She has her bachelor's and master's from James Madison University and received her Clinical Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology from Nova Southeastern University.

"I am a speech-language pathologist at heart. I worked as a clinician for about seven years and then a friend of mine convinced me to go with her to get our clinical doctorate," said Dr. Salley.

She completed that in 2009 which allowed her to teach in higher education.

"I really enjoy working with students and seeing the passion they have for a field that I love," said Dr. Salley.

She worked in schools, hospitals, home-health and long-term care settings before she began her career in higher education.

She teaches online classes for ENMU and enjoys her online students because they are always "eager learners, inquisitive and a joy to work with."

The most compelling thing she's done in her clinical career was when she could bring the social aspect of eating to someone who had swallowing issues.

"I remember a patient that I had awhile back. He had a massive stroke and really had no swallowing function at all. He was tube-fed but his goal was to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family that year. He was a very hard worker and on Thanksgiving Day I met him and his family at the facility. He ate turkey, mashed potatoes, and other yummy Thanksgiving food with his family. His wife was crying tears of joy, I was crying and he was crying, too. It was very gratifying to know that I helped that happen," explained Dr. Salley.

In terms of her higher education career she would say that seeing the passion for the SLP field through the eyes of her students is something that she will never forget.

"I love to see them grow from timid students into competent clinicians," said Dr. Salley.

She considers Gil Lacy her mentor.

"She was my supervisor when I was a graduate student and really taught me a lot about what an SLP does. She was always very patient with me as I asked tons of questions and still is available to answer questions as they arise," she said.

Dr. Salley grew up in southern Virginia and still resides there. The area is rural so growing up "was very laid back and peaceful." She enjoys the small-town feeling of her community.

She has been married for 15 years and has three kids. Their son is 13, the middle daughter is 11, and the youngest daughter is 7. All of them play baseball and/or softball. Dr. Salley coaches both of her girls' teams.

She also rides ATVs with her kids, reads any mystery novel she can get her hands on and hangs out with friends.

Her favorite place in the world is where her family is.

"I am not a traveler, per se. I love my small home town and the people in my community. As long as I can be with my family and experience things through my kids' eyes, I am happy and content," said Dr. Salley.