Amber Heape graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in Speech-Language Pathology and the University of South Carolina with a Master of Communication Disorders. After 6 years of employment in the public school system, Amber discovered that her passion actually lay with the geriatric population.  Since 2005, Amber has been employed in sub-acute rehabilitation and skilled nursing settings. She has initiated and built speech therapy programs in rural South Carolina. Amber’s primary focus has been preserving the quality of life and functional cognitive/ linguistic abilities for geriatric residents and rehabilitation patients. She is currently employed as the Therapy Outcomes Coordinator and Speech Language Pathologist at United Rehab Post Acute Care center in Bamberg, SC.
 
Amber is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association and an affiliate of divisions 13 (Dysphagia) and 15 (Gerontology). She has twice received the ACE award from ASHA for continuing education. She is also a member of the South Carolina Speech Language Hearing Association, where she has served on the convention, healthcare, and publications committees. She has served 2 years as publications committee chair and is currently serving a term as convention chair for 2010.  Amber will begin her term as President-Elect of the South Carolina Speech Language Hearing association in 2010.  Amber has presented at the South Carolina Speech Language Hearing Association conference on her ideas for functional therapy within long-term care and rehabilitation environments. She is a certified provider of Vital Stim Therapy.