During his second week of undergraduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Brian Urban, AuD ‘06, followed the advice of his sister (an SLP), walked into the university’s Audiology clinic, and then straight into a professor’s office. He said, “Hi, I’m Brian and I’m curious about Audiology.”
The professor saw a graduate student walking down the hall, introduced him to Urban and said, “Brian is going to shadow you.”
“So I started shadowing him in clinic every week and I knew that I had found my career and my passion,” said Urban.
That was the beginning that led him to this point: Being named the 2024 Audiology Alumni of the Year for Osborne Audiology, Salus at Drexel University.
“It is a tremendous honor,” said Urban, who along with Alumni of the Year awardees from other Salus/Drexel programs were honored at the annual recognition reception June 2, 2024 at Pinecrest Country Club in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. “When I look at the list of people who have previously won this award, they are all people who I have been truly fortunate to learn from and are highly respected within our profession. I am deeply humbled to be added to this list”
After graduating from UW-Stevens Point in 2000 with a degree in Communicative Disorders, Urban enrolled at the University of Minnesota to pursue a master’s in Audiology. Upon completing his clinical fellowship year, he enrolled in the distance learning program at Salus/Drexel while working in a hospital.
“I was in the distance program for about two years and it was a wonderful, challenging, fulfilling experience,” said Urban. “I was able to attend lectures from some of the top thought leaders in our profession in the evenings and then apply what I had learned the next morning with my patients in clinic.”
Urban said one of his best memories from his time at what was then called the Audiology program at The Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), was getting a call from the program’s founder, George S. Osborne, PhD, informing Urban that he had successfully completed the program.
“And then going to the commencement ceremony, walking across the stage and shaking Dr. Osborne’s hand. That was an amazing experience that I will always cherish,” said Urban.
Shortly after graduating, Urban simultaneously started a private practice while establishing CounselEAR, an online office management system for hearing healthcare practices.
“I bought a small private practice partly because I wanted to be in private practice, but also as a testing ground for CounselEAR. I believed that creating a thriving private practice in Evanston while developing an online system to support my colleagues would enable me to support and promote the profession of Audiology both locally and nationally. “In 2014, I was honored to serve as ADA President and meanwhile made the decision to sell my private practice to a local audiologist and go full-time with CounselEAR.”
“My focus since that time has been to continue to grow CounselEAR, adapting it to the changing needs of our profession, and ultimately working to help hearing healthcare providers work to their full scope of practice and be successful,” said Urban. “I truly hope to be able to further Dr. Osbourne’s vision for our profession now and well into the future.”
