Audiology (Hearing)

Providing comprehensive services for hearing problems.

Meet Our Team

Jennifer McKee Bold has been an audiologist since 1997 and has worked at Rady Children's since 2002. Jennifer specializes in the areas of hearing aids, pediatric audiologic evaluations and neurophysiology. She completed her fellowship at the Providence Speech and Hearing Center in Orange, California and went on to work at the University of California at San Francisco Audiology Clinic, where she gained experience in working with children, working with complex cases and research. Jennifer received her Bachelor's degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Arizona, her Master's degree in Audiology from the University of Arizona, and her Doctor of Audiology degree from the University of Florida. She is a board-certified audiologist and is a current member of the AAA and ASHA.

Karen Faillace has been an audiologist and a member of Rady Children's team since 1990. Dr. Faillace has special talent in the area of pediatric audiology, hearing aids and neurophysiology (test methods used to measure hearing in infants and difficult to test children). She is a part of the Cleft Palate Team, knows sign language and has a passion for working with children. Dr. Faillace received her Master's degree in Audiology at San Diego State University and her clinical doctorate (Au.D.) at A.T. Still University; Arizona School of Health Sciences. She is a California board-certified audiologist; ASHA-certified and is a current member of SENTAC. Dr. Faillace's goal in working at Rady Children's is to provide the utmost quality of care to her patients and families.

Shani Goldgrub joined the audiology team at Rady Children's in 2007 when she completed her clinical doctorate degree in audiology. Shani completed her clinical externship at Providence Speech and Hearing Center in Orange, California, where she gained experience in pediatric audiology, hearing aids and auditory-evoked potentials. Additionally, she has special interest in cochlear implants. Shani received her Bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders from the Universidad de las Americas in Mexico City and her clinical doctorate in Audiology (Au.D.) from the University of Memphis. She is a fellow of AAA and is ASAH-certified. Having been raised in Mexico, Shani is fluent in Spanish. Her goals are to provide all her patients and their families with the highest quality of care and to help the Hispanic patients and their families make the best decisions without the communication barriers that sometime exist.

Michelle Hu joined the team at Rady Children’s in 2009 following completion of her clinical doctorate degree in audiology. Michelle fulfilled her clinical externship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio where she worked with patients of all ages from birth to geriatrics, gaining experience in audiology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids, auditory-evoked potentials, tinnitus management, dizziness/balance issues, and auditory-verbal therapy. Michelle graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Chemistry. She received her Doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) from the Northeast Ohio Au.D. Consortium at the University of Akron. She is a fellow of AAA and is ASHA-certified. Michelle grew up with a progressive hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since the age of 3. She recently received a cochlear implant in 2007 and is still excited when she “learns” new sounds. Her goals are to provide patients and parents with comfort, confidence and resources to make the best decisions for them and their children.

Joni Johnson has been an audiologist since 1983 and a member of Rady Children's team since 2008. Dr. Johnson has special skills in pediatric diagnostics and hearing aid fittings.; She has a special interest in counseling children and families to facilitate acceptance of hearing aids, as well as in helping families understand how support services are provided throughout the schools. She has 22 years of experience working as an educational audiologist in Washington and Oregon. Joni received her doctorate in Audiology in 2009 through A. T. Still University/Arizona School of Health Sciences. She received her Master's degree in Audiology at the University of Washington in 1983 and her Bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders, also at University of Washington. She holds ASHA audiology certification, California licensure as a dispensing audiologist and is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. Joni's goal in working at Rady Children's is to provide caring and effective services to the families she serves.

Alyson Mellish has been an audiologist since 2001 and has worked at Rady Children's since 2004. She specializes in the areas of pediatric diagnostic audiology, hearing aid dispensing, neurophysiology, and cochlear implant evaluations and rehabilitation. Alyson received her Bachelor's degree at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and her Master's degree in Audiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She completed her Doctorate of Audiology through the PCO distance learning program. Dr. Mellish also serves as the Cochlear Implant Team Education Liaison, collaborating between the clinic and the classroom. She holds certification through ASHA and is a fellow of AAA. Alyson loves to work with children, and her goal is for families to feel comfortable during their visits, confident in the quality of care they are receiving and empowered to make the best decisions for them and their child. She feels that Rady Children's has an excellent team in the audiology department, which provides optimal care for individuals with hearing loss, and is thankful to be a part of it.

Maureen Miller has been an audiologist since 1989 and has been with Rady Children’s since 1999. She has expertise in pediatric diagnostic testing and hearing aid fitting and works primarily in the Oceanside office. After completing her Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh, Maureen moved to California where she received her Master’s Degree in Audiology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is a board-certified audiologist and a member of ASHA. Prior to working at Rayd Children’s , she worked at Scripps Hospitals, where she gained clinical experience; however, she enjoys working with children and likes the different challenges they present during a normal working day. Her goal is to provide quality care and empathy to her patients and their families.

