Currently viewing Vol. 10 • Issue 6 • 2023

Message from the President

By Michael Vekasi, AuD, R.Aud, Aud(C), FAAA

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Hello, my name is Michael Vekasi, and I am honoured to be your incoming President of the Canadian Academy of Audiology (CAA). I look forward to serving you and our members in this role over the next year.

I wanted to start my message off by saying a huge thank you to all members who participated in the 2023 CAA Conference, hosted in Ottawa, Ontario in October. It was an incredibly successful conference with record attendance (including over 120 student members) and a fantastic roster of speakers, poster presenters, industry, sponsors, and exhibitors.

We look forward to welcoming you to our next conference in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 6-9, 2024, at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort – I hope to see you there!

Your Board of Directors has been working incredibly hard with amazing synergy to advance the profession of Audiology in Canada. We look forward to continuing our work toward our five main strategic areas, which include:

  • Building awareness with the public,
  • Supporting provincial Audiology,
  • Increasing Audiology advocacy with the Federal government,
  • Retaining and increasing membership, and
  • Continuing high-quality education to audiologists.

My clinical background comes from working in the public health system, as such, one of my goals over my tenure as President will be to explore how Audiology can be more integrated or collaborate with primary care. Also understanding that public Audiology makes up only a small portion of the practice of Audiology in Canada, it is also my goal to continue work that supports all audiologists and advances the profession of Audiology.

I look forward to and am excited about the work that myself, the Board of Directors, the many volunteers, and the administration at CAA can accomplish over this next year! Our profession is small, but mighty, and I believe that we can make big differences in the lives of our patients and their families.

With gratitude,
-Michael

Dr. Michael J. Vekasi, AuD, R.Aud, Aud(C), FAAA
Doctor of Audiology | Registered Audiologist
President, Canadian Academy of Audiology

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About the author

Michael Vekasi, AuD, R.Aud, Aud(C), FAAA

Dr. Vekasi is a Senior Trainer for Allied Health with a province-wide clinical information system implementation at Alberta Health Services. He was previously a clinical audiologist where his caseload focused on vestibular diagnostic assessments as well as a multi-disciplinary vestibular clinic. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor with A.T. Still University, teaching vestibular assessment and management to post-professional Doctor of Audiology students, and a sessional instructor at MacEwan University.

He is an editor of the “Striking the Right Balance” column in Canadian Audiologist, an executive member of the National Vestibular Special Interest Group, a director (and president-elect) for the Canadian Academy of Audiology (CAA) and also volunteers his time with ACSLPA, SAC, the AAofA (Alberta Association of Audiologists), and TAP (The Audiology Project) Canada.

Dr. Vekasi was recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal in 2022 and awarded the 2020 Professional Leadership Award from A.T. Still University.