Our Team
Associate Dean for Student Research | Co-Director & Medical Director of Perioperative Services
Director of Otology, Neurology and Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Program
Dr. Anil Lalwani is Associate Dean for Student Research, tenured Professor and Vice Chair for Research, and Co-Director of Columbia Cochlear Implant Program in the Department of Otolaryngology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. In addition, he serves as the Medical Director of Perioperative Services at NewYork Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP/CUIMC). He has served as the President of American Neurotology Society (2014-2015) and President of the American Auditory Society (2017-2018). He previously served as Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at New York University School of Medicine. He is also one of the integral leaders for the CHHC at NYPH.
Dr. Lalwani earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1985 and subsequently completed his internship in General and Thoracic Surgery at Duke University Medical Center and his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Lalwani is considered one of the leading experts on hearing loss in children and adults. He is the author of more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, and numerous book chapters – his h-index is 64. He has published numerous books including the textbook defining the subspecialty of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology.
Professor of Pediatrics
Medical Director, Center for Community Health Navigation
Dr. Adriana Matiz is a Professor of Pediatrics at NYP/CUIMC. She is also the Medical Director of CCHN where she oversees the clinical integration and model development of the Patient Navigator and Community Health Worker Programs across the healthcare system. Dr. Matiz has served as the medical director of WIN for Asthma, a nationally recognized program to strengthen community-wide asthma management for children in Northern Manhattan, which later expanded the CHW model to multiple populations. She has created an asthma medical home model for children, pediatric care management model, and a model of care for children with special health care needs in primary care practices to improve care and reduce preventable healthcare utilization. Her passion is to decrease health disparities and to expand the delivery of culturally competent care.
Dr. Matiz is a native of Colombia, raised in NYC, and a graduate of New York University College of Arts and Science as well as School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric training and subsequent Chief Residency at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and resides with her family in the Bronx.
Director of Cochlear Implants and Pediatric Audiology
Dr. Megan Kuhlmey is the Director of Cochlear Implants and Pediatric Audiology at NYP/CUIMC and serves as an Assistant Professor of Audiology. Dr. Kuhlmey received her Master of Science from Brooklyn College and her Clinical Doctorate in Audiology from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences. Dr. Kuhlmey holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology.
Dr. Kuhlmey is well respected in the field of cochlear implants and pediatric audiology, and has practiced in NYC for over twenty years. Dr. Kuhlmey has a clinical focus on pediatric audiology, pediatric amplification, and cochlear implants. She specializes in early intervention of hearing loss and collaborates with other professionals for a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment. Dr. Kuhlmey works closely with the CHHC program through daily patient care and comprehensive team meetings, which has become an integral part of patient care for her practice.
Maria Olmeda-Jenkins, AuD, CCC-A
Audiologist
Supervisor of the Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Program
Dr. Maria Olmeda-Jenkins earned her Master of Arts in Audiology from The City College of the City University of New York and her Clinical Doctorate in Audiology from Salus University. Dr. Olmeda-Jenkins holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. Dr. Olmeda-Jenkins has served the Washington Heights community in the field of audiology for more than twenty-nine years, serving the population across all ages. In her role, she oversees and supervises all aspects of the EHDI Program at both the NYP/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Allen Hospital working with a dedicated team of 9 staff members to ensure that all infants born at or are discharged to home from NYP NICUs receive a hearing screening prior to discharge.
As the Audiologist and Program Supervisor, Dr. Olmeda-Jenkins is responsible for hiring screeners, training and educating of the staff, and ensuring all newborns tested are followed when indicated. In addition, Dr. Olmeda-Jenkins specializes not only with the hearing screening but, also, the audiological diagnosing of newborns and infants, connecting all infants and families to the appropriate specialty services when required.
