicing speech-language pathologist whose focus and passion is working with children with complex communication needs. She received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders followed by her Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She has worked in school settings, private practice, and hospitals, and now works providing services to children in rural Alaskan villages. She currently lives in Bend, Oregon.