Meet Fortell's San Francisco Clinic Director, Dr. Molly Adler, Au.D.

Dr. Molly Adler, Au.D., didn't go looking for Fortell. It found her. After 15 years building her career at UCSF, she's now bringing that expertise, and a very personal stake in better hearing technology, to Fortell Audiology San Francisco. 

We caught up with Dr. Adler to talk about that personal connection, her long run at UCSF, and the unlikely way Fortell found her.

Q: Hearing health is quite personal for you. Can you tell us about that? 

Dr. Adler: There’s no history of hearing loss in our family, yet both of my young sons have hearing loss, so it’s become a very personal part of my story. 

I didn’t have children until well into my career as an audiologist, so while my children’s diagnosis wasn’t the reason I entered the field, my background and connections in audiology have certainly helped us navigate hearing loss as a family. It’s also shaped my professional perspective and it’s part of why the idea of better hearing technology really matters to me on a personal level. 

Q: Speaking of connections, you’ve been at UCSF for a while now. How did you make your way to San Francisco?

Dr. Adler: I moved to San Francisco for my externship and fell in love with the city immediately. Post externship, I was offered a role on the UCSF team. That was 15 years ago and up until Fortell came along, nothing excited me enough to consider leaving.

Q: It sounds like you had a strong career there. So how did Fortell even end up on your radar?

Dr. Adler: I'd read the early press on Fortell and thought it sounded interesting, but the real story starts with my child, who was struggling to hear in the classroom because of high background noise. My husband, who's worked in tech for essentially his whole career, read the Wired article about Fortell. Rather than consult with his audiologist wife about whether our hearing-impaired kids could use their product, he cold-emailed the founder, Matt de Jonge, on his own — mentioning that our older son struggles in the classroom, and almost as an aside, that his wife happened to be a senior audiologist at UCSF specializing in adult amplification. Matt wrote back right away, asking to be connected with me for further discussion.

 “I've mostly seen incremental improvements from the big manufacturers, small tweaks here and there, and I always tell patients not to expect a noticeable difference for three to five years. Fortell is the first thing I've seen that actually feels innovative.” 

Q: What happened from there?

Dr. Adler: We talked about the product and quickly acknowledged that this isn't yet a solution for the pediatric population. But he also had, in his words, ulterior motives: he was looking to open in San Francisco and thought I'd be a great fit to lead it. I wasn't looking for a change at the time, but he kept finding small ways to keep me involved — a call here, an introduction there — and I kept learning more about the product and getting more curious. A few months later he came out to San Francisco, and we met for breakfast so I could actually demo the devices. That's when he asked if I was ready to consider joining the team.

Q: What made you say yes?

Dr. Adler: Hearing aids have always been my area of expertise and honestly my favorite part of audiology. In 15 years, I've mostly seen incremental improvements from the big manufacturers, small tweaks here and there, and I always tell patients not to expect a noticeable difference for three to five years. Fortell is the first thing I've seen that actually feels innovative. 

San Francisco is such a tech- and AI-centric place right now, and it felt like the right moment to be part of something like this. I appreciated being a well-respected thought leader within my department at UCSF, and I was very comfortable there. But when this opportunity came along, the idea of learning something new and being part of something highly innovative was exciting enough for me to take the leap.

Dr. Adler, Au.D., is now seeing patients in San Francisco. Click here to schedule an appointment. 

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