By: Lori Colletti, MS, CCC-SLP, Vice President of Advocacy

The Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) advocacy team is embracing opportunities at this time of big change as we develop our vision for the future. The retirement of Larry Higdon, our longtime Director of Governmental Relations, and the passing of Mark Hanna, our Legal and Legislative Counsel for many years, left enormous shoes to fill. Thankfully Larry and Mark helped us develop a solid foundation on which we can build. Although our dear friend and wise counsel Mark is no longer here to provide guidance, Larry continues to keep a close eye on legislative and regulatory activity that may impact our professions and the people we serve, and he shares his valuable insight when needed as we navigate changes within our advocacy team.

One of the opportunities for change we are welcoming is a greater reliance on volunteers within the advocacy team. As part of our vision for the future, we have created new committees and have identified enthusiastic and passionate committee leaders who are building their teams to expand TSHA’s advocacy efforts. You may already have seen some of the amazing work of our Advocacy Communications Committee, which is led by committee chair Nathalie LeBrun. Nathalie has a strong group of committee members, and they are already implementing innovative and effective strategies to inform and engage TSHA members. Our new Legislative Advocacy Training Committee is chaired by Dr. Kristin Bryant. She and her team will provide ongoing training to help TSHA members learn to effectively advocate for our professions and the people we serve. We are excited to partner with the TSHA Leadership Academy (TLA), led by co-chairs Robyn Martin and Gina Glover, to grow confident advocacy leaders. Our new Legislative Advocacy Network Committee will be chaired by Matthew Armstrong. This committee will build on established relationships with legislators and develop new relationships to advance TSHA’s legislative interests. This committee will coordinate a Capitol Visit Day when the legislature is in session as well as visits to legislators’ home offices when the legislature is not in session. Our TSHA Political Action Committee (PAC) will be chaired by Karla Williams. As it has for many years, the TSHA PAC will promote the interests of speech-language pathologists and audiologists and those we serve by facilitating participation of TSHA members in the political process and through support of legislators who can help TSHA advance our legislative interests.

In addition to these committees, the advocacy team is building a network of subject area experts whom we will rely upon for input and guidance regarding legislative action related to specific aspects of the scope of practice of speech-language pathologists and audiologists. This group will be a critical part of our advocacy team and will help shape our advocacy efforts.

All TSHA advocacy efforts will be guided by our legislative agenda, which is based on the needs and interests of our members and those we serve. One of the many lessons Larry and Mark taught us is the critical importance of listening to our members to build our vision for the future. We know there are many complex issues facing our professions at this time, and more are anticipated during the next legislative session, which is scheduled to begin in January 2027. With these outstanding committee chairs and their committee members, the leadership of incoming Vice President of Advocacy Max Pell and councilor Michelle Mendietta, along with the voices and efforts of all TSHA members, our vision for the future of TSHA advocacy is bright.

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