Communication Disorders Foundation of Virginia

Honoring Two Who Have Grown Our Professions

This fall, the Trustees of the Communication Disorders Foundation of Virginia (CDF) are honoring two individuals who played key roles in the profession of speech-language pathology in Virginia: David Narburgh and Nancy O’Hare.

David Narburgh

David Narburgh, 78, passed away on September 22, 2024. He moved to Virginia from New York to earn his masters’ degree at the University of Virginia and worked as SLP program director at Easter Seals of Virginia and at the Central Virginia Speech & Hearing Center. He served as the Executive Director of the Prince William Speech and Hearing Center for 34 years, becoming a leader in community-based speech-language-hearing clinics in Virginia and nationwide.

David was an engaged leader in Virginia. He served as SHAV President from 1977-79. Dr Clint Bennett, who followed David as SHAV President remembers David as “a Prince of a person; Everybody like him, which can be said about very, very few people. He was extra supportive of me when I became SHAV president.” Pat Dewey, commented on his “delightful sense of humor and memorable laugh.” She described him as one you could count on and a strong supporter of CDF.

In 1991, he joined CDF, serving on the board for more than 10 years including President of CDF from 1991-2000. Many of us remember David’s enthusiasm at the annual Silent Auction – engaging everyone present in bidding (and outbidding friends). Thanks to David’s leadership in the early days of CDF, a solid foundation for fund-raising and distributing scholarships was created. CDF Trustees named one of the scholarships in his honor and began recognizing students with outstanding clinical potential with the David Narburgh scholarship in 2002.

Nancy Kurtz O’Hare

Nancy Kurtz O’Hare, passed away on Thursday, May 23, 2024, the day before her 90 th birthday. Nancy moved to an assisted living facility in Warminster in December of 2023, to be close to her son Michael and his wife, Ellen. Nancy said leaving Virginia (she called Staunton and Harrisonburg home) after 64 years was “really difficult.” Her roots here were deep, having served as Mayor of Staunton in the early 1990s and serving on multiple boards in the Valley and State. Dr. Nancy O’Hare and Robert Morris began the Speech Pathology and Audiology Program at Madison College in the 1960s. The undergraduate program was originally in Special Education but grew into its own department in a short time. Today, the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department has national recognition with top-ranked academic and clinical programs.

Nancy was instrumental in securing licensure for speech-language pathologists and audiologists in Virginia, the first state in the nation to have licensure. She served as President of SHAV in 1972-73 and attended the annual conference into her 80s. At her memorial service in October, Brenda Seal looked through Nancy’s memoirs, including two SHAV files full of newspaper clippings of governor signings, articles on the importance of the state’s speech and hearing programs, and campaigns for fund-raising. Brenda shared that Nancy’s shoulders were broad and that her role as mentor, colleague, professional, and friend supported many of the practicing SLPs who remember her as a strong leader.

David and Nancy were two leaders who “paid it forward,” engaging in work that supported the growth of speech-language pathology in Virginia. Each of us has experienced the benefit of their commitment. We ask you to consider donating to the CDF to enable continued support of scholarships for aspiring clinicians. CDF will inform David and Nancy’s families of how they have been honored by the speech-language pathology community.

A donation can be made online at https://www.cdfvirginia.org/ and click the “Donate Money Here” button. Then click on the “Donate in Honor or Memory” button to indicate that the donation is in David’s or Nancy’s memory. Donations can also be made by mailing a check to: Treasurer, P.O. Box 6342, Charlottesville, VA 22906-6342

Meet the 2024 CDF SCHOLARSHIP Recipients

Anoli Mehta, an SLP graduate student at Longwood University, has been awarded the Rita Purcell-Robertson Scholarship in the amount of $4,000.

Lauren Bledsoe, an SLP graduate student at Radford University, has been awarded the David H. Narburgh Scholarship in the amount of $4,000. 

Lauren Michaud, an SLP graduate student at James Madison University, has been awarded the Pat Thomas Dewey Scholarship in the amount of $3,000. 

Visit our Awards and Honors page for more information on these awards!

Our mission

The mission of the Communication Disorders Foundation of Virginia is to serve as a non-profit organization of volunteers who support the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology through fundraising for scholarships awarded to students in Virginia's communication sciences and disorders programs, and to support achievement and honor excellence in student and colleague accomplishments.

OUR History

The Foundation began in 1985 as a committee of the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia (SHAV) with the purpose of raising and awarding scholarship funds for graduate studies in the field of communication disorders.  A year later, it was established as an independent foundation with a Board of Trustees and 501(c) (3) status.

CDF Scholars Across the Years