UGA Pediatric Audiology Symposium
Saturday, September 19th, 2026
2026 Speakers:
Lisa Park, Au.D., CCC-A
Associate Professor
Division Chief for The Children’s Cochlear Implant Center, University of North Carolina (UNC)
Session 1: “Building Binaural Hearing in Children with Single-Sided Deafness (SSD)”
Session 2: “Earlier Than Ever: Pediatric Cochlear Implantation & New Expanded Guidelines”
Dr. Park is an Associate Professor and Division Chief of the Children’s Cochlear Implant (CI) Center at UNC. She has been part of the UNC pediatric CI team since 2006 and holds a Masters degree in Speech and Hearing from Washington University and a Doctorate in Audiology from the University of Florida. She has published and presented widely on clinical research focusing on expanding cochlear implant indications for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and optimizing outcomes for pediatric cochlear implant recipients.
Disclosures: Lisa Park’s research is funded by a grant provided to UNC from MED-EL corporation, and she co-chairs the Cochlear Implant (CI) PATH organization.
Ryan McCreery, Ph.D.
Vice President (VP) of Research and Director of the Audibility, Perception, and Cognition Laboratory at Boys Town National Research Hospital
Session 1: “Shaping Sound Futures: Best Practices in Pediatric Hearing Aid Fitting”
Session 2: “Beyond the Fitting: Tracking Real-World Outcomes for Kids with Hearing Aids”
Ryan McCreery is the Vice President of Research and Director of the Audibility, Perception, and Cognition Laboratory at Boys Town National Research Hospital. As VP of Research, Ryan provides direction for over 40 laboratories that aim to improve outcomes for children with communication, neurodevelopmental, or behavioral health challenges. Ryan’s research seeks to optimize hearing aid fitting for children with hearing loss.
Disclosures: None.
Melanie Morris, Au.D., CCC-A
Deputy Director of Child Health and Director of Screening and Referral Programs at Georgia Department of Public Health
Hearing-Related Updates in the State of Georgia: Policy, Screening, and Workforce
Melanie oversees early childhood screening programs including Newborn Screening, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, Children 1st, Safe Infant Sleep, and Autism Access and Innovation. With a background as a pediatric audiologist, Melanie has implemented innovative methods like mobile and tele-audiology to serve children and families across Georgia. She is passionate about providing services to under-served populations and promoting early intervention. Melanie's work focuses on improving accessibility to child health services, raising awareness about the importance of early intervention, and driving positive change in child health and well-being throughout the state.
Disclosures: None.
Huge thank you to Jason Cunningham Charitable Foundation (JCCF) for sponsoring 10 audiology student scholarships this year!
The UGA® Speech and Hearing Clinic is excited and proud to host this event!
The UGA Speech and Hearing Clinic is approved the American Academy of Audiology to offer Academy CEUs for this activity. The program is worth a maximum of 0.6 CEUs. Academy approval of this continuing education activity is based on course content only and does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedure, or adherence of the event to the Academy’s Code of Ethics. Any views that are presented are those of the presenter/CE Provider and not necessarily of the American Academy of Audiology.