Kate Moyer has been an Audiologist since 2007 and has worked at Rady Children’s since 2006. Kate’s expertise lies in the in the areas of diagnostics and amplification. She is part of the neurophysiology and Cleft Palate teams. She specializes in patients who use bone-conduction hearing aids, including the Baha, insuring that every child has access to appropriate amplification. Kate received her Clinical Doctorate in Audiology (AuD) at the joint program of San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and is certified by the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). Kate’s goal while working at Rady Children’s is to educate families about hearing and the affects of a hearing loss and providing them with options for the best possible outcomes for their child.

Alyssa Needleman, Ph.D. leads the Audiology Department at Rady Children's, providing day-to-day leadership to the department and developing systems that ensure quality patient care outcomes and fiscal management. She earned her doctorate at the University of Texas at Dallas, with her area of expertise in speech perception in individuals with hearing loss. She is certified as an audiologist with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, and has worked in all aspects of the audiological community since 1991, including hospital, corporate and university settings, as well as running her own private practice.

 Meghan Peschiera joined the audiology team at Rady Children’s Hospital in 2012 when she completed her doctorate degree in Audiology. Meghan completed her clinical externship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she acquired in-depth experience in pediatric audiology, including diagnostics, amplification, cochlear implants, electrophysiological measures, and research. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Loyola University Maryland and her doctorate degree in Audiology (Au.D.) from Gallaudet University. There, she was immersed in Deaf culture and learned American Sign Language. Meghan is a board-certified audiologist. Her goal at Rady Children’s Hospital is to join patients and families as partners in their audiologic habilitation.

Julie Purdy, Ph.D. graduated with her master's degree in audiology in 1985 from Brigham Young University and then went on to complete a Ph.D. in the field of communication disorders from the University of Utah specializing in multi-cultural service provision and gerontology. Since that time, she has gained experience in cochlear implants, hearing aids and pediatrics. She enjoys working with the children here at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego.

Jackie Rand has worked in the health care field for 30 years in a variety of different areas, including Health Education in the private sector as Program Coordinator of a Health Prevention program for employees. She also worked for Sharp Healthcare for 19 of those 30 years in Physical Rehabilitation, Marketing and Volunteer Services. Jackie came to Rady Children’s in March of 2005 as Hearing Aid Program Coordinator and since that time has done a wonderful job working with the Cochlear Implant team. Her goal is to provide the best possible service for our patients and families and to ensure that any equipment necessary is made available to them.

Kathryn “Casey” Schneider began at Rady Children’s Hospital as an audiology extern in 2010 and has worked as an audiologist since 2011. Casey specializes in the areas of pediatric audiology and cochlear implants and has a background in special-education for children with hearing loss. Casey received her Doctoral degree in audiology from Vanderbilt University. She is an American Speech and Hearing Association certified audiologist and is a current fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. Casey’s goals in working at Rady Children’s Hospital are to provide excellent patient care for all families receiving diagnostic audiology services and to assist families as they navigate the implications of having a child with hearing loss.

Julie Silva has been an audiologist since 2002 and has worked at Rady Children's since 2003. Julie specializes in neurophysiology, diagnostic audiology and hearing aid fittings. Julie received her Master's degree in Audiology at San Diego State University. She is a California board- certified audiologist and is a current member of ASHA. Her goal in working at Rady Children's is to help educate parents and family members of children with hearing loss.

Julie Strickland has been an audiologist since 1982 and has worked at Rady Children's since 1987. She specializes in neurophysiology and infant hearing assessment. Julie received her Master's degree in Audiology at Utah State University. She is ASHA-certified, licensed to practice in the State of California, and is a current member of ASHA, AAA and SENTAC. Julie's goal is to make sure all infants have their newborn hearing screening before the age of one month, and have access to follow up services as needed.

Ann Sumida-Johnson has been an audiologist since 1991 and has worked at Rady Children's since 1996. Ann has special talent in the areas of pediatric audiology, hearing aids and neurophysiology. In the past she was part of the Craniofacial Team. Ann received her Bachelors degree at the University of California, Berkeley and her Masters in Audiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is California state board certified and is a current member of AAA and ASHA. Ann’s goal in working at Rady Children’s is to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for both the child and parent when they arrive for an evaluation, to do a thorough assessment with patience for each child and to answer any questions from the family.

Janina Woodman has been an audiologist since 1995 and a member of Rady Children's team since 2000. Janina has special skills in diagnostic testing and pediatric amplification. She has dedicated her entire career to working with children and is committed to helping children with hearing loss. Janina received her MS degree in Audiology at Purdue University. She holds both ASHA certification and California licensure to practice audiology. Janina's goal in working at Rady Children's is to continue making an impact in children’s lives.

Melanie Wright has been an audiologist and a member of Rady Children's team since 2005. Melanie has special skills in pediatric testing and hearing aid fitting. She has experience using American Sign Language and working with the culturally deaf population. Her clinical fellowship year was spent at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. Other areas of interest are cochlear implants. Melanie received her clinical doctorate (Au.D.) in Audiology at Gallaudet University. She holds both ASHA certification and California licensure to practice audiology. Melanie's goal in working at Rady Children's is to provide quality service to all patients in a timely and enjoyable manner.