Megan Vaughan

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Megan Vaughan is the lead STAR (Service Member Transitional Advanced Rehabilitation) speech language pathologist and works at the Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care Systems. Her worksite is one of the five programs in the United States VA systems specialized in treating Active Duty Special Forces Operators. As the first speech-language pathologist on the team, she developed the STAR speech-language pathology service line. She has over 10 years of experience with traumatic brain injury and uses integrated mindfulness as part of her approaches to cognitive and communication therapy. Dr. Vaughan specializes in trauma informed care and mild traumatic brain injury.

During the completion of her doctorate at Northwestern University, she developed the Mindfulness-Based Communication Enhancement (MBCE) Program for Special Operators with mild TBI. This program has since expanded to other sites in the VA health system. Currently, she is a part of the Veterans Affairs CALM program, an initiative to train and empower selected practitioners in mindfulness initiatives. She is MBSR certified and working on mPEAK certification for mindfulness for elite performers such as a Special Forces Operatives.

She has presented at numerous national conferences on mindfulness in speech-language pathology, multidisciplinary collaborative mindfulness approaches, and has pioneered a specialized mindfulness course for communication and Special Forces. Her research interests include executive functioning, mindfulness, emotional intelligence and attention therapy for mild traumatic brain injury.