ASHA-Certified Audiologist Runs for Congress

Dr. Deanna Frazier Gordon—an audiologist, ASHA-certified member, and Kentucky state legislator—has announced her candidacy for the Republican primary in Kentucky’s sixth congressional district. If elected, she would be the first audiologist ever to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In an interview with Kellie Ellis, a Kentucky-based speech-language pathologist and member of ASHA’s Government Affairs and Public Policy Board, Gordon discussed her journey from clinician to policymaker and her vision for advancing the professions at the national level.

“It’s such a wonderful opportunity—not just for me but for our profession,” Gordon said. “To be able to contribute to a first in audiology is personally rewarding. And it’s going to raise the banner of our professions.”

Gordon has represented her community in the Kentucky General Assembly since 2019 and has run audiology practices in many of the counties in Kentucky’s sixth district. When one of her colleagues told Gordon she should run for state office, she decided to seize the opportunity.

“If not me, then who?” she said.

Prioritizing the Professions

Gordon started her career in elementary education. After taking a speech class, she learned how hearing and speech are interrelated, which led to her first audiology class.

“I had also taken piano lessons since kindergarten and I played in high school band,” she said. “When I took my first audiology class, all the concepts of music and frequencies and harmonics and all of that just clicked. I felt like I had landed in the right place where I was meant to be.”

During her time in the general assembly, Gordon has led several legislative efforts to support the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology. She played an integral role in passage of legislation that removed annual benefit limits for speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering.

She also championed Kentucky’s adoption of the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC), which expands access to care by allowing audiologists and SLPs to practice across state lines without needing to get additional licenses in each state. She has also promoted legislation that led to salary increases for school-based SLPs, telehealth coverage, student loan protections, and cancer screenings that are not subject to insurance deductibles.

If elected to Congress, Gordon looks forward to championing the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act, which would give seniors more timely and comprehensive access to audiology services. One of Gordon’s primary opponents is a physician who likely would look unfavorably toward the bill.

Helpers at Heart

Gordon said her experience as a clinician informed her approach to serving her constituents. She wanted to be able to advocate for people.

“As clinicians, we’re all helpers at heart,” she said. “If people can’t hear, they either withdraw or they dominate the conversation. It’s funny the parallels between that and how policy is made. I want to be that voice for my people.”

Gordon also said it’s important for clinicians to get involved in advocacy.

“You know your profession the best,” she said. “You need to be active in policy and in your government because it impacts every facet of our lives. Your voice really does make a difference.”

Looking ahead, Gordon wants to continue raising awareness of the important work that audiologists and SLPs do.

“[We’re] helping people, having greater access to speech and hearing services, and also ensuring that we as professionals can practice to the maximum of our scope of practice,” she said. “The goal is to raise awareness of our profession, show the work that we do, and be able to provide more access for our consumers.”

As a result of her work benefitting the professions in the Kentucky state assembly and her commitment to championing priorities important to the professions at the federal level if elected, the ASHA-PAC Board voted unanimously to support Gordon’s congressional campaign.

“I hope I can be everything that you want me to be,” she said. “Because we have such a shared background in communication, we know how to talk to people and we know how to listen to people, and I think at the end of the day, that’s what people want. People just want to be heard.”

Questions?

Please contact ASHA-PAC at pac@asha.org.