Director
Tamara Wasserman-Wincko is the Director of the Speech-Language Pathology Division, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She earned her master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University in Florida and remained on staff in the Department of Otolaryngology following her clinical fellowship. Today, she oversees the provision of clinical services in five hospitals and develops opportunities for staff professional development. She established the UPMC speech service line in 2021 and currently co-chairs this team in standardization of care practice. Ms. Wasserman-Wincko specializes in the evaluation and treatment of swallowing disorders, with a special interest in the head and neck cancer population. She has given many lectures on this topic at national and international conferences over her career. In 2019, she was recognized by the American Speech & Hearing Association (ASHA) for outstanding clinical achievement and received a presidential citation from the Triological Society in 2014. Ms. Wasserman-Wincko supports the Swallowing Disorder Center team and the UPMC Head & Neck Cancer Survivorship Program.
Clinical Leadership Team
Kathryn Krobot, MA, CCC-SLP (Kate) is the manager of Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Otolaryngology at UPMC Presbyterian and Montefiore Hospitals. She received her bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her clinical and educational training is in adult acute care speech-language pathology with emphasis on dysphagia, tracheostomized patients, and the stroke/neurological populations. She also works with total laryngectomy in the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic and swallowing therapy patients in the Swallowing Disorders Center. Kate is instrumental in the training of new hires and mentoring clinical fellows. As the leader of a team of 12 clinicians, Kate seeks to guide her team in providing the highest level of patient care in a complicated inpatient setting. In her role as Speech-Language Pathology representative during Stroke meetings and JCAHO surveys, Kate regularly works on a multidisciplinary team that provides Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center-level care to acute stroke patients.
Kristen Stablein, MS, CCC-SLP is the Manager of acute care Speech-Language Pathology at UPMC Shadyside, UPMC East, and UPMC St. Margaret. Kristen attended Duquesne University for both undergraduate and graduate coursework, earning her Bachelor of Science in 2008 and her Master of Speech-Language Pathology in 2009. She joined the Department of Otolaryngology in August 2012. Throughout her time in the department, she has worked at several UPMC hospitals. Currently, she works at UPMC Shadyside with acute oncology patients. She also assists with inpatient rehabilitation coverage and outpatient dysphagia therapy. She serves on the Speech System's Committee and the UPMC Shadyside Interdisciplinary Stroke Committee.
Melanie R. Gasbarro, MS, CCC-SLP, CBIS is the Manager of the Speech-Language Pathology team on the Inpatient Rehabilitation units at UPMC Montefiore, St. Margaret, and East. She received her master's degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia and has undergone additional training to receive her certification as a brain injury specialist. Melanie evaluates and treats patients with dysphagia, cognitive-linguistic, motor speech, and language disorders. She has a special interest in developing person-specific goals and collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to foster patients' return to independence.
Danielle Columbe, MA, CCC-SLP is the manager of Speech-Language Pathology at UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital and Select Specialty Hospital at UPMC Montefiore. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and earned her master's degree from the University of Akron. She has been with the Department of Otolaryngology since 1999 where she began her career as a Clinical Fellow. Danielle works closely with the ENT surgeons and leads the specialized team of clinicians who provide voice restoration in head and neck cancer patients following total laryngectomy. She has the privilege of helping to guide the total laryngectomy journey that often begins with presurgical education and includes regular post-operative outpatient services focused on patients achieving optimal breathing, voicing, and swallowing for a lifetime. Danielle is also on the Swallowing Disorders Center Team, where she participates in the care of persons with dysphagia.
Sarah Pomfret-McKinney, MS CCC-SLP is the Lead Acute Speech-Language Pathologist at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. She earned both a Bachelor of Philosophy and a Master of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Sarah joined the Department of Otolaryngology as a Clinical Fellow in 2018. She is a practicing outpatient clinician in the Tracheoesophageal Prosthesis Clinic, UPMC Head & Neck Cancer Survivorship Clinic, and completes Outpatient Modified Barium Swallow Studies. Sarah also diagnoses and treats inpatients in the Medical Intensive Care Unit, Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, and associated step-down units. She has a special interest in voice restoration and swallowing rehabilitation in total laryngectomy, tracheostomized, and ventilator-dependent patients. Outside of her clinical work, Sarah supports research initiatives and continuing education opportunities to further the department's clinical development. She is the Content Consultant for UPMC’s ASHA Continuing Education team.
Clinical Team
Presbyterian/Montefiore Acute Care
- Hannah Adams, MA, CCC-SLP
- Allison Bartholow, MS, MS CCC-SLP
- Melissa Caterino, MA, CCC-SLP
- Leah Jewell, MA, CCC-SLP
- Bridge Klein, MS, CCC-SLP
- Melissa Paige Rohm, MS, CCC-SLP
- Mary Kate Simpson, MA, CCC-SLP
- Hannah Speedy, MS, CCC-SLP
- Julianna Spinazze, MS, CCC-SLP
- Sara Trant, MA, CCC-SLP
- Haley Trottier, MA, CCC-SLP
Montefiore Rehabilitation Unit
- Catherine Baird, MA, CCC-SLP
- Lindsay Harvey, MS, CCC-SLP
- Lauren Boyer, MS, CCC-SLP
Select Specialty Hospital
- Nicole Veydt, MA, CCC-SLP
Shadyside Hospital
- Kevin Renz Ambrocio, MS, CCC-SLP, CBIS
- Jessica Jordan, MA, CCC-SLP
- Anna Rosenberg, MS, CCC-SLP
- Lindsay Savinda, MS CCC-SLP
- Samantha Sinacore, MA, CCC-SLP
- Shannon Woltz MA, CCC-SLP
- Rasha Yahya Yassin, MA, CCC-SLP
Magee Hospital
- Ellen Ragan, MS, CCC-SLP
UPMC East
- Acute Care
- Brian Leonard, MS, CCC-SLP
- Angela Ellis, MA, CCC-SLP
- East Rehabilitation Unit
- Michael Wasilchak, MS, CCC-SLP
St. Margaret Hospital
- Acute Care
- Arielle Okopal, MS, CCC-SLP
- Lea Heise, MA, CCC-SLP
- St. Margaret Rehabilitation
- Stephanie Brunn, MA, CCC-SLP
Clinical Fellows 2024-2025
- Darian Jack, MS, CF-SLP – Presbyterian
- Elizabeth Bryson, MS, CF-SLP – Presbyterian
- Tara Dickinson, MA, CF-SLP - Shadyside
- Laura Shinavski, MA. CF-SLP - St. Margaret
- Delaney Igoe, MS, CF-SLP - Montefiore Inpatient Rehabilitation
Pitt Faculty
Kendrea Garand is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders (CSD) at the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her clinical doctorate (CScD) at the University of Pittsburgh and earned her PhD at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Her interests include how healthy aging, neurological diseases (ALS; IBM), and sleep disorders (OSA) impact upper aerodigestive tract functions, including swallowing, airway clearance capacity (cough), and respiratory-swallow coordination. She has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for approximately 15 years and supervises graduate student clinicians in the CSD master’s program in speech-language pathology within the UPMC health systems. Dr. Garand has Board Certifications in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (BCS-S) and Brain Injury (CBIS). Part of her professional service responsibilities includes Editor-in-Chief of the Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups journal and Chairperson of the American Board of Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders.