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Dr. Joanne Lasker awarded Alumni Award for Teaching Innovation – Berkeley Beacon

The college honored Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Joanne Lasker with its Alumni Award for Teaching Innovation at last week’s ERA Awards.

With Friday’s honor, the speech pathologist was elevated alongside colleagues Maria Agui Carter and Amelia Broome, the 2020 and 2021 recipients of the award, respectively, as Emerson’s latest distinguished professor in her field.

Lasker graduated from Wesleyan University in 1984, and went on to secure postgraduate degrees from Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Afterward, she served as a professor of speech pathology at Western Michigan University, and later, at Florida State University. Impressed with the strength of the CSD program at Emerson, Lasker decided to relocate to Boston in 2012. 

“I have benefited greatly from smart, caring colleagues in the department of CSD,” she said. “[There are] people who have ideas to run by others, to share the joys and the sorrows of teaching, and people who are committed to creating and supporting speech language pathologists.”

Lasker was the founding director of the graduate program Speech@Emerson—an online master’s program—and served as on-campus graduate program director for several years. She then moved on to serve as the CSD department chair from 2018 to 2020.

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“She’s very deserving of the award. She’s a very dedicated professor,” said School of Communications Dean Raul Reis. “She’s an expert in her field of communication disorders. She is really always looking for different innovative ways to teach her classes.”

Reis serves on the Dean’s Council—a sextet made up of the college’s four deans, the provost, and the assistant provost—that nominated Lasker for the award. He stressed the important role Lasker plays within the master’s program, saying her “embrace of technology” within her field made her an asset in the classroom.

“The Speech@Emerson program is a very innovative master’s program that we have here in the college, where almost all of the teaching is done remotely,” he said. “Joanne Lasker was really instrumental in bringing that program to life. She was quick to understand the importance of having that program and to make that program work.”

Lauren Nehilla, a hybrid clinical instructor in the CSD department, echoed Reis’ sentiments. Her experience with Lasker has been “wide-ranging,” Nehilla said.

“I am privileged to have worked under her when she was chair and founding graduate program director of Speech@Emerson,” Nehilla said. “I consider her a close colleague and a mentor and a friend in the field and in the department.”

According to Nehilla, the award is a “recognition of excellence in teaching and a recognition of an educator who goes above and beyond to really push forward.”

“I can think of no better recipient, no more deserving recipient, than Joanne,” Nehilla said.
Adri Pray (she/her) is a first-year Journalism major from Cape Cod, MA, and served previously as a correspondent. She loves investigative journalism, and is often found watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine.


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Innovation

The Ashley Marie Collection – Natural Hair Care for Gen Z by Gen Z

As a new generation of beauty consumers emerges, the beauty industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Gen Z consumers, in particular, are highly conscious about the ingredients in their beauty products. With a population that accounts for almost 30% of the world, Gen Z (born roughly between 1996 and 2012) are a major focus for several brands.

The desire to be  environmentally and socially aware, has led to a change  in this generation’s values and spearheaded the movement, urging companies to take action on the climate crisis. This is not merely rhetoric. Based on a survey conducted by Capgemini, in 2021, approximately 69 percent of surveyed participants belonging to Generation Z stated that they were willing to spend more on health and beauty products that contain natural and clean ingredients.This trend has led to the rise of natural beauty products, and the Ashley Marie Collection is at the forefront of this movement.

Created by 17-year-old entrepreneur Ashley Marie Gibson, the Ashley Marie Collection features a range of natural hair care products that cater specifically to the evolving needs of Gen Z consumers. Don’t be fooled by her young age – Ashley is a total boss. As a Gen-Z entrepreneur, Ashley is passionate about creating products that use natural ingredients and prioritize health and well-being. The Ashley Marie Collection reflects Gen Z’s preference for natural and eco-friendly products with its commitment to using only the cleanest, ethically sourced ingredients. All products are cruelty-free, color-safe, paraben-free, sulfate-free, and formulated with natural ingredients.


If being clean wasn’t enough, this brand checks off another box – being diverse and inclusive!  The Ashley Marie Collection is an entire hair care line specifically for 4C hair, a hair type that is often overlooked in the beauty industry. The line features a range of uniquely formulated products, including a Clarifying Shampoo, Moisturizing Shampoo, Hydrating Conditioner, Protein Conditioner, Leave-in Conditioner, Coil Cream, and Curly Coil Styling Gel. All of which work wonders for kinky, thick coils and will leave strands feeling and looking even better!

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Innovation

It’s your last day to apply to speak at TC Disrupt

Today’s your last chance to apply to speak at TechCrunch 2023
Why should you drop everything to get that application in by 11:59 p.m. PDT today? Not only will you help inform and educate the next generation of startups — and potential unicorns — but you’ll also establish or enhance your reputation as a valued thought leader and partner. Around here we call that a win-win situation.

How to apply to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023
When you apply, you’ll choose one of the two formats below and submit a title and description of your topic:

Breakout Session: Up to two people (including moderator) lead a 30-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute Q&A from an audience of up to 100 attendees. You’ll be able to display a presentation and have limited AV capabilities. You’ll present one breakout during Disrupt.
Roundtable Discussion: One person leads a 30-minute interactive conversation for an audience of up to 25 attendees. There is no presentation or AV — it’s all about organic conversation. You may potentially repeat this roundtable twice during Disrupt.
TechCrunch vets every application and then selects the finalists who will participate in the Audience Choice voting round. We’ll post the topics, descriptions and speakers online, and then TechCrunch readers will vote for the sessions they would like to see at the event. The top vote-getters will present live at Disrupt.

These are the important dates you need to know:

Application deadline: Today, April 21, by 11:59 p.m. PDT
Finalists notified: April 27
Audience Choice voting: May 1–12
Winners notified: May 15
Once more — a little louder this time: It’s your last opportunity to submit your application to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt on September 19–21! The application window slams shut today, April 21, at 11:59 p.m. PDT. One more reminder: Save up to $825 with an early-bird ticket. Buy your Disrupt pass, and join us in San Francisco!

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Innovation

TechCrunch+ roundup: Deep tech tips for SaaS VCs, toxic fundraising, student visa startup options

If someone said “startup” while we were playing a word association game, I’d respond with “fundraising.” (I bet you would, too.)

Asking people for money is a key aspect of every founder’s journey, but Techstars Managing Director Collin Wallace says it can also “accelerate your demise.”

For example, raising a round to rev up engineering, sales and marketing sounds positive — but what if the business itself has negative unit economics?.

“Most of the time, what stands between a company and its ability to achieve scale is not a lack of money,” writes Wallace in TC+.

“It’s better to ask: Do we have hustle problems? Product problems? Process problems? People problems? Is my business model fundamentally flawed?”

In this article, he examines four scenarios that often lead entrepreneurs to seek out new cash and explains why getting “a clear picture of what is fueling losses” is much more important.

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