Maryjan Fiala, PhD
Maryjan Fiala, PhD joined the Munroe-Meyer Institute as an Assistant Professor of Health Professions in 2026 after completing her doctoral degree in Adult Learning and Leadership at Kansas State University. Fiala spent more than a decade developing her responsive teaching practice, working with diverse adult learners across traditional, online, and carceral classrooms. She completed a 1200-hour University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities traineeship from 2021-2023 and has contributed to MMI’s mission since.
In her current role, she applies adult learning science to disability workforce education, developing continuing education training and microlearning curricula. Her scholarship focuses on adult learning in high-stakes contexts, patient engagement across the care continuum, and augmentative and alternative communication, with particular attention to the hospital as a learning environment for patients, families, and clinicians alike. Fiala serves as Delivery of Chronic Care Family Faculty. She is also the secretary of the PTI Nebraska Board of Directors, an Inclusive Education lay advocate with Disability Rights Nebraska, and a member of Nebraska’s Olmstead Education Workgroup, where she advances inclusive educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Fiala’s commitment to developmental disabilities work is grounded in her experience as a parent of a child with developmental disabilities and a history of medical complexity.
- PhD: Adult Learning and Leadership - Kansas State University, 2026.
- Graduate Certificate: Qualitative Research - Kansas State University, 2026.
- MS: Adult, Occupational, and Continuing Education - Kansas State University, 2014.
- MS: Organizational Management - Peru State College, 2011.
- BAS: Business Administration - Management - Peru State College, 2009.
- Gormley, J., Fiala, M., Weis, E., & Light, J. (2026). The impact of hospitals on language learning: A case study of a 3-year-old boy with developmental delay who needed augmentative and alternative communication. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_AJSLP-25-00600
- Brittlebank, S., Gormley, J., Fiala, M., & Fosco, G. M. (2025). A Family Systems Approach to Augmentative and Alternative Communication Service Delivery in the Inpatient Setting: Recommendations for Speech-Language Pathologists. American journal of speech-language pathology, 34(6), 3042–3057. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_AJSLP-25-00028
- Consultative instruction on qualitative research methods.
- Delivery of Chronic Care (Project DOCC)
- Enhancing Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, NU Advance, online course.
- Pre-service training for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).
- Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
- Disability, mental health, and the justice system.
- Enhancing healthcare interactions involving people with disabilities.
- High-stakes, experiential learning of parent caregivers.
- Patient, family, and community engagement across the care continuum.
- The Adult Higher Education Alliance.
- American Association for Adult and Continuing Education.
- American Interprofessional Health Collaborative.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
- Correctional Education Association.