Mark R. Stephenson, Ph.D. Owner and Principal Consultant  – 513-659-2532

Mark received his Ph.D. in audiology and hearing science in 1986 from The Ohio State University.  His dissertation focused on the. influence of dichotic stimuli on human auditory brainstem responses.  He is currently the owner and principal consultant of Stephenson and Stephenson Research and Consulting, LLC (SASRAC).  Mark was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant In the United States Airforce in 1973, and rose to the rank of Lt Colonel.  His duties included assignments as the Chief of the Audiology and Hearing Conservation Diagnostic Center, Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines.  He also served three assignments at the Air Force Medical Research Laboratory (as a research audiologist, as Chief of the Technology Management Branch, and as Deputy Director of the Technical Integration Division).  At the time of his Air Force retirement in 1993, he was serving as an Associate Chief of the USAF Biomedical Sciences Corps. In this capacity, he had world-wide staff management responsibility for all USAF audiologists, hearing conservationists, speech pathologists, and biomedical specialists.  

From 1993 to 2015 he worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), where he was a senior research audiologist, and had been appointed as the Scientific Research Coordinator for the NIOSH hearing loss prevention research program. He has published numerous professional reports, peer reviewed journal articles, and book chapters, and has presented invited lectures throughout the United States as well as in Asia, Europe, and South America.  Mark has served as the Chief Consultant for Audiology Research to the USAF Surgeon General, and has served as an expert consultant to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine, as well as many governmental agencies and professional organizations. He has served as adjunct faculty at the Ohio State University, Miami University, and Michigan State University.  

Mark is the recipient of numerous professional honors and awards, including recognition as the Outstanding USAF Audiologist, the National Hearing Conservation Association’s Outstanding Hearing Conservationist, and the Bullard-Sherwood Award presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most outstanding applied research in the field of occupational disease and injury. In 2014 he was honored to be selected by CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as its Distinguished Career Scientist.  In his free time, he enjoys astronomy, wildlife photography, and training their Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Carol M. Stephenson, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer

After many years in private practice as a registered veterinary technician, Carol began her research career at CDC.  In 1985 she completed her Master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from Xavier University, followed by her PhD in Social Psychology from Miami University (awarded in 1995). She worked as a behavioral scientist for CDC/NIOSH for 30 years, retiring in 2015 as Branch Chief of NIOSH’s Translational/Training Research and Evaluation Branch, Education and Information Division.  

In this capacity, she led a team of scientists investigating a myriad of cross-cutting workplace safety and health issues affecting managers and workers in all sectors, with a particular focus on the needs of small businesses. Her research team was composed of behavioral and social scientists, epidemiologists, health communicators, educational experts, safety professionals, and allied staff.  Carol and her team achieved honors for their work including the prestigious Alice Hamilton award (for the most influential scientific publication) and Bullard-Sherwood awards (for outstanding applied research).

Carol has also been an adjunct professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati since 1995, and has served on advisory committees there and at other universities for both masters and doctoral students. In her spare time, she spoils grandchildren, dabbles in photography and bird watching, and volunteers to teach positive dog training techniques in her community and to 4-H youth.