This year, the NH-ME LEND program welcomes two new faculty members who bring expertise and vision to carry on the work of our tenured faculty.
Sarah Smith, Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at UNH, comes to the NH-ME LEND program with over 20 years of practice, teaching, and research. Sarah's lifework focuses on supporting families of children with special health care needs to be able to participate in the everyday activities that bring meaning and purpose to their lives.
A hearty adventurer, Sarah, and her husband lived in urban Alaska for 15 years where she worked with a richly diverse population of families and children in both school and clinical settings. Sarah earned a doctorate in rehabilitation sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Center. Her studies focused on evidence-based interdisciplinary pediatric practice.
Currently, Sarah is teaching coursework in pediatric therapy, occupational therapy theory, and research engagement. She is the director of the Health Families Research Program where she developed and implements a telehealth parent coaching program to support families in being able to participate in everyday activities such as family mealtime, playing together, or doing a community outing.
Sarah enjoys the outdoors, kayaking with her family, gardening, or taking walks with her rambunctious golden retriever, Cosmo. Sarah also loves playing her grand piano and cozying up with a book on a rainy day.
Meg Morgan is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at UNH. As a board-certified bilingual speech-language pathologist, she brings to NH-ME LEND her expertise in working with multicultural and multilingual populations, culturally responsive assessments and interventions, and working with interpreters.
Meg's professional experience spans Arizona, Texas, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts in a variety of school settings, private practice, and early intervention settings. In her present role at UNH, she specializes in educating monolingual professionals (speech-language pathologists, pediatricians, administrators) on culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches to working with multilingual populations.
Meg believes strongly in giving back to her profession through volunteer committee work. She serves as an executive board member for the New Hampshire Speech-Language-Hearing Association and as a member of the National School Issues Advisory Board for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
"Meg's clear vision has infused a greater understanding of multilingual and multicultural perspectives within the CSD curriculum and has supported students and professionals to enhance their clinical practice. She builds on individual strengths to make small changes that make a big difference," says Rae Sonnenmeier.
Meg lives on the Maine Coast with her husband and two children. She is happy to be back in New England and enjoying the outdoor activities that each season brings, including skiing, mountain biking, running, and hiking.
