Cherilee Rutherford, AuD joined the Planetree team in June 2025 as Certification Manager, bringing with her over two decades of international experience in hearing care, healthcare education, and innovation facilitation.
Prior to joining Planetree, Cherilee served at the Ida Institute in Denmark, where she led innovation seminars, delivered international training and presentations, and managed global partnerships with leading universities, professional associations, and patient organizations. She played a key role in developing tools, resources, and educational materials aimed at embedding person- and family-centered approaches into healthcare practice.
Cherilee’s broad background spans private practice, academia, public health institutions, the commercial sector, and non-profit organizations. She was previously the Course Director for the MSc in Advanced Audiology program at University College London (UCL) and has contributed to international standards and professional guidelines for auditory rehabilitation and person-centered care.
She remains involved on an ad-hoc basis with the University of Cape Town in South Africa, supervising undergraduate research. Her published work includes topics such as person-centered care in hearing health, the development of tools for resource-constrained environments, and strategies for enhancing students’ understanding of person-centered approaches in clinical education.
Cherilee holds a professional doctorate in Audiology (AuD) and a Master of Health Science (MHSc) from Nova Southeastern University (Florida, USA), as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa). She also completed a certification in Online Facilitation from the University of Cape Town.
Throughout her career, Cherilee has focused on empowering healthcare professionals through continuing education, mentoring, and capacity building—particularly in the areas of person-centered communication, counselling, and the human dimensions of hearing loss. Her passion lies in co-creating more compassionate and inclusive healthcare experiences by equipping providers with the skills, insights, and support needed to truly center care around the needs and priorities of the people they serve.
