Laurie Wells, Au.D., Manager of Audiology for Associates in Acoustics, Inc., received the Michael Beall Threadgill Award during a ceremony at the annual conference of the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). This award, established in 1985, recognizes an individual whose committed leadership and insight has furthered the NHCA’s mission of preventing hearing loss from environmental factors in all sectors of society.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Wells has been strong proponent of hearing conservation, both within and beyond the NHCA. Dr. Wells has represented the American Academy of Audiology on the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) since 2007; currently, she is the Vice-Chair of Education for CAOHC. She has provided occupational audiology services to local employers while employed at the University of Northern Colorado Speech-Pathology and Audiology Clinic. Her efforts are by no means confined to the United States: she has provided hearing conservation education and implementation in Belgium, China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, India, Spain and the West Indies.

In 1999, Dr. Wells accepted the role of Secretary on the NHCA Executive Council; she remained on the council for the next seven years, serving as Vice-President, President-Elect, President, and finally Past President in 2007. During this time she planned and participated in multiple NHCA Excellence Seminars, acted as Program Chair for two consecutive conferences, contributed to and served as Associate Editor for the NHCA Spectrum, and served on multiple task forces within NHCA.

“Dr. Wells has selflessly donated her time and energy to our organization, and to the cause of hearing loss prevention. She exemplifies the ideals of the NHCA with her dedication,” said Laura Kauth, NHCA President and Chair of the Nominations Task Force.

Dr. Wells was also recognized as the 2011 Outstanding Lecturer for her thought-provoking presentation at the 2011 conference, titled “From Here to There to Hear”.

About the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA)

The mission of the NHCA is to prevent hearing loss due to noise and other environmental factors in all sectors of society. NHCA provides networking, resources and professional development opportunities to improve skills, practices, and services in hearing loss prevention. NHCA's membership includes audiologists, researchers, industrial hygienists, educators, professional service organizations, safety professionals, medical professionals, engineers, audio professionals, students, and others who have dedicated their work to the advancement of hearing loss prevention. More information about the the NHCA is available at: www.hearingconservation.org.