Briona Daugherty’s (MS-SLP ’22) speech-language pathology (SLP) path began on board a cruise ship. Daugherty graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in theatrical performance. She studied opera and musical theater, originally wanting to be a touring singer for Broadway-style shows. After spending time as a professional singer in Las Vegas and New York City, she began a career performing on cruise ships, including five years in China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. The longer she worked on cruise ships, the more she aided other vocalists in adjusting to life onboard. This included helping entertainment employees maintain their voices for more than two hours a night in a 2,000-seat theater. After witnessing Read more
Dr. Gabriel Somarriba joined the faculty in 2009 as an adjunct professor on the St. Augustine campus. His area of clinical specialization is pediatrics, with a focus on Cerebral Palsy. Dr. Somarriba has more than 10 years of clinical experience: As an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, he launched an outpatient Pediatric clinic that served a dual role of patient care and clinical research. He’s served as a physical therapist at Holtz Children’s Hospital working with pediatric neurologists on innovative approaches for the management of Spastic Cerebral Palsy.
Dr. Somarriba’s work in the community includes roles such as exercise physiologist and physical therapist for the Miami-Dade County Parks and Open Spaces where he developed community-based physical activity programming for children. He is also a Clinical Director for the Special Olympics, FunFitness program.
He is a licensed physical therapist and a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Pediatric and Education Section. Dr. Somarriba is published in peer-reviewed journals in various topics including spinal cord injuries, chronic conditions in pediatrics and interventions for adult neurological conditions. He also serves as a reviewer for the various peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Somarriba’s current scholarly agenda focuses on assessment and interventions to improve the function of individuals with neurological conditions.
