Meet the Board Members & Officers
Leaders in Stuttering Treatment
At STARS, advancing stuttering research and treatment depends on thoughtful leadership and a shared commitment to progress. Our Board Members are dedicated volunteers who help guide the organization, support innovation in research and care, and advocate for the rights of people who stutter.
Board Members & Officers
Gerald Maguire MD
President and Founder Dr. Gerald Maguire, a psychiatrist and person who stutters, has dedicated his career to developing innovative treatments for stuttering and related neurological conditions. He is Chair and Director of Residency Training in Psychiatry at College Medical Center, Long Beach, California, and Faculty Director of Graduate Medical Education at the Maguire Neuropsychiatric Institute, Oroville Hospital.
Dr. Maguire earned a BS in Biochemistry from UC Davis, obtained his MD from Saint Louis University, and completed his psychiatry residency at UC Irvine. He is Professor Emeritus at UC Riverside School of Medicine, where he served as Chair of Psychiatry (2014–2021) and previously as Senior Associate Dean at UC Irvine (2007–2014).
A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Member of the American College of Psychiatrists, Dr. Maguire has held leadership roles in the National Stuttering Association and the International Stuttering Association. He has published over 75 journal articles and authored multiple books and book chapters on the neuroscience-based treatment of stuttering.
For more information or to get in touch, you can reach me at GMaguireMD@StutteringResearch.org
Anelise Junqueira Bohnen PhD, SLP
Vice President Dr. Anelise Junqueira Bohnen is a leading expert in fluency disorders with a PhD in Applied Linguistics and a Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology. She specializes in stuttering, trained by the Stuttering Foundation of America and Northwestern University.
As President of the Brazilian Fluency Institute (IBF) and a member of multiple international advisory boards, she contributes to fluency research, policy, and education worldwide. A professor, author, and speaker, Dr. Bohnen has published extensively and presents nationally and internationally on fluency disorders.
Yoshikazu Kikuchi MD, PhD
Secretary Dr. Kikuchi is an Assistant Professor at Kyushu University Hospital’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. He earned his medical degree from Kyushu University in 2005 and completed a two-year residency thereafter. Dr. Kikuchi specializes in stuttering and fluency disorders, with research interests encompassing the neurological aspects of stuttering, social anxiety disorder, and vocal cord function during stuttering episodes. He has been an active member of stuttering self-help groups for over two decades and currently serves as the Japanese Development Chair for the World Stuttering Network.
Lisa LaSalle PhD, CCC-SLP
Treasurer Dr. Lisa LaSalle is a professor at California State University-Monterey Bay, where she teaches and supervises graduate clinicians in the Speech-Language Pathology Master’s program. With over 30 years of experience, she has held tenure-track positions at the University of Redlands and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, specializing in stuttering within the field of communication sciences and disorders.
Dr. LaSalle’s research and publications focus on preschoolers who stutter, as well as cluttering, stuttering and phonological complexity, and pharmacological considerations for stuttering treatment. Through her teaching, supervision, and applied research, she continues to contribute to advancements in fluency disorders and speech-language pathology.