Meet the team

The Discipline’s teaching and research team is rapidly growing, and welcomes leading Speech Pathology academics across the fields of child speech and language, augmentative and alternative communication, acquired communication disability, voice, stuttering, and swallowing. 

Professor Bronwyn Hemsley, Head of Discipline

The Discipline is headed up by Professor Bronwyn Hemsley who has 30 years’ speech pathology clinical experience. Her main area of clinical and research interest relates to people with communication disability or swallowing difficulty and their communication in healthcare settings, safety in hospital or at home, and use of communication technologies for participation and inclusion. Much of her work also relates to promoting communication rights, reviewing research to inform evidence-based practice, countering pseudoscience, and advocating for people who use augmentative and alternative communication to access their communication rights.

Associate Professor Emma Power

Associate Professor Power is a speech pathologist and researcher in neurogenic cognitive-communication disorders, knowledge translation, and evidence-based practice. Her research aims to improve the ability of people with communication disability following stroke, brain injury and dementia to successfully participate in everyday life situations. She comes to GSH most recently from the University of Sydney where she was Senior Lecturer in speech pathology, recognised for her excellence in teaching and research and substantial contributions to industry in the field of aphasia.

Dr Amy Freeman-Sanderson, Senior Lecturer

Dr Freeman-Sanderson is a speech pathologist and clinical researcher in the field of speech pathology, specifically acute medical research and the hospital Intensive Care Unit. Before coming to GSH, Amy worked as a leading speech pathologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. Dr Freeman-Sanderson is known internationally for her expertise with critically ill patients, and their communication, speech, voice, and swallowing disorders and treatment.

Ms Helen Blake, Lecturer

Ms Blake is a speech pathologist with a special research and clinical interest in speech and intelligibility. She is in the final stages of her PhD under the supervision of Professor Sharynne McLeod, with research relating to speech intelligibility in multilingual speakers. Helen has extensive experience as a clinical educator, most recently at The University of Newcastle, NSW, where she managed an intelligibility clinic for adults.

Dr Catherine Gregory, Lecturer

Dr Gregory is a speech pathologist with a special research and clinical interest in voice, and a PhD in Neurophysiology from Imperial College London. Her achievements in research and its presentation were recognised in receiving sponsorship in 2004 by Deutsche Bank, Australia, as an “up and coming” young scientist and being awarded “Australian Biophysicist of the Year” by the Australian Biophysical Society in 2006. Catherine completed a Master in Speech Pathology with 1st class honours in 2011. Since then she has worked as a clinical speech pathologist in several hospitals across New South Wales, providing evidence-based assessment and management of voice, swallowing, and communication with outpatient rehabilitation patients and with acute inpatients.

Dr Lucy Bryant

Dr Bryant is a speech pathologist and researcher with a special interest in language, and the integration of technology in the future of speech pathology practice. Her research investigates the assessment of language and functional communication using computer technology, and more recently focuses on the use of new technologies, particularly virtual reality, in the assessment and management of people with acquired language disorders. Dr Bryant’s previous roles have included paediatric speech pathologist in community health and private practice settings, and research and teaching assistance at the University of Newcastle, NSW.

Courtney Reddacliff

Courtney Reddacliff is a Certified Practing Speech Pathologist and Associate Lecturer in the Master of Speech Pathology at UTS. She comes to us in 2021 with years of experience in establishing a very successful private practice ('Speech Bee') and with project management experience in being project manager for research projects within the discipline since July 2020. Courtney has several years experience as a clinical educator and mentor and will teach in the Master of Speech Pathology Clinical Practice subjects along with bringing her business skills to the subject Integrated Practice in Speech Pathology.