Meet the founder

Barbara Fernandes

M.S., CCC-SLP · Founder & CEO of Smarty Ears

A Brazilian-American speech-language pathologist who started Smarty Ears in 2009 with $4,000 and an idea for an app to support speech sound practice. Today her work reaches children and adults with communication disorders around the world.

📱 70+ apps🔬 NIH SBIR award📚 Amazon best-selling author🎤 “GeekSLP” speaker

Invite Barbara to speak Read her story ↓

Barbara Fernandes, founder and CEO of Smarty Ears, with the Smarty Ears duck

2009founded Smarty Ears

70+apps on the App Store

127countries reached

NIHSBIR research award

AuthorAmazon best seller

Her story

From limited English to leading an industry

Barbara arrived in the United States as an adult immigrant, learning English and Spanish while building her career as a speech-language pathologist. She faced isolation, microaggressions and her own inner doubts, and turned every obstacle into a reason to build something better.

In 2009, with an investment of $4,000, she founded Smarty Ears and released the first speech therapy app on the App Store. More than 70 apps later, Smarty Ears helps children and adults with communication disorders in 127 countries, and its Smarty Ears Online platform brings speech, language and literacy support to whole school districts.

Barbara is also a wife, a mother and an entrepreneur who proves that being a CEO doesn’t require fitting a conventional mold.

We don’t have to run a company like others. We can be moms, have hobbies, be empathetic with others and still be a boss. Authenticity is our strength. Barbara Fernandes

Milestones

Two decades of firsts

2004FIPSE/CAPES exchange programRecipient of an exchange program on assistive technology and the inclusion of people with disabilities, in Philadelphia.

2009Founded Smarty EarsStarted with $4,000 and released the first speech therapy app on the App Store.

2011“iTherapy” publishedWrote about the mobile revolution in speech therapy for Perspectives on School-Based Issues.

201650+ appsPartnered with more than 26 educators and speech therapists to build a diverse library of therapy tools.

2019NIH SBIR awardPrincipal investigator for “Listening 2 Faces,” a listening training app for children who struggle with speech in noise.

2021Launched Smarty Ears OnlineA cloud-based platform for speech, language and literacy across schools and teletherapy.

2022“Sis, You Got This!”Became an Amazon best-selling author and was recognized at the opening ceremony of the ASHA Convention.

2023–2024ASHA and TSHA stagesPresented on AI in speech-language pathology, community AAC and entrepreneurship for SLPs.

2026Expressive Go 5.0A free AAC app with a built-in grammar engine, documented in a Smarty Ears white paper.

Philosophy & vision

Leadership with empathy and excellence

Barbara’s vision is to keep breaking down communication barriers and to build a world where everyone can thrive as their authentic self.

💡Innovation that ships

Ideas only matter when they are put into action. From one app in 2009 to a complete clinical platform, Barbara keeps turning research into tools people use every day.

🌈Representation for everyone

She has championed diversity in AAC and visual supports, so that children and adults can see themselves in the tools they use.

🤝A different way to lead

Empathetic, authentic and unafraid to challenge the status quo, she shows that empathy and excellence can coexist at the head of a company.

“When they don’t welcome you to their table, we can just build our own and invite others.”Barbara Fernandes

Barbara Fernandes and the Smarty Ears team at a conference booth

Technology visionary

Building Smarty Ears

Barbara translated complex science into simple, powerful technology. Her work helped an entire field embrace mobile devices for therapy, and it keeps evolving.

70+ apps for articulation, language, literacy, social communication and assessment
Smarty Ears Online, a complete clinical suite for districts, clinicians and families
Expressive Go, a free AAC app with automatic grammar
Used in 127 countries by speech-language pathologists, teachers and families

Read the Smarty Ears story Explore Smarty Ears Online

Thought leader & speaker

Known in the field as “GeekSLP”

Barbara has filled rooms with hundreds of educators, from ASHA and TSHA conventions to the Canadian speech-language association and audiences in Brazil.

Barbara Fernandes presenting speech perception in noise training for autism at TSHA

Barbara Fernandes presenting at the ASHA Convention in 2023

Barbara Fernandes presenting AAC in Our Neighborhoods

A large audience at a Barbara Fernandes presentation

Barbara Fernandes presenting to a large audience

Technology

Empowering Speech-Language Pathology Through Artificial Intelligence: Revolutionizing In-Person and Virtual Assessments and InterventionsASHA Convention 2023, Boston
Understanding and Setting Up the iPad as a Therapy Tool2017, Sacramento
Using the iPad to Create Printable MaterialAssistive Technology Industry Association 2016, Orlando
What’s New for Articulation Therapy on the iPad?ASHA Convention 2015
Assessing and Treating Bilingual Children on the iPadASHA Convention 2015
Efficient Caseload Management Across AppsTSHA 2014

Inclusion & AAC

How to Implement and Fund Public Display Communication Boards in the Playground and BeyondTSHA 2024
AAC in Our Neighborhoods: Planning and Execution of Community-Based AAC DisplaysASHA Convention 2023, New Orleans
Developing a New Speech Perception in Noise Training for AutismTSHA 2020, Houston

Diversity & entrepreneurship

Do You Want to Be Your Own Boss? Impact-Driven Entrepreneurship and Innovation for SLPsTSHA 2024
From Surviving to Thriving as a Minority SLPASHA Convention 2022, New Orleans

Invite Barbara to your event

Impact writer

Sis, You Got This!

