Julia Hobbs is a licensed and certified speech pathologist who has dedicated a considerable part of her career to the care and management of children with cleft palate and craniofacial anomalies and their families. She received both her BA and MA degrees from the University of North Texas, where she was awarded the Outstanding Alumni for Excellence in Their Profession. She also received the California Speech and Hearing Association District 6 Outstanding Achievement Award in 2004. Julia has been a lecturer in the UCLA School of Dentistry, Departments of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, as well as taught courses in Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Anomalies and Voice Disorders in the graduate program, Department of Communication Disorders, California State University, Los Angeles. She has been a member of the Providence Saint John’s Hospital Cleft Palate Team for many years and was a member of the cleft palate teams at UCLA
as well as Children’s Hospital Orange County in the past.

With a passion for teaching the next generation of speech pathologists regarding excellence in cleft care, she has presented at professional conferences at the state, national, and international levels. With a strong commitment to interdisciplinary work, she has dedicated much of her career to teaching the local community regarding best practices and outcomes in treating children with clefts/craniofacial anomalies. As co-chair of the Providence Saint John’s Annual Cleft Palate Symposium, she continues the commitment to teaching the community and thus advancing care for these children and their families.