Patricia Gaffney, AuD, MPH

Patricia (Tish) Gaffney, AuD, MPH, is a professor at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. She earned her bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and her doctor of audiology (AuD) from the University of Pittsburgh. She finished her master’s of public health (MPH) degree at Nova Southeastern University in 2024.

Prior to her work at NSU, she worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Miami. She joined the audiology department at NSU in 2007 and her specialty is vestibular diagnostics and treatment. At NSU, Dr. Gaffney teaches the vestibular and amplification courses. In addition, she is a clinical preceptor for first- and second-year AuD students in the NSU audiology clinic. She is also the advisor to the NSU chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology. She additionally holds an appointment as an adjunct professor at University of South Dakota for the vestibular courses.

Dr. Gaffney’s research interests and presentations at various national and state meetings are primarily on the topic areas of vestibular, amplification, and professional issues. She also serves as a reviewer for various journals.

Dr. Gaffney’s service to the American Academy of Audiology is wide-ranging. Overall, she has served on 35 committees, subcommittees, and task forces for the Academy. She currently is on the Practice Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC) and is the past chair for the Membership and Leadership Council. Dr. Gaffney has previously served as chair of the Public Relations and the Honors committees.  During her time on the Public Relations Committee, she was instrumental in creating October’s National Audiology Awareness Month. Dr. Gaffney was a member of the 2010 Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology Conference (JFLAC) class, the conference chair for the 2013 AudiologyNOW! conference in Anaheim, California, and served on the Academy Board of Directors from 2012-2015. She served on the Board of Trustees and as Secretary/Treasurer for the AAA Foundation from 2018-2021. Most currently, Dr. Gaffney is the 2023 recipient of the Academy’s Outstanding Educator Award.

Dr. Gaffney also maintains memberships and relationships with several organizations outside of Academy She was on the founding Board of Audiology Practice Standards Organization (APSO) and served as their president in 2021. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the American Balance Society (ABS) and was the conference chair for the 2023 ABS conference.