New CEO at speech pathology peak

Speech Pathology Australia has appointed allied health sector executive Jodie Long as its new chief executive officer.

In a statement, Speech Pathology Association national president Tim Kittle said: “During the long and carefully considered recruitment process, we were very honoured to meet some highly skilled candidates and through our due diligence we are confident that our decision to appoint Jodie will set the association up for a prosperous future.”

Ms Long is an executive healthcare leader who has spent more than 25 years in the allied healthcare sector. She brings to Speech Pathology Australia a mix of both business and clinical experience.

Working at Siemens for 11 years, Ms Long held customer-orientated sales roles and senior managerial roles. A former radiographer, Ms Long has also provided healthcare management consultancy services for a variety of clients, including NSW Health.

Ms Long joins the national peak body for the speech pathology profession in Australia after five years as CEO at the Australian Sonographers Association.

Posting on LinkedIn, Ms Long said: “After five amazing years at the ASA, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the team at Speech Pathology Australia … I am excited for my next chapter, to learn from the dedicated team at Speech Pathology Australia and the inspiring 1,400-plus members to work together to achieve shared goals.”

While at ASA – which represents experts in ultrasound – Ms Long increased its membership by more than 40 per cent. The achievement was recognised in 2020 with ASA short-listed as a finalist for Association Turn Around of the Year award.

In a statement, Ms Long said she would work with the Speech Pathology Australia team to “empower speech pathologists” and raise the profile of the profession.

“I recognise that allied health professionals have significant and often overlooked roles in caring for clients at all stages of life and I will work tirelessly to continue to raise awareness of the vital role of speech pathologists so that everyone can achieve effective communication and swallowing throughout their lives.”

Ms Long’s appointment follows the recent retirement of Gail Mulcair who was Speech Pathology Australia CEO for 18 years.

Ms Long will commence her new role at the end of July.

In the meantime, deputy CEO Robert Di Leva will be acting CEO.

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