Thursday, December 5
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., PT
Seattle Convention Center, Summit Building, Level 5, Ballroom 1

Alison Levine welcomes you to join her at the Opening General Session in this short video.

The Opening General Session kicks off the ASHA Convention! This popular event brings everyone together to celebrate the speech, language, and hearing professional community and celebrates our 2024 theme, “ELEVATE!” You'll be welcomed by ASHA President Tena McNamara, who will update everyone about the Association’s activities and accomplishments and share her insights on the theme. Then, Convention Co-Chairs Jerrold Jackson and Kimberly Ward will offer a preview of what’s in store for you in Seattle this year—including special sessions, new events, and other highlights. Finally, we will welcome special guest Alison Levine as keynote speaker.

Alison Levine is a history-making mountaineer and explorer. She served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, has climbed the highest peak on each continent, and has skied to both the North and South Poles—known as the Adventure Grand Slam—a feat which only twenty people in the world have achieved. Her success in extreme environments is remarkable given she has had three heart surgeries and suffers from Raynaud’s disease, which causes the arteries that feed her fingers and toes to collapse in cold weather, leaving her at extreme risk for frostbite.

Ms. Levine founded the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of women in western Uganda. Training them to become trekking guides and porters provides them a way to earn a sustainable living wage through climbing-related tourism in their local mountains. Her work to change the lives of women in Africa is the subject of the PBS documentary, Living Courageously.

When not challenging herself outdoors, Ms. Levine focuses on training others to become strong leaders. She spent four years as an adjunct professor at United States Military Academy at West Point before transitioning to the corporate world to work with executives in a leader development program.

Ms. Levine’s latest project is executive producing the upcoming documentary film, Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest, which chronicles the life of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first female Sherpa to summit Mt. Everest.

The Opening General Session jumpstarts the ASHA Convention and will get you energized and enthused about the next 3 days. Join us on Thursday morning and get ready to ELEVATE! your practice and leadership!

The Opening General Session is sponsored by Presence.

Tickets are not required for the Opening General Session, Awards Ceremony, or Closing General Session. Seating is offered on a first-come, first-served basis to full Convention registrants and one-day registrants, as applicable.