Speech-Language Pathology
Contact Information
Speech-Language Pathology Program
Kim Sabourin, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF
Phone: (973) 920-4458
ksabourin@steu.edu
Saint Elizabeth University's Speech-language and Pathology faculty and staff are seasoned professionals who also have a passion for mentoring and educating future speech-language professionals. Our faculty members have experience working with a variety of cultures and many of them are bilingual practitioners who are fluent in languages other than English (e.g., French, Haitian Creole, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Spanish). You will get to know each faculty member on a personal level through your class work, clinicals settings, and research opportunities.
Faculty Bios
Kim Sabourin, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF
Assistant Professor and Program Director

Kim Sabourin is an ASHA certified and board-certified specialist in stuttering, cluttering,
and fluency disorders with over 30 years of clinical, academic, and leadership experience.
She is the Founding Program Director and Assistant Professor with research interests
in fluency disorders.
Dr. Sabourin’s leadership extends to national service, including her role on the American
Board of Stuttering, Cluttering, and Fluency Disorders, and her numerous invited presentations
and media contributions advocating for individuals who stutter. Her international
work includes leading service projects in Belize and Ukraine, where she conducted
therapy, trained students, and supported assessment and treatment in a variety of
communication disorders.
Dr. Sabourin has held clinical and academic roles at Temple University, the University
of Maryland, and West Virginia University, where she has taught and supervised courses
in stuttering and other fluency disorders, diagnostic and clinical methods in speech-language
pathology and audiology. She has earned her Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology
(SLPD) at the MGH Institute of Health Professions and her Master’s in Speech-Language-Hearing
from the University of Maryland.
Rebecca Azevedo, MA, CCC-SLP
Director of Clinical Education
P: (973) 920-4315 | E: razevedo@steu.edu
Rebecca Azevedo is a bilingual Russian-English speaking speech-language pathologist who has experience supervising and mentoring graduate students in their first year of clinical practicum as well as in the field. She has worked in medical, educational, and out-patient settings with a variety of communication disorders across the lifespan. Her areas of interest and specialized training include pediatric feeding/oral motor disorders, autism, stuttering, language-based communication disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, and articulation/phonological disorders. She has experience integrating clinical knowledge and evidence-based practice for pre-school and school aged children. Rebecca has received specialized training in SOS ®, CAN- EAT ©, PROMP ®, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP), Augmentative Alternative Communication devices (AAC), and sensory-based approaches to behavior.
Siena Sun, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor
P: (973) 920-4456 | E: ssun@steu.edu
Introducing Dr. Siena Sun—a bilingual expert in speech-language pathology and an assistant professor at Saint Elizabeth University. With a rich background in both clinical practice and research, Dr. Sun specializes in linguistics and communication disorders, bringing her expertise to the classroom. She has extensive experience providing speech, language, and feeding therapy to both pediatric and geriatric patients across various settings, including inpatient, outpatient, and early intervention in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Sun's areas of focus include early childhood development, childhood apraxia of speech, autism, feeding and swallowing therapy, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She holds specialized certifications in PROMPT, DIR Floortime, TalkTools, and is a certified lactation consultant. Fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English, Dr. Sun offers bilingual services that empower individuals from diverse backgrounds to reach their fullest potential.
Dr. Sun earned her MA in speech-language pathology from Temple University and her PhD in linguistics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Before joining Saint Elizabeth University, she served as an adjunct faculty member and research assistant at Wayne State University (2016–2018) and was a board member of the Asian Pacific Islander Speech-Language-Hearing Caucus (2019–2021).
Isabelle Barriere, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
P: (973) 920-4459 | E: ibarriere@steu.edu
Isabelle Barrière, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Speech Language Pathology at Saint Elizabeth University. She is a specialist in language acquisition and multilingual development, in culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse typical and atypical populations. Her projects have focused on children acquiring African American English, British Sign Language, General American English, French, Haitian (Creole), Hebrew, Jamaican Creole/Patwa and English, Kyrgyz, Russian, (Dominican and Mexican) Spanish, Yiddish and have led to the development of assessments adapted to diverse populations. Since 2017, Dr. Barriere has been leading the first NSF-Research Experience for Undergraduate Site focused on the diversity of the tri-state area that supports research by and on members of minorities under-represented in Higher Education, including in Speech Language Pathology.
She has also developed a similar international summer program during which students get hands-on experience in the French Caribbean while investigating language use and acquisition. In 2018 her contribution to our understanding of the language development of young children in Haiti and in the US was recognized by thirteen NYC, NYS and US elected officials and in January 2019 she was made Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Government for her contributions to scholarship and education.
Tonya Sevilla, MS, MA, CCC-SLP
Instructor
Tonya Sevilla is a seasoned speech-language pathologist with over three decades of
clinical, academic, and supervisory experience across diverse settings, including
hospitals, universities, and telepractice platforms.
Professor Sevilla earned a Master of Science in Integrative Medicine from Maharishi
International University and a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the
University of Maryland. She is currently an adjunct faculty instructor who has served
in academic and supervisory capacities at California State University Northridge,
the University of Maryland, and UCLA, teaching a wide range of coursework related
to neuroanatomy, anatomy of speech and hearing mechanisms, and neurogenic communication
disorders.
Professor Sevilla is committed to ongoing professional development and excellence in clinical education and service delivery.
Alyssa Firkser, M.S., CCC-SLP
Clinical Instructor
Alyssa Firkser is a Speech-Language Pathologist whose primary focus is in early intervention,
specializing in working with children with hearing loss and their families through
coaching and counseling.
Alyssa's clinical experience spans private practice and contracting with local school
districts, where she has worked with children with a wide range of communication needs,
including phonological disorders, articulation difficulties, language delays, and
Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her approach is rooted in individualized, evidence-based
care and a strong belief in empowering both children and their families. Alyssa is
also involved in community events supporting adults with developmental disabilities
and has contributed to the field through research, including her involvement in a
Developmental Language Disorder study. She is passionate about empowering families
and fostering communication development across all ages.
Ryan Moran, M.S., CCC-SLP
Clinical Instructor
Ryan Moran is a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in dysphagia. Since beginning
her career in 2016, Ryan has developed extensive expertise in treating adult patients
with dysphagia, motor speech, language, and voice disorders across various settings,
including subacute rehab, skilled nursing facilities, home health, and acute rehab.
Currently, she focuses on acute care and outpatient dysphagia treatment at a Level
2 trauma center and cancer center.
Ryan earned both her undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders
and her graduate degree in Speech Pathology from LaSalle University. Throughout her
career, she has supervised numerous graduate students and served as an on-site mentor
at St. Joseph’s. She is also an experienced presenter, having spoken at multiple conferences
on dysphagia-related topics and serving as a guest speaker for the Army National Guard’s
RTI Schoolhouse, where she educates Army and National Guard medics on early identification
and management of dysphagia, aphasia, and motor speech disorders within their pre-hospital
scope of practice.