Speech-Language Pathologist
Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist
Ms. Stacey Bernstein is an Associate in Clinical Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at NYP/CUIMC specializing in pediatric aural (re)habilitation and adult auditory training. Ms. Bernstein received her Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences as well as Family Studies and Human Development from The University of Arizona. She continued her education with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC). While at UNC, she participated in two grants providing specialized training to work with children with hearing loss and maternal-child health. Before joining NYP/CUIMC, Ms. Bernstein worked with children with hearing loss and other disorders through clinical visits, tele-therapy programs, and early intervention.
Ms. Bernstein’s clinical interests lie in the areas of pediatric aural (re)habilitation, early intervention, and adult auditory training. She is passionate about a family-centered, multidisciplinary team approach to care. Ms. Bernstein is an integral part of the Comprehensive Pediatric Hearing Program (CPHP) and the CHHC. She works in partnership with community members and professionals to increase access to hearing care for both children and adults.
Ms. Bernstein is licensed in Speech-Language Pathology through New York State, holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from ASHA, and the Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, Auditory-Verbal Therapist certification (LSLS cert AVT) from the Alexander Graham Bell Academy.
Melissa Oliver, MED
Deaf/Hard of Hearing Education Specialist
Melissa is an Officer of Administration in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at NYP/CUIMC specializing in pediatric hearing loss in ages birth to 21. Ms. Oliver is part of the Comprehensive Pediatric Hearing Team at NYP/CUIMC and an educator on the multidisciplinary team for the CHHC. She is also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Subcommittee for the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program and of the 4201 & Friends Network with the New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative. Ms. Oliver received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Sociology with a concentration in Deaf Culture from Muhlenberg College, and received the Lucille Cafouros Award in Sociology at Muhlenberg’s Honors Convocation. She continued her education with a Master of Education in Deaf Education from Smith College, and specializes in a listening and spoken language modality. Before joining NYP/CUIMC, Ms. Oliver worked in both public and private sectors of deaf education as a classroom teacher, Early Interventionist, evaluator, IFSP/IEP Coordinator, supervisor, and interim.
Patricia Peretz, MPH
Director of Population Health Strategy, Center for Community Health Navigation
Patricia leads the CCHN at NYPH where for the last 14 years she has worked alongside clinical and community partners to design, implement, and evaluate public health initiatives shown to reduce the burden of illness in communities throughout NYC. In this capacity, Patricia leads city-wide CHW programs with more than 100 team members based in 7 emergency departments, 2 inpatient units, 13 primary care sites, and 10 community-based organizations. Prior to this role, Patricia was an evaluation consultant at Columbia University and worked at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where she refined and evaluated strategies to improve the delivery of care for children with special needs. Patricia is a graduate of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Kristy Medina, MPH
Program Manager, Pediatric Community Health Workers
Kristy is a Program Manager for CCHN’s CHW programs at NYPH. She started as an intern at NYPH working on a quality improvement project to incorporate health literacy in the waiting rooms of outpatient practices. When she graduated from Brooklyn College's School of Public Health, she began working as a Program Coordinator for NYPH's obesity prevention program. In her current role, she supervises 17 bilingual CHWs in partnership with six community-based organizations throughout NYC. Kristy, like the CHWs, grew up supporting her family members with chronic conditions navigate the complex medical system and providing connections with community organizations that improve social-related health needs.
Azhlee Costa, BSHCA
Program Coordinator, Community Hearing Health Collaborative
Azhlee is a Program Coordinator for CCHN’s CHHC at NYPH. Before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration and Policy from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Public Health in 2019, she interned at a women’s care and community outreach center where she designed and implemented food insecurity, hypertension, and HIV/AIDS programs for underserved and uninsured populations throughout the Las Vegas Valley. She started at NYPH as an operations associate in the Office of Development specializing on event-related data management and standardization processes. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Public Health Management at New York University School of Global Public Health. In her current role, she coordinates logistics for various CHW programs with a main focus on pediatric hearing health.
Fajah Ferrer
CHW Manager, Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership