Debra M. Dwight, EdD, CCC-SLP, is an Alabama native and received a bachelor's degree in Speech Therapy and a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Alabama (South), Mobile. While at South, she studied speech and language therapy and combined typical developmental expectations of children with needs of children with speech and language disorders. Her master's and doctoral degrees in Speech-Language Pathology were received from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where she developed an interest in clinical teaching. Although she worked as a college/university faculty member in different positions over the past ten years, Dr. Dwight describes herself as a clinical practitioner due to her constant desire to impact the quality of service delivery in the speech-language profession. She has worked as a speech-language pathologist in public schools, home health, private practice, and skilled nursing facilities. Dr. Dwight has served as a coordinator of special programs , college/university instructor, and assistant professor. She was Director of Speech-Language Pathology Programs at University of West Georgia, Carrollton, when the program received initial certification from the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and she now serves as a Site Visitor for CAA. Debra currently is owner of a small private practice for children's therapy services. Her desire to improve the quality of services provided by speech-language professionals led her to develop a practical method for teaching basic, hands-on, core skills to university students majoring in speech-language pathology.
