Fatima Hassan, M.S., CCC-SLP
Regional Director, EBS Healthcare
“My EBS Healthcare journey as a speech-language pathologist has been one filled with joy and learning at every curve. Born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe, I grew up with parents who placed a lot of emphasis on attaining a college education. My mom always said that it was a gift she could give her children that no one could take away. After graduating with my Master’s from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, EBS Healthcare gave me a platform to begin and flourish an amazing career path.
I began my Clinical Fellowship with EBS seven years ago in Stamford, CT. New to the field and uncertain about how to truly navigate my first few months, I was provided with a CF mentor and level of support that surpassed anything I could have imagined. What I realized during this fundamental year and the years to come was that I would always be supported, even when I became a support system for others!
After a tough winter coupled with the desire to relocate to some warmer weather, my knowledgeable HR specialist shared with me the multitude of opportunities that existed nationwide. South Florida is where my feet landed firmly and where I have been based ever since. Having studied and worked in three different states, I appreciated that I could relocate yet remain with EBS.
Throughout the years, I have been blessed to add many dimensions to my clinical skills with EBS Healthcare. Working as a school-based SLP in many different settings with EBS has strengthened my skill set and passion for working with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). After gaining confidence and independence as a clinician, I was offered the opportunity to be a CF mentor. Over the course of a few years, I continued to develop my leadership skills in that capacity with the guidance and support of my EBS colleagues. The same level of personalized support I was provided early on in my career came full circle as I was able to support, train and equip other clinicians with the tools of our trade. Travelling on a national level to state conventions as well as to the annual American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) convention to represent EBS Healthcare has been an honor. It is within this capacity, I have realized how EBS Healthcare builds bridges and fuses gaps in order to guide, assist and better serve the special needs population with the best therapists our field has to offer.
In recognizing my desire to further become multi-dimensional, and working to provide a level of support in a multilingual part of the country, EBS United became my next stepping stone for personal and professional growth. One only realizes the extent of how special it is to be part of a company like EBS when you can apply, be privileged to be accepted, and travel to a completely unique part of the world in order to learn, experience and immerse yourself into a Latin American culture.
Standing on a mountain top on the other side of the world, tapping into all my senses while navigating through an unfamiliar country and volunteering with amazing children of another culture elicited a powerful emotion within me, and helped me realize how extraordinary it is to be a part of the EBS family.
Uplifting and invaluable work is continually achieved in the name of EBS through EBS United as we nurture a movement of multi-cultural awareness, cross-cultural competency and bilingual proficiency. While fully immersed internationally, learning takes place both in and out of the classroom. My journey in experiencing a cross-cultural fusion of clinical and bilingual skills in Quito, Ecuador has rekindled within me a desire to learn Spanish and be a part of the leading edge of best practice. EBS empowers therapists to grow personally and professionally and through EBS United to overcome the barriers of language and culture and truly experience the joy of making a difference on a global scale. Wow…that combination is simply pure magic!”