The Wisconsin Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Association has given its Lifetime Achievement Award to Marylou Pausewang Gelfer, UWM professor of communication sciences and disorders. The award, which comes on the eve of her retirement, recognizes Gelfer’s scholarly accomplishments, research, advocacy and extensive service in the field.
Gelfer has gained national and international prominence as a researcher in the field of voice and voice disorders, specifically for developing groundbreaking voice therapy for transgender people.
She conducted investigations at a time when virtually no other prior studies existed in this area and her work has been a benchmark for more recently developed clinician-rated assessments of transgender voice and voice therapy.
Gelfer has a long track record of service and teaching excellence. In 2008, she was awarded the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service and in both 2015 and 2016, the Dean’s Award for Leadership. Having served for 15 years as department chair, Gelfer has helped foster the success of her colleagues through professional development and mentoring.
