Meet Our
Therapists
“We have been so happy at TALK. I love how the therapists are always coming up with new strategies to keep my son motivated and engaged.”
Lauren May, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lauren grew up in San Jose knowing that she wanted to work in a helping profession. It was not until she observed a speech therapy session while working in a preschool Autism class that she found her passion. Lauren received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Speech and Hearing Sciences from University of California, Santa Barbara and her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of the Pacific.
She has worked with children in early intervention, preschool, and public-school settings. Lauren firmly believes that fostering and maintaining strong, trusting relationships with clients and their families through communication and collaboration will provide the best outcome for the client. She strives to make sessions engaging and fun to help clients enjoy learning how to become effective communicators. Her areas of interest include articulation and phonological disorders, early intervention, overall receptive and expressive language development, and social skills.
Shawnia ELder, M.s., CCC-SLP
Shawnia grew up in Houston, TX knowing that she wanted to work with children. She received her Bachelor’s degree in English at Austin College and journeyed to University of Texas at Dallas to attain her Master’s degree in Communication Disorders-Speech Language Pathology. Shawnia has worked with children in public-school, rehab, private clinic, state facilities, home health and teletherapy settings. Her areas of interest include receptive and expressive language disorders, sensory feeding, behavior, social/play skills, as well as articulation, phonological processing and apraxia.
Making connections and building rapport with families and children served is very important to her as it increases the success of their communication skills. Shawnia has a passion for children with autism spectrum disorder and has worked as an ABA therapist, blending discrete trial teaching and natural environmental teaching (NET). As a speech pathologist, she continues to use behavior modification strategies, positive reinforcement and NET as a part of her therapy model. Shawnia is a bilingual speech pathologist that has an enthusiasm for this profession, a heart for children and enjoys enriching the lives of others.
Leah Baranouskas, M.S., CCC-SLP
Leah grew up in the East Bay with an enthusiasm for working with individuals and their families to make a positive impact on their day-to-day life. While obtaining her B.A. in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Chico, she realized her passion for working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder and in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies. She worked as an applied behavior analysis (ABA) instructor for 3 years, providing in-home and at-school therapy before recognizing her ultimate passion was in speech therapy. She obtained her M.S. in speech therapy from Eastern New Mexico University, obtaining experience in diverse populations and environments. During her graduate studies she’s worked with children with varying difficulties in sound production, receptive and expressive language, social skills, and feeding in a variety of settings including public K-5 school, private practice, and an outpatient hospital. She is devoted to providing exceptional therapy to all children and their families to ensure generalization and success in the future.
Londyn Edwards, M.S., CF-SLP
Londyn has lived all over California, splitting her formative years between the north and south, recently landing in the Bay Area. After searching for a person-focused application to her science coursework, Londyn switched majors, universities, and cities to pursue Speech-Language Pathology, her passion. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from California State University, Sacramento, she worked as a high school para-educator for three years before going back to school to get her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from California State University, East Bay. Londyn has experience in preschool, elementary school, and high school settings providing speech services centered around articulation and phonology, expressive and receptive language, voice, and social language. She has a passion for providing high-quality empathy-driven services to clients and their families.
Yesenia Santiago-Jimenez, M.S., CF-SLP
Yesenia grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley and possess a strong desire to help individuals communicate effectively. While obtaining her bachelor’s degree from California State University East Bay, Yesenia provided personalized instruction for children with learning differences in a private school setting, where she collaborated with an interdisciplinary team. Through this experience, Yesenia found her passion in Speech-Language Pathology.
Yesenia received a Masters Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Pennsylvania Western University. She focuses on using a child-centered approach, combined with team collaboration and positive relationships with both children and their families. Her areas