New England Team
Camp Words Unspoken New England Team
Sujini Ramachandar Ph.D, M.S, CCC-SLP – Clinical Co-Director
Sujini Ramachandar, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor at Southern Connecticut State University. She received her Doctorate from University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on neurological differences (sensorimotor processing) associated with stuttering. She is currently completing her Board Certified Specialist- Fluency certification (BCS-F).
Before her transition to academia, she was a partner and chief financial officer of an itinerant speech language agency in Syracuse, NY. She has over 20 years of experience working with children and adults who stutter, providing parent and family education, and collaborating with other disciplines. In, addition to teaching and research, she continues to work with children and adults who stutter by helping them improve their quality of life.
She is a Clinical Co-Director of Camp Words Unspoken. Camp Unspoken is committed to providing a safe environment for children who stutter to develop friendships, build self-confidence, and hone communication and problem solving skills.
She is also the Director of Lotus Foundation, which focuses on providing quality rehabilitation services to underserved populations globally. Her hobbies include reading, cooking, movies, hiking, and biking.
Kenneth Melnick, Ph.D.,CCC-SLP, BCS-F –
Kenneth Melnick, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-F, is an Associate Professor at Worcester State University and a Board-Certified Specialist in Fluency. He earned his doctorate at Vanderbilt University in 2000 where he specialized in stuttering. He came to Worcester State University in 2004 where he helped create a summer therapy program for children and teens who stutter. The program has run on and off every year since then depending on participant availability. He has been a supervisor for graduate students in the Worcester State University Speech-Language-Hearing Center and teaches the graduate courses in Fluency Disorders and Counseling in Communication Disorders.
Jennifer Mackey, M.A., CCC-SLP –
Jennifer Mackey, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and Director of Clinical Education at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, where she works with graduate students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department. She has been an SLP for almost 25 years and specializes in pediatric speech and language disorders, including fluency, speech sound disorders, autism, and language disorders. Jennifer is also interested in the scholarship of supervision and mentorship.
She teaches the Early Intervention course and coordinates the Early Intervention Concentration at the MGH Institute. She is a member of the Higher Ed DPH Task Force and is also on the Massachusetts Early Intervention Consortium Conference Planning Committee. Jennifer enjoys reading, knitting, and going on outdoor hikes with her family.
Evan Sherman M.S., CCC-SLP –
Evan Sherman, M.S., CCC-SLP is a clinical Speech-Language Pathologist at Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee, Florida and the founder of Progression Speech Therapy. He received his Masters Degree in Speech Language Pathology from Syracuse University. He resides in Orlando, Florida and has two young children who are his pride and joy.
Matt Didisheim – Counselor-In-Training Director
Matt Didisheim brings an extensive background of leading teenagers to his role at CWU as Counselor-in-Training Director. He has led teens on backpacking trips in Alaska, along the Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and through the Swiss Alps. He has also worked for several years in wilderness therapy with struggling teens in the back country of Utah, modeling life skills, leading meaningful activities, and facilitating therapeutic interventions.
In addition, he has worked with teens who stutter at a summer camp alongside Brandon, guiding older campers in developing leadership skills. Matt’s goals at CWU are to help individuals who stutter understand more about their speech patterns, learn from each other, and to push through the negative feelings associated with their stutter to find self-confidence and self-acceptance. Matt stutters himself, and went through seven years of speech therapy as a teenager. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and is looking forward to camp!
Gabe Reif – Recreation Director
Jen Matoney – Videographer/Photographer
Jen Matoney is a former PBS TV producer/director. She won broadcasting awards for a children’s health and wellness series that she created, starring a cast of ten kids, and her work following the achievements of a group of young Special Olympians. In her current role as V.P. and Creative Director for an educational product development company, she conducts photo and video shoots with children. Jen also teaches a mental health certification course and suicide prevention workshops across New England. She co-facilitates three grief-related support groups in Western Mass, and is a skilled and compassionate listener. In her former work at Birthday Wishes, a nonprofit, she hosted birthday parties for homeless children. A resident of Amherst, MA she lives with her husband, their young daughter, and a Boston Terrier. She enjoys walking in nature and traveling.