Providence Speech and Hearing Center

Katy Sullivan, Au.D., has served the needs of our community for over 15 years with Providence Speech and Hearing Center. She graduated in 1993 with her Master's Degree in Audiology from San Francisco State University and with her Doctorate of Audiology in 2008 from Central Michigan University. Dr. Sullivan is fluent in Spanish and American Sign Language. She specializes in the special needs of hearing impaired children and adults and speaks regularly to community groups, pediatricians, Neonatal ICU nurses, and Ear Nose and Throat doctors to alert them to new possibilities of hearing health care.

Aprille Engalla, Au.D., has been providing audiological services to the pediatric population at Providence Speech and Hearing Center for over 10 years.  She graduated with her Doctorate of Audiology degree in March 2012 from the Andrew Taylor Still University Arizona School of Health Sciences and finished the Master’s Program in Audiology at California State University, Long Beach in 2002.  Dr. Engalla specializes in the diagnostic testing, hearing aid and FM fitting, and aural habilitation of children in clinical and school-based settings.  She takes a whole person approach to caring for her patients and is passionate about helping children with hearing impairment and their families overcome barriers to hearing loss and become self-advocates for their overall health and well-being. 

Dr. Kimberly Cira is the assistant director of audiology at Providence Speech and Hearing Center.  She graduated from the University of Florida with her doctorate in Audiology.  Dr. Cira has years of professional experience working with patients of all ages.  She has been part of the Providence Speech and Hearing Center team for over ten years.  Dr. Cira explained that she enjoys working at Providence Speech and Hearing Center due to the collaboration amongst her fellow audiologists.  

Dr. Catherine L. Yrlas received her doctorate degree from the University of Florida in Audiology in May of 2008. She received her Master of Arts degree from The Ohio State University in Audiology in August of 2005. Dr. Yrlas specializes in pediatric and vestibular audiology. “My goal is to provide the best audiological and vestibular healthcare to all patients.” 

Dr. Christopher Townsley received his master's degree from Kent State University in 1995.  After completing his clinical fellowship year in Ohio, Dr. Townsley moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and worked as an independent contractor before joining an ENT private practice in downtown Los Angeles, where he work for 9 years, specializing in adults and hearing aids.  He received his doctorate degree from the University of Florida in 2006.  Dr. Townsley has  joined our staff at Providence two years ago after making a move to Orange County.

Dr. Benois-Green, Clinical and Dispensing Audiologist, specializes in pediatric testing, Newborn Auditory Brainstem Response Evaluation and Adult Vestibular and Balance Assessments. She graduated in 2002 with a Bachelors Degree in Linguistics from the University of California Riverside and later completed her Master’s Degree in Audiology from Los Angeles State University in 2005; then with her Doctorate of Audiology in 2010 from the University of Florida. Dr. Benois-Green is a part of The Orange County Fall and Balance Prevention Program in collaboration with St. Joseph's. She coordinates with vestibular therapists in diagnosing and managing balance disorders. 

She is an expert at identifying risk factors for both hearing loss at birth, and hearing loss that can develop in the first few years of life. She works in conjunction with the Craniofacial Team at Children’s Hospital of Orange County and St. Joseph’s Short Stay Sedated Clinic to further evaluate hearing loss under sedation for patients that may not be able to participate in traditional testing. In a dynamic clinical setting, Dr. Benois-Green works alongside colleagues in a coordinated effort to diagnosis and treat hearing loss early to improve the quality of life of our patients.  

Dr. Natalie Perez joined Providence Speech and Hearing Center in April 2012. Prior to joining providence, she worked at Sonus Hearing Care Professionals providing diagnostic hearing and balance services, and aural rehabilitative services for pediatrics and adults.  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Long Beach in 2005, her Master’s degree in Audiology from California State University, Los Angeles in 2006, and her Doctorate of Audiology from the University of Florida in 2009. She is fluent in English and Spanish. Dr. Perez is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competency in Audiology (CCC-A) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.                               

Dr. Shaeleen Gilson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Western Washington University in 2005, and received a clinical Doctorate in Audiology from University of Washington in 2008. Board certified in Audiology, Dr. Gilson is a member of the American Academy of Audiology. Her specialties include hearing aids, diagnostic audiologic evaluations, and newborn hearing screenings.  Originally from the greater Seattle area, she relocated to join Providence Speech and Hearing Center in 2011 and is based in our brand new Newport Beach location.  Dr. Gilson and her husband spend most of their free time chasing around their dog, exploring the wide variety of restaurants the Los Angeles area has to offer, and biking.

Dr. Loretta Lee received her Doctor of Audiology from Salus University in 2004 and her Master’s degree from Arizona State University in 2001.  Dr. Lee has years of experience working with patients of all ages, all over the world.  She is fluent in English and Chinese.  She enjoys all aspects of Audiology but has special interest in pediatric audiology and Auditory Processing Disorder evaluations. 

Dr. Kristin Cowart joined the Providence team in February 2012. Prior to that time she worked alongside two ENT physicians at a private practice in the San Diego area for 4 years doing diagnostic and rehabilitative audiology.  She earned her Doctorate of Audiology in 2007 from the joint program between San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, after completing a 12 month externship at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital of San Diego. She is a fellow with the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the California Academy of Audiology.  

Dr. Nicholas Benson, graduated in 2012 from Arizona State University with a doctorate in audiology after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in communicative Disorders from the University of Redlands. The Providence family welcomed Dr. Benson in July of 2011 for his fourth year externship, after which he became a fully accredited Doctor of audiology. Dr. Benson specializes in pediatric services ranging from newborn neurodiagnostic services to hearing aid fittings. Dr. Benson is also a member of the CHOC Craniofacial team. His main professional interests include electrophysiological evaluation, improvement in the quality and time-frame of individualized, family-centered care, and the implementation of up-to-date evidence based practice. Dr. Benson is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, F-AAA, and is licensed by the state of California as a dispensing audiologist.