Mary
Sweig Wilson, Ph.D. (CCC-SLP) is
the President and CEO of Laureate Learning Systems. She received her Bachelor's degree from Smith College, Master's
degree from Emerson College, and Doctorate in Communicative Disorders from Northwestern University. Dr. Wilson
is a Professor Emerita of Communication Sciences at the University of Vermont, where she taught and conducted research
for 25 years, served as Director of the E.M. Luse Center for Communication Disorders for 10 years, Program Director
of Speech Pathology and Audiology for 6 years, and Acting Chairperson of the newly formed Department from 1977-1980.
She is a practicing speech-language pathologist with over 35 years of clinical experience in language intervention.
Dr. Wilson's clinical expertise is complemented by ongoing scholarship in contemporary linguistic theory. She lectures
frequently on the theoretical and research bases of language intervention and has presented seminars on this topic
at several recent annual meetings of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Wilson also has more
than 35 years of clinical materials development and validation experience. The Wilson Initial Syntax Program (Wilson,
1972) was the first commercially available language intervention program to incorporate linguist Noam Chomsky's
Aspects model of syntax (Chomsky, 1965). Dr. Wilson has been honored in numerous ways for her contributions to
the field of communication disorders. She has been a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
since 1979, received Honors of the Vermont Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 1980, was the Distinguished Visiting
Scholar at Worcester State College in 1984, and was given an Alumni Achievement Award from Emerson College in 1995
for her outstanding contributions to the field of communication disorders. Dr. Wilson also received the 1996 TAM
Leadership Award given for "exemplary vision and leadership in the application of technology and media for
children, youth, and adults with disabilities."
Bernard J. Fox, M.S. (CCC-SLP)
is the Vice President and co-founder of Laureate Learning Systems. He is a certified
speech-language pathologist with broad clinical experience in service to persons with mental retardation, emotional
disturbance, and learning disabilities, as well as considerable expertise in computer technology and educational software
design. Mr. Fox received his Bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Massachusetts in 1976.
Over the next several years, he worked as a Speech and Language Specialist at the Walter E. Fernald State School in Waltham,
Massachusetts, Bedford Public Schools in Bedford, Massachusetts, and the C.A.S.E. Collaborative, Concord, Massachusetts.
In 1979, Mr. Fox entered the graduate program in Communication Disorders at the University of Vermont and began working
with Dr. Wilson, who shared his vision of using technology to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. He programmed
the software for their 1980 Scientific Exhibit entitled Computer Managed Language Diagnosis and Treatment which won First
Award for Excellence of Presentation and Second Award for Scientific Merit at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Convention.
After receiving his Master's degree, Mr. Fox continued computer applications work as a Program Coordinator in the Department
of Communication Science and Disorders until the establishment of Laureate in 1982. The software Mr. Fox wrote while
at the university provided the bases for an entire product line of language intervention programs that began with First
Words and now includes over 40 titles which were co-authored with Dr. Wilson and produced and published by Laureate Learning
Systems.
Marion Blank, Ph.D.is a developmental psychologist who has specialized in reading and oral language for more than 30 years. She is a member of the Clinical Faculty of the Department of Child Psychiatry at Columbia University and is a licensed psychologist. Dr. Blank has authored and co-authored numerous articles and books on reading, language development, and learning in young children, and has received international recognition as an authority in these areas.
Eleanor Semel, Ed.D. is Professor Emerita at Boston University and is known nationally for her pioneering work in the field of learning disabilities. She has authored many educational and remedial programs and conducted extensive research. She has also written articles and college-level textbooks.
Barbara Couse Adams, M.S. (CCC-SLP) is a licensed speech-language pathologist who established her own private practice and consulting company in 1985. Since that time, her clinical and consultative work has specialized in the utilization of assistive technology for persons with disabilities. She has taught assisitive technology courses at the State University of New York at New Paltz.