From Surviving to Thriving as a Minority Speech-Language Pathologist

🏆 Amazon best seller🎤 Recognized at the 2022 ASHA Convention opening ceremony

In her book, Barbara shares her own story as an adult immigrant learning English and Spanish while building a career, with the isolation, microaggressions and inner battles that came with it.

The book weaves in the experiences of her colleagues: Black and Brown, Latinx, Asian and immigrant professionals whose stories echo her own. Together they offer connection, validation and a roadmap for the next generation of minority women in speech-language pathology.

Get the book on Amazon

Readers holding copies of Sis, You Got This! — Readers with their copies of *Sis, You Got This!*

In their words

What others say about Barbara

“…there are individuals like Barbara Fernandes among us who make us better! Barbara uses Sis, You Got This! to bring to life the importance of the support we can provide to each other that helps each of us persevere, rise above, and contribute to the discipline of human communication and related disorders in ways that would otherwise not be possible.”

“Barbara is one of my resilience heroes because she intentionally activates all four types of resilience: physical resilience through her love of Zumba and scuba diving, mental and emotional resilience through her mindfulness and expression of creativity, savoring and gratitude, and social resilience through her willingness to connect in powerful ways with others who feel dismissed, minimized or marginalized.”

“Barbara is a leader in innovative technologies as well as her approach to business. I have had the pleasure of working together with Barbara on several projects which encourage inclusive participation within a competitive, niche industry, and she is consistent in her flexibility and open-mindedness.”

“Because she has the rare capacity of combining highly developed skills in technology and expertise as a multilingual speech therapist, she is in an excellent position to create products that are functional, timely and effective for therapists, families and persons with communication disabilities. She is definitely a pioneer with vision.”

Research & development

An NIH award for children who struggle to hear in noise

In 2019, Barbara received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the National Institutes of Health for “Listening 2 Faces.” The project set out to build an adaptive listening training app for iPad to help children with developmental disabilities, including autism and hearing loss, understand speech in noisy places.

Working with co-investigators Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Irwin, she built on previous research to create the Listening 2 Faces prototype.

Read the announcement

2019–2020 · NIH / NIDCDListening 2 FacesPrincipal investigator. SBIR award to Smarty Ears, LLC: improving perception of speech in noise in children with communication disorders.

2018–2020 · Southern Connecticut State UniversityHeARSDeveloper and creator of the Hearing Assessment in Response to Noise Screener, funded by a Start Preliminary Proof of Concept Fund, Phases I and II.

2004 · FIPSE/CAPESExchange program recipient“Promoting the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Society Through Assistive Technology: Culturally Appropriate Solutions,” Philadelphia.

A hand pointing to symbols on a Smarty Symbols communication board

Beyond Smarty Ears

Founder of Smarty Symbols

Guided by her background in photography and her passion for representation, Barbara also founded Smarty Symbols in 2014, a separate company that creates inclusive symbols for visual supports. Its “Character of Choice” feature lets people pick symbols that look like them, across skin tones and backgrounds.

Through Smarty Symbols, she also brought communication boards to playgrounds, schools and parks, so every child can join in the conversation at play.

Visit Smarty Symbols

Beyond the office

Who is Barbara when the work is done?

A glimpse into the passion and the person behind Smarty Ears.

🏍️Rides motorcycles

🍇Makes her own wineFrom grapes she grows at home

🤿Scuba dives and dances Zumba

Publications & awards

Selected work

2022Fernandes, B. Sis, You Got This! From Surviving to Thriving as a Minority Speech-Language Pathologist. Smarty Ears.

2019–2020Principal investigator, “Listening 2 Faces: Improving perception of speech in noise in children with communication disorders.” SBIR award, National Institutes of Health (NIDCD).

2018–2020Developer and creator, “Hearing Assessment in Response to Noise Screener (HeARS).” Start Preliminary Proof of Concept Fund, Phases I and II. Southern Connecticut State University.

2011Fernandes, B. “iTherapy: The revolution of mobile devices within the field of speech therapy.” Perspectives on School-Based Issues, 12, 35–40.

2011Fernandes, B. “The new era of articulation therapy: Using convenient technology to facilitate learning and engagement.” Communiqué newsletter, Canada.

2010Fernandes, B. “Apps to revolutionize your therapy.” Advance Magazine, 20.

2004FIPSE/CAPES Exchange Program recipient, “Promoting the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Society Through Assistive Technology: Culturally Appropriate Solutions.” Philadelphia, PA.

Let’s connect

Connect with Barbara

Invite Barbara to speak at your conference, school or company, or follow along as she builds what’s next.

Invite Barbara to speak Read her book