Staff

Dr. Rachel Smith

Rachel Smith, Au.D. Audiology Clinic Director

Dr. Rachel Smith is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Communicative Disorders. She received her Au.D. from the University of Rhode Island in 2008. After receiving her degree, she worked in a large ENT practice as a clinical audiologist specializing in hearing aids and cochlear implants. Dr. Smith is currently the director of the audiology clinic in the URI Speech and Hearing Center.

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Sharon D’Antuono Clinic Operations Specialist

Sara joined the staff of the URI Speech and Hearing Centers in August of 2024 after working for over a decade as a licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist for Beltone New England. She is passionate about helping others, as evidenced in her annual involvement in the New England Volunteer Optometric Services (NEVOSH) Mission, where she serves as Audiology Chair.

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Karen Houle Speech and Language Clinic Director

Karen Houle is the Director of the URI Speech and Language Clinic and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Disorders. With over 25 years of clinical experience as a medical speech pathologist in acute rehabilitation, home health care and skilled nursing facilities, Karen’s specialties are adult neurological communication and swallowing disorders. She is an experienced clinical educator and manager, skilled in training, implementation and monitoring of clinical programs.

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Sharon D’Antuono Child Clinic Supervisor

Sharon is a Clinical Assistant Professor at URI and Supervisor of our Child Clinic in the Department of Communication Disorders. Sharon has over 20 years of clinical experience working with children at all levels in a public school setting and over 10 years as a clinical supervisor. Her specialty area is in utilizing literacy to improve speech and language outcomes while fostering literacy skills. Prior to her role in the schools, she was a Program Manager for an International Training and Research Program funded by NIH through the International Health Institute at Brown University.

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