ASHA 2026 President Linda I. Rosa-Lugo Begins Her Term

January 5, 2026

Linda I. Rosa-Lugo, EdD, CCC-SLP, began her term as ASHA's 2026 President this January. A clinician, an educator, and an advocate in the discipline of communication sciences and disorders, she had this to say:

"I'm truly honored to serve as ASHA's president, and I look forward to fulfilling this role," Dr. Rosa-Lugo said. Throughout her career, she has been committed to advancing inclusive and effective communication for all. "I am passionate about supporting people with communication disorders. During my time as president, I plan to focus on advocacy to ensure that the communication sciences and disorders professions play a leadership role in shaping systems that affect communication and health. Another priority is investing in technology and innovation, including artificial intelligence, to help us meet evolving needs."

Prior to becoming ASHA's president, Dr. Rosa-Lugo served as a clinical associate professor at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. A bilingual speech-language pathologist (SLP), she retired from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2022, where she served as associate dean in the College of Health Professions and Sciences, led faculty excellence and global programs, and founded the UCF Listening Center. Dr. Rosa-Lugo holds emeritus status at UCF and earned her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University.

In addition to her academic career, Dr. Rosa-Lugo has worked in school and medical settings in New York City and Florida, supporting children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She is widely recognized for her research and leadership in multilingual language disorders, literacy, and interprofessional education. Dr. Rosa-Lugo has received multiple collaborative grants from the U.S. Department of Education. Her projects have focused on language and literacy, preparing SLPs to serve multilingual children with communication disorders, and listening and spoken language interventions for children and adolescents with hearing loss from a variety of communities.

An ASHA Fellow, Dr. Rosa-Lugo-and her 3 decades of service to the Association-has been recognized with various ASHA awards commending both her international achievement and her commitment to inclusive excellence. She has held numerous leadership positions including Vice President for Professional Practice and President of the ASHA Hispanic Caucus.

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 241,000 members, certificate holders, and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology assistants; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders.

View all ASHA press releases at https://www.asha.org/about/press-room/.