Meet the experts

Dr. Maria E. Pomponio received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University Maryland and her Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree from Towson University. She completed her audiology externship at Stony Brook University Hospital. Dr. Pomponio is licensed in Audiology through the New York State Department of Education and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Dr. Pomponio’s clinical interests include the diagnosis of adult and pediatric hearing loss and auditory processing disorder, audiologic rehabilitation including the fitting and management of amplification, and vestibular/balance assessment. She presently maintains membership in ASHA and the American Academy of Audiology (AAA).

Alicia D.D. Spoor, Au.D. is the Audiologist and President of Designer Audiology.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University (MSU) and her Doctor of Audiology degree from Gallaudet University.  She joined Simucase as the Lead Learning & Simulation Developer- Audiology in 2020. Dr. Spoor is the current Advocacy Chair for the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), Legislative Chair for the Maryland Academy of Audiology (MAA), representative on the Audiology Quality Consortium, and member of the Osborne College of Audiology College Advisory Board at Salus University; she is a Past-President for both ADA and MAA.  She is the 2015 Craig W. Johnson Audiology Advocate Award and 2021 MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award winner.

Dr. Anne Marie Tharpe is Professor and Chair, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville Tennessee. Dr. Tharpe’s research interests are in the area of pediatric hearing loss.  Specifically, she has explored the developmental impacts of minimal and mild hearing loss on children, children with hearing loss and additional disabilities, and more recently, the sleep patterns in those with hearing loss. Dr. Tharpe has published extensively in national and international professional journals, has published numerous books and book chapters, and has presented to over 250 audiences around the world on pediatric audiology issues. She is co-editor with Dr. Richard Seewald of The Comprehensive Handbook of Pediatric Audiology, 2nd edition, which was published in 2016.