Faculty & Staff

Ms. Richards obtained her B.A. in Mass Communications at Truman State University in 1990 and her M.Ed. in Communication Disorders at Northeastern State University (Oklahoma) in 1995.

Andrea Richards is a licensed and certified SLP providing class instruction and clinical supervision in the CMDS department since 2004. Prior to Truman, Ms. Richards worked as a medical speech-language pathologist in the areas of early intervention, acute care, rehabilitation, skilled-nursing, home-health, newborn hearing screenings, and outpatient clinics. Her specialties include dysphagia (swallowing disorders), early intervention, and adult acquired disorders (stroke and traumatic brain injury). Ms. Richards teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Introduction to Communication Disorders, Fluency Disorders, Aphasia, Medical Speech-Language Pathology, and Dysphagia. She is a VitalStim therapy provider, an Independent Provider for Missouri First Steps and provides PRN services for the local hospital.  Ms. Richards is the current President of the Missouri Speech-Language & Hearing Association (MSHA).

In May, 2011, Ms. Richards, along with Dr. Janet Gooch and alumni Bridget Conant, organized and supervised the first CMDS 9-day Experience in Mexico, with 24 CMDS students. This has since become an annual May interim event led by Ms. Richards. 

Ms. Richards supervises a wide variety of student clinical assignments, including services provided via Zoom in the Truman Speech and Hearing Clinic and regional Missouri First Steps clients.