Dr. Lisa Ann Scott, 54, of Tallahassee, FL died peacefully in her home on Tuesday, December 24, 2019 after a long and brave battle with breast cancer. Born on January 28, 1965, in Lincoln, NE, Lisa was the daughter of Edward (Connie) Harman and Linda (Larry) Frahm.
Professionally, Lisa was a decorated academic, serving the profession of Speech-Language Pathology faithfully for over 25 years. She knew from a young age she wanted to be an SLP and was committed to making a difference in her profession. Lisa graduated with her Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Employed by Florida State University since January of 2002, she most recently served as the Director of Clinical Education and as a Research Associate in the School of Communication Science and Disorders. She taught courses in stuttering, counseling and professional issues. A renowned professor at FSU, Lisa was the recipient of many teaching awards. She received the Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award (2007), Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (2007), Distinguished Faculty Award (2011), Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award (2012) and most recently received Florida State’s highest teaching recognition, the Distinguished Teacher Award in 2016. In addition to teaching, Lisa maintained an active clinical practice, serving clients who stuttered of all ages but with a special focus on young adults.
During her time at FSU, Lisa taught hundreds of students and most will tell you that she left a lasting impact on their life beyond the classroom. She was the professor you could count on – the one who was real about her experiences professionally and personally. She made you laugh, made you cry, and made the material she was teaching relatable, understandable and fun. She took care of her students – academically, emotionally, and sometimes even physically. She would host students in her home over holiday breaks, allow you to sit in her office and cry or laugh, and provided the perfect guidance in the most tumultuous of times. If you knew her, she was “that person” in your life.
Beyond her work at Florida State University, Lisa served as Vice President for Professional Practices for the Stuttering Foundation of America, as a consultant for Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration’s Bureau of Medicaid Services and as a HIPAA privacy expert for other universities across the United States. She volunteered as an accreditation site visitor for the Council on Academic Accreditation, American Speech Language Hearing Association, as Past-President of the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and for the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery program.
She was named Fellow of the American Speech Language Hearing Association in 2014, and received the Stuttering Foundation of America’s inaugural “Dr. Alan Rabinowitz Award for Clinical Education” in 2018. Most recently, she received “Honors of the Council” from the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders in April of 2019.
Personally, Lisa never met a dog she didn’t want to kiss or a vanilla-frosted-with-sprinkles cake donut she didn’t want to eat. She was obsessed – for real – with Diet Coke (preferably from Whataburger on Thomasville Rd.), dachshunds and her granddaughter, Mousie. She was the keeper of any and all random tidbits of information. U.S. Presidents? The Royal Family? The Iditarod? She’s your girl. Need to dish on the latest episode of “90 Day Fiancé”? Text Lisa – she watched it already. She would remember everything you told her about your life, even if she hadn’t seen or talked to you in years. Lisa was compassionate, giving, kind, empathetic and all those things we all aspire to be daily. She had the perfect card for any situation and always remembered to send it to you. She was beyond hilarious and relatable in a way that not many humans are. Lisa had more best friends than many people have in their lifetime, probably because she hogged them all.
Most importantly, Lisa was a warrior. The first in her family to go to college, she was 32 before she moved more than 5 miles away from the hospital she was born in, and she did it as a single parent and on a mission with her career. She moved halfway across the country to follow her dream – away from her family, her friends and the comfort of the Midwest. She loved fiercely – her husband Ned was her most cherished friend and partner. She was the best mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, colleague and storyteller any of us have ever met. She has left a legacy in her field that will live on beyond her lifetime.