Board

Ronald A. Gregory is retired from a senior management position with the IBM corporation. He is inspired by his elders to “always give something to your community”. A little over eight years ago Ron’s beloved wife, Anne, suffered two strokes. Even after prescribed therapy ended Anne still had rather severe aphasia and a negatively altered life. Finally Ron found TAP. Ron says “In TAP we found help that was extraordinary, innovative, professional, yet affordable. Largely through her TAP Anne not only recovered communication abilities, but returned to activities she loved before her stroke. Through my involvement in Triangle Aphasia Project, Unlimited I’ve found another opportunity to give something valuable to my Triangle community and beyond”.

Dr. Adam Jacks, PhD, CCC/SLP completed doctoral work in communication sciences and disorders at the University of Texas at Austin and postdoctoral studies in neuroimaging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. When he moved to North Carolina in 2009, he wanted to connect with the aphasia community and found it in TAP. He continues his research and study at UNC with the aim of developing more effective treatments for people with neurological communication disorders. He is currently helping TAP to strengthen ties to speech-language pathologists working in the Triangle.

Jay Irby is a Senior Vice President of sales for the Fidelity Bank in Cary, NC. Prior to Fidelity Bank, Jay managed the small business banking units (Triangle and Triad Area) for Wachovia Bank. Jay is a native of Raleigh, and a graduate of UNC at Chapel Hill with a degree in economics. In addition to bank responsibilities, Jay has sat on a number of small to large non profit board of directors with a strong focus on financing, fundraising, and brand marketing. Jay is married to a speech pathologist at Duke University Medical Center and has two beautiful children, Jack and Sydney. Jay joined TAP due to his strong belief and support of its founder, along with seeing the results it has on the community with those affected by aphasia.

Kelley O’Brien, CCC/SLP has been a Speech-Language Pathologist for 9 years. Kelly completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Speech-Language Pathology at the State University of New York at Geneseo, and her clinical fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She currently works for UNC Hospitals in the inpatient rehabilitation center and in outpatient services. Kelly has a particular interest in stroke and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, and facilitates UNC Hospitals’ Stroke Support Group. Kelly also has an interest in progressive communication disorders, including Primary Progressive Aphasia. Kelly joined TAP to help therapists in the medical setting collaborate with providers, family members, and people living with aphasia in the community.

Julia Bryan Canavan, CCC/SLP has been a Speech Pathologist for over 25 years. She was the first Speech Pathologist at WakeMed. Julia met Maura Silverman when coming back to work as a SLP after 10 years and saw that Maura was doing through TAP what she knew was missing in traditional therapy. Julia became involved with TAP groups and saw not only tremendous communication gains in all patients from their involvement in TAP but also overall improvement in their quality of life as they became involved in their life interests and in the lives of others. As an outpatient Speech Pathologist, Julia continually refers many of her clients with aphasia to TAP. She has seen the benefit TAP clients and their families have benefitted greatly from the activities provided by this unique organization. She also see TAP as transforming speech therapy beyond the specific communication deficits of these individuals to improving their overall quality of life with the focus on the skills they continue to have and develop.

Julie A. Huffman, CCC/SLP is a Speech Language Pathologist at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. She has worked with people with aphasia for 17 years. She worked with a community re-entry program for 7 years in Rochester, NY before moving to North Carolina. She has always been passionate about helping get people back to work, school and the activities they loved before stroke. She joined the TAP Board to continue this passion. She also has interests in swallowing and cognition. She teaches nationally to speech-language pathologists on swallowing disorders. Julie received her graduate degree from the University of Buffalo. She is lives with her husband and 3 daughters in Cary.