Communication Sciences and Disorders Alumnae Continue Careers at MMC

The Ruth Smadbeck Communication and Learning Center

CSD faculty and staff members include Margaret Kamowski-Shakibai ’01, Nathalia Fonseca ’10, Christina Castronovo ’13, and Kelly Ann Peña ’13.

Nathalia Fonseca ’10, Student Supervisor in The Ruth Smadbeck Communication and Learning Center: Earned her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Nova Southeastern University. In addition to her involvement at MMC, she works at Speech Pathology and Swallowing Disorders of Long Island. She says, “When asked what I think about MMC, I can honestly say it feels like home. It felt like home as a student and now as a clinical educator. Marymount Manhattan College’s close-knit community and even closer Speech Language Pathology major provided a comforting environment that not only prepared me for graduate school, but for real life experiences.”

Christina Castronovo ’13, Adjunct Instructor: Following her graduation from MMC, Castronovo entered graduate school at Brooklyn College, where she completed her Master’s Degree in 2015. During her graduate school studies, Christina served as a Graduate Fellow and had the opportunity of being an Adjunct Lecturer at Brooklyn College. In addition to being an Adjunct Instructor at MMC, she is a speech-language pathologist for the NEST Program at Millennium Brooklyn High School.

Kelly Ann Peña ’13, Adjunct Instructor: Earned her Master’s Degree in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her clinical fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta. Currently, she is a Speech and Language Pathologist at the Hospital for Joint Diseases at NYU Rusk in the pediatric rehabilitation department where she works with children and adults ages 0-21 on a variety of communication and swallowing difficulties. On returning to MMC she says, “I am truly lucky to have graduated from such an amazing program—and to be asked back to teach and ‘pay it forward’ to a new generation of students and future SLPs. It feels wonderful to be back home!”

Margaret Kamowski-Shakibai ’01, Former Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders (9/2012-6/2018): Earned a Master’s of Philosophy and Doctorate of Philosophy from the City University of New York’s Graduate Center in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and a Master’s of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences from William Paterson University upon completing her bachelor’s degree at MMC. Before joining the faculty at the College, she served as a Research Associate and later as a post-doctoral fellow at the Developmental Neurolinguistics Lab at the CUNY Graduate Center. She served as Assistant Professor at MMC from September 2012 until June 2018.

Published: March 05, 2018