Dr. Nancy Polow awarded the 2019 Unity Achievement Award

May, 2019

Dr. Nancy Polow, Owner/Director of Suburban Speech Center, Short Hills, NJ, was awarded the 2019 Unity Achievement Award by the Union County Human Relations Commission (UCHRC) on Monday May 06, 2019.

The Unity Achievement Awards were established eighteen years ago to recognize Union County individuals and businesses that distinguish themselves in the area of volunteerism, public service, and the promotion of human rights.

Dr. Polow established Suburban Speech Center, Short Hills, NJ, 40 years ago and has served as Director since that time. The Center has received national and statewide recognition for its achievements and service to the community.

It has been the mission of Suburban Speech Center to increase public awareness of the importance of early identification and treatment of speech-language disorders in children from ages 18 months through 17 years old. The Center is instrumental in educating the community about guidelines for speech and language development through lecturing to nursery schools, meeting with doctors, and offering speech-language screenings. Suburban Speech Center demonstrates its commitment to community involvement through participation in local programs, events and services throughout New Jersey. This includes participation in the annual Childhood Apraxia of Speech Walk/Run as well as numerous events sponsored by Autism Speaks.

Dr. Nancy Polow has been an active voice and contributed thousands of volunteer hours to the New Jersey Speech Language Hearing Association (NJSHA) and the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) that advanced the profession on local, state and national levels. Suburban Speech Center was selected by New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association to receive its “Program of the Year” award for its outstanding outreach preschool program in the community, the “President’s Award for Excellence”, and the “Outstanding Achievement” award. Dr. Polow’s latest honor was the “New Jersey Governor’s Jefferson Award” in 2018.

Dr. Polow was responsible for some of New Jersey’s most significant professional developments. During her term as President for the New Jersey Speech and Hearing Association (NJSHA), she coordinated and implemented political and legislative activities necessary for the passage of the state’s licensure law for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Her work with Governor Thomas Kean was instrumental and led to the passage of the licensure bill in 1984; establishing professional credentialing for New Jersey speech-language pathologists.