Meet Our Supporting & Management Staff | Buffalo Hearing And Speech Center

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Joseph J. Cozzo

President/CEO And Chairman

Joseph J. Cozzo is President/CEO and Chairman of Buffalo Hearing a Speech Center. With over 35 years of experience in working with children and families, and with Masters Degrees in Psychology and in Counseling, Mr. Cozzo is a NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Nationally Certified Trauma Counselor. He is a graduate of the 1999 class of Leadership Buffalo and is a Community Health Foundation Health Leadership Fellow, where he now serves as a faculty member and group advisor to the program. Joe is a sought after speaker and workshop leader in areas on child development and creating positive school culture. He is often invited to present seminars and keynote addresses in areas of Leadership Development.

He provides Executive Coaching for several community based organization CEO’s. Mr. Cozzo has traveled to over 14 different nations worldwide, working with orphans and orphanages and conducting seminars on the effects of long-term institutionalization, post-institutionalized behaviors and reactive attachment disorder in children adopted from foreign countries. Joe is a passionate advocate for children’s rights. He is the founder of the West Buffalo Charter School where he served as President of the Board of Trustees for 6 years. Joe is a member of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Board of Directors. He is also currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Health Foundation of Western and Central New York and is the Incoming Chair of the Board.

Joseph Sonnenberg

Vice President/Compliance Officer

Joe Sonnenberg is Vice President/Compliance Officer for Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center (BHSC). Joe also serves as Continuing Education (CE) Administrator at BHSC providing CE training for Physical & Occupational Therapists, Teachers, Social Workers, Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists. He has worked to develop diverse interdisciplinary clinical and educational programming to serve infants/toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children, and adults with disabilities and/or special needs. Joe has been a driving force behind the transformation of the Center from a small not-for-profit agency into the largest hearing and speech center in the United States.

Much of his work over the last 20 years has focused on the development of school/educational programs that serve students birth to 9 years of age. The school programs have 7 approved sites and serves 5 counties in WNY. Joe is a New York State Certified School Administrator and Supervisor, a Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and holds certifications as a Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped and in Elementary Education. He has been with Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center for more than 40 years in clinical, supervisory and administrative roles.

Allison Merlino

Controller

Allison Merlino is the Controller of Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. Allison has a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Buffalo State College. She has more than 13 years of experience in the accounting profession. Allison joined Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center in 2015.

Amy Bamrick

Director Of Clinical Services

Amy Bamrick, M.S. Ed CCC-SLP, is the Director of Clinic and Community Services at Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. Amy graduated from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, with a Master of Science in Education. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience. Amy is a member of the New York State Speech-Language Hearing Association and the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and currently serves as ASHA’s State Advocate for Reimbursement (STARs) for NYS.

Barry Francis

Director Of Information Technology

Barry Francis is Director of Information Technology of Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. Barry has been responsible for installing and maintaining network infrastructure, phone, computers, video conferencing and software applications at all of BHSC’s locations. Barry has been with Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center since 1987. He has more than 20 years of experience in Information Technology support.

Steve Miller

Director Of Contracts And Specialized Programs

Steve Miller is Director of Contracts and Specialized Programs at Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. He is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who received both his Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences and his Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Steve has worked for Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center since 2004.

In his role as Director, he is intimately involved in the operations and oversight of contracted services with partner organizations throughout the community, as well as the cultivation and continuous quality improvement of BHSC’s Literacy & Social Programs. Steve is a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and a graduate of the Health Leadership Fellows program through the Health Foundation of Western & Central New York.

Kara Murphy

Director Of Human Resources

Kara Murphy is Director of Human Resources of Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. Kara graduated from Canisius College of Buffalo with a Master of Business Administration and from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Kara holds a Professional in Human Resources certification and has over 20 years of experience in all areas of human resource management. Kara joined Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center in 2014.

Lynn Chavanne Shea

Early Childhood Program Director

Lynn C. Shea, MA CCC-SLP, SDL; SBL is Director of the Early Childhood Program at Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. Lynn is a certified school administrator and has been practicing speech language pathology for over 30 years. For the past 20 years, Lynn has focused her work on the development of the BHSC Early Childhood Program which services students in an educational setting from Birth to second grade. Lynn has been extensively trained in Listening and Spoken Language approach for teaching deaf children to talk and as well as the DIR Floortime approach for teaching special needs students. Lynn is a graduate of the Health Leadership Fellows program through the Health Foundation of Western & Central New York.

Lynn currently serves on the New York State Department of Health Early Intervention Coordinating Council (EICC). She is also a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and is an active member of Option Schools Inc.

Rita Corsi

Controller

Bio coming soon.

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