Vicki R. Deal-Williams
Vicki R. Deal-Williams, MA, CCC-SLP, CAE, assumed the role of ASHA Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2022, with more than 35 years’ experience, and a proven track record of success in guiding staff and members through change, exemplifying integrity and accountability and fostering an inclusive culture.
Vicki is an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist and an ASHA Fellow; she received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University. She is also a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).
She began her career as a speech-language pathologist at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, where she also supervised graduate student clinicians from Case Western Reserve University. She came to work at the ASHA National Office in 1984 to direct a federal grant held jointly by ASHA and the U.S. Department of Education; she then served as Assistant Director of ASHA’s Office of Minority Concerns. After a 5-year hiatus as a corporate trainer for Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association)—where she developed and implemented corporate diversity training and professional development programming related to leadership and management—Vicki returned to the ASHA National Office as ASHA’s first Chief Staff Officer for Multicultural Affairs. In that capacity, she also served as a management liaison to ASHA’s Continuing Education, Professional Development, and Convention and Meetings units and was instrumental in establishing ASHA’s customized strategic planning system, facilitating the process of establishing an integrated working relationship between National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and ASHA, and establishing the Minority Student Leadership Program as a primary source of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) leaders from diverse backgrounds.
Vicki has received numerous awards for her contributions, including the Honors of NSSLHA, the Diversity Incentive Award from the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CAPCSD), ASHA’s Outstanding Service Award, the M. Eugene Wiggins Leadership and Scholar Mentor Awards from the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing (NBASLH), and the Professional Performance Award from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).
Her expertise and thought leadership include strategically advancing and leveraging diversity; developing leaders; targeting and retaining underrepresented populations; institutionalizing organizational responsibility for diversity, equity, and inclusion; facilitating group processes; managing conflict; and evaluating and enhancing organizational performance. She has contributed to strategic conversations within the association industry about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in associations and nonprofit management; she has served as Chair of ASAE’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and as a member of the ASAE Board of Directors. She has also served as facilitator and content leader for ASAE’s kickoff course for professionals seeking the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential and for their Association Management Week program. In addition, she was appointed to the National Institute of Health’s National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council.