CAA News
Thank You for Making CAA Conference 2026 a Success!
We are delighted to celebrate the success of CAA Conference 2026 in Moncton, NB! With record-breaking attendance, this year’s conference brought together a vibrant community of audiology professionals for learning, networking, and collaboration, making it a wonderful opportunity to connect and celebrate our field.
A heartfelt thank you to our attendees for their enthusiasm, our speakers for sharing their knowledge and expertise, and our sponsors and exhibitors for their generous support and contributions. A huge thanks goes to the many volunteers who selected speakers, moderated talks, organized specialty groups such as students, and acted as ambassadors of CAA. We are grateful to our entire team for creating a great conference experience.
The inspiring conversations, new connections, and exchange of ideas highlighted the strength of our audiology community. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make CAA Conference 2026 such a memorable experience!
See you at CAA Conference 2027 being held from October 20th to 23rd in Ottawa, ON
CAA Recognizes Outgoing and Incoming President
CAA extends a heartfelt thank you to Patricia Auger for her dedication and contributions during her term as President. We are delighted to welcome Sarah Wilson as CAA’s new President and look forward to working with her as she guides the association’s work to support its members and promote audiology in Canada. We also congratulate Marshall Chasin on his new role as President-Elect. We are grateful for the commitment of our leadership team and, with the continued support and engagement of our members, look forward to another year of working together to strengthen our profession and advance CAA’s priorities.
CAA Thanks Outgoing Members of Our Board of Directors
CAA would like to recognize and thank our two departing Board members for their time, commitment, and contributions to the association. Their commitment has helped support CAA’s work and its ongoing efforts to serve members and advance the audiology profession across Canada
We sincerely appreciate the knowledge, perspective, and dedication they have brought to their roles. We wish them both every success in their future endeavours and thank them for their contributions to CAA and the profession.
Click images to read individual bios
Welcome to the New Members of the CAA Board of Directors
The Canadian Academy of Audiology is pleased to welcome Marshall Chasin, Katie Koebel and Danielle DiFabio as the newest members of our Board of Directors!
Each brings valuable knowledge, experience, and unique perspectives that will help strengthen CAA’s leadership and support the continued growth of our profession. We look forward to the contributions of our newest board members as we continue advancing audiology across Canada.
Click image to read bios
2026 CAA Award Winners
CAA President's Award
The Canadian Academy of Audiology is pleased to announce Chris Allan as the recipient of the 2026 President’s Award! This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of CAA. Recipients are nominated by the CAA President and approved unanimously by the Board of Directors.
Chris is the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education at Western University’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She served on the CAA Board of Directors from 2020 to 2026, including as CAA President from 2021 to 2022, providing exceptional leadership and helping advance CAA’s mission to support the audiology profession across Canada.
Chris continues to contribute to CAA as Chair of the Speaker Selection and Moderators Committee, overseeing speaker selection for the CAA Conference program. Chris cheerfully stepped up for countless small projects and provided wise advice throughout her term. Her continued dedication and advocacy for the audiology profession are greatly appreciated.
Congratulations, Chris, on this well-deserved recognition!
Paul Kuttner Pioneer Award
The Paul Kuttner Pioneer Award is presented this year to Dr. Bill Hodgetts. This award is presented to a pioneer in audiology who has “boldly gone where no one has gone before” and been the first to embark on a new program or procedure which has impacted audiology service delivery in Canada.
Prior to Bill staring his PhD there were no clinical methods for the prescription or verification of bone conduction hearing aids. Bringing a strong perspective of evidence-informed practice, collaboration, an interdisciplinary innovation, Bill began a combined position at the University of Alberta and a large osseointegration and reconstruction clinic, then called iRSM.
His work took both bootstrapping and out-of-the-box thinking, combined with basic science to develop and validate what is now commercially available as the DSL-BCD method. His lab pioneered the concept of ‘real bone’ verification to allow on-head measurement of bone conduction hearing aids, which was published in Ear & Hearing. Bill is also a CAA Past President. Congratulations Bill
Rising Star Award – Academia or Research
The Rising Star Award – Academia or Research recognizes an Audiology academic/researcher in their first 7 years of post-graduation (Masters or Doctoral) work who has contributed significantly to the profession. This may include single or combined contributions to research, teaching/education, or volunteer work to advancing the profession or patient care. CAA is pleased to present this award to 2 deserving winners: Mohamed Rahme and Melissa Hazen Congratulations.
2026 Student Award, Clinical Grant, Outstanding Poster Award and Bursary Winners
Clinical Research Grant Award
The CAA Research Grant for Clinical Investigators provides support, both financial and practical, to individuals seeking to investigate a unique research question on hearing and/or balance. The successful applicant will receive the support to help coordinate access to the proper resources to see the project to completion. This year the clinical research grant was awarded to Marie-Hélène Harvey, Audrey Scalan, Rachel Stephens, and Maxime Maheu (mentor)
Student Award Winners
The Canadian Academy of Audiology is pleased to introduce the recipients of the 2026 Student Awards nominated by their University faculty. The award is presented to Audiology graduated students in Canada who have distinguished themselves in academic or clinical excellence, outstanding research, or community service and promoting the profession of audiology.
CAA Student Poster Outstanding Research Awards
The Canadian Academy of Audiology awarded 3 Student Poster Outstanding Research Awards. The prizes were presented to audiology students working within hearing or balance who have presented original research (by poster and/or podium) for evaluation at the annual CAA Conference 2026.
The first place prize was awarded to Jana Bataineh, second place was awarded to Eileen Webster, and third place was awarded to Uvini Colonne.
CAA Student Bursary Winners
The Canadian Academy of Audiology student bursary partially supports students to attend the annual conference to learn and network.
The 2026 Student Bursary winners are, Eileen Webster, Jennifer Wong, Mackenzie Johnstone, Sanjanaa Arunagiri from Western University, and Tatum Romaniuk from the University of Ottawa
Scenes from the Conference!
Statistics Canada Invitation to Provide Feedback on Disability Measurements
Statistics Canada invites you to share your perspectives on disability measurement by completing an online feedback form.
As part of an ongoing review of its approach to producing disability statistics, Statistics Canada is seeking input from data users, subject matter experts, community organizations, and those with lived experience of disability. Your feedback will help us understand whether current disability measures continue to meet the evolving needs of Canadians.
How to Participate, please click the link https://tinyurl.com/y5bepksr
Deadline is November 19, 2026.