Clear-Conversation

Evan Kennedy, CCC-SLP currently serves as an Associate in Clinical Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. He is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Voice Specialist at the Voice and Swallowing Center. Mr. Kennedy specializes in the evaluation and treatment of voice disorders across the lifespan. His clinical and research interests lie in the areas of gender-diverse voice and communication, professional voice rehabilitation, and paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder. Drawing from his prior experiences as a musician and athlete, he integrates diverse insights into his clinical practice, leveraging these backgrounds to enhance patient care and treatment outcomes. Mr. Kennedy holds a master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from McGill University. He is presently completing his master's of Biostatistics in Clinical Research Methods at the Mailman School of Public Health at CUIMC. Mr. Kennedy serves as a content expert for the American Board of Voice and Upper Airway Disorders, with whom he works to establish the national practice standards for voice-specialized speech pathologists. He actively participates in clinical research initiatives and has served as consulting faculty for nationally attended conferences. He regularly provides mentorship to graduate students as well as an international community of clinicians looking to further specialize their skills in voice assessment and care.

Yaffa M. Vitberg, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She serves as the Program Director for the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine.Dr. Vitberg received her undergraduate degree from Brandeis University in 2003 where she received the merit-based Justice Brandeis Scholarship. During her undergraduate sophomore year, she was selected for early admission to Tufts University School of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree in 2007. Upon graduation, Dr. Vitberg was awarded the Sydney S. Gellis Award in Pediatrics for outstanding achievement in the field of Pediatrics. Her pediatric internship and residency training were completed at NewYork Presbyterian - Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, where she served an additional year as Chief Resident. Dr. Vitberg went on to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at NewYork Presbyterian - Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center in 2014.Dr. Vitberg has presented her research at numerous scientific conferences throughout the United States. She is a dedicated teacher and has taught in numerous capacities for the Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine and the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Dr. Vitberg has volunteered in Uganda as a health education instructor while seeing patients in Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. She has also spent time in the emergency room setting in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Vitberg plays the cello in both the Cornell Music and Medicine Orchestra and the Columbia University Medical Center Symphony Orchestra.