Deborah Layman, Ph.D., MT-BC, is Chair of the Department of Music Therapy within the College of Health at Cleveland State University. Dr. Layman received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Kent State University and her M.M. in Music Therapy at the Florida State University.

Dr. Layman currently serves as an Associate Editor for Music Therapy Perspectives, a national music therapy journal. She is also an invited reviewer for multiple journals, including the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. Dr. Layman serves as a member of the Board Development Committee for the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT), where she recently served as Chair of the Board of Directors, Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors, Continuing Education Committee (CEC) Board Liaison, and Chair of the Continuing Education Committee. Dr. Layman was appointed to the joint CBMT/AMTA Scope of Practice work group in 2014, which resulted in a landmark legislative advocacy tool for the profession. Dr. Layman also served on the Advisory Board for the AMTA Autism Task Force and presented key educational and certification testimony in support of Ohio House Bill 184, which would create a state licensure for music therapy in Ohio.

Dr. Layman is a published author in multiple journals (including the Journal of Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives) and books, and is a frequent national, regional, and local presenter on her research. Dr. Layman's main research interests focus on music therapy higher education and training, including self-regulated learning, reflective practice, flipped learning, goal setting, interprofessional education, and competency-based evaluation and supervision. Her clinical research interests include collaborative treatment, complex trauma, neurological issues, and sleep/stress management. 

Outside of CSU, Dr. Layman loves traveling to beach destinations, spending time with close family and friends, practicing yin and restorative yoga, reading good books, eating good food, drinking good coffee, and enjoying dark chocolate.

Carol A. Olszewski, Ph.D., MT-BC, serves as the coordinator of the undergraduate studies for the Department of Music Therapy within the College of Health at Cleveland State University. Dr. Olszewski earned her Ph.D. in Urban Education with focus in Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education under Dr. Catherine Hansman from Cleveland State University and her M.A in Music Therapy from the University of Iowa under the professorships of Dr. Mary Adamek and Dr. Kate Gfeller. Dr. Olszewski has worked as a clinical music therapist with a myriad of populations and as a research scientist.

Dr. Olszewski has several areas of research interest including adult learning and development, faculty socialization, development and educational training of clinician professors, structure of the academy, instructor characteristics on learner outcomes, undergraduate music therapy program equivalency, student success, and neural processing of individual music elements through typical and atypical hearing mechanisms. Her previous research with the University of Iowa's Music Perception team, an NIH-funded project examining music perception through cochlear implants, has been published in journals such as Ear and Hearing, The Journal of Music Therapy, and Otology & Neurotology. Other projects have been published in Adult Learning, New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education, and the Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, and Early Intervention and presented at numerous professional conferences. Her dissertation won the 2019-2020 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award in Research in Law, Education, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

She currently serves on the Academic Approval Committee for the American Music Therapy Association, a College of Health Senator, and on numerous other committees. Dr. O reviews articles for many different journals and loves to keep current on music therapy practice and adult learning research.

Outside of work, Dr. Olszewski loves spending time with her family, dogs, and friends. You will find her spending time cheering on her daughters in their endeavors and volunteering for organizations to support them. She loves to travel and explore different places.

Emily Guthe, MM, MA, MT-BC is a visiting assistant professor of practice for the Department of Music Therapy within the College of Health at Cleveland State University. She received her M.A. in Music Therapy from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA under the distinguished guidance of Dr. Mary Adamek and Dr. Kate Gfeller; her M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, in Knoxville, TN; and her B.M. in Music Theory and Composition from Maryville College in Maryville, TN.

In addition to Emily’s time in academia, she also serves as a medical music therapist for Cleveland Clinic. Her clinical expertise includes adult and pediatric patients with co-morbid medical and behavioral health conditions; patients and families in Hillcrest’s family maternity center (labor & delivery, antepartum, & NICU); and adult intensive care. She developed the neonatal music therapy program in the neonatal intensive care unit in 2016 and became the Principal Investigator of an interdisciplinary research study investigating the impact of music therapy interventions for infants receiving retinopathy of prematurity eye screening examinations versus those receiving standard nursing care. This study is currently in active data analysis.

Emily has also worked closely with pediatric and adult patients with nutritional insufficiency diagnoses, mood and personality disorders, and other serious mental illnesses during their inpatient medical and behavioral hospitalizations.  

Outside of CSU and Cleveland Clinic, Emily loves to spend time with her family. They are proud to be a licensed foster family and enjoy caring for kiddos who need an “in between” supportive home. She also trains several times a week as a boxer and will maybe one day be brave enough to step in the ring.                                                                                        

Lynda McAndrews is the Administrative Coordinator assisting Communication Sciences and Disorders, Music Therapy, and College of Health Undergraduate Advising.  Lynda provides administrative support as needed in a variety of functions and is always willing to lend a hand when needed.  Prior to joining the College of Health, Lynda worked in the College of Sciences and Health Professions Student Services Center (Advising Office) for a number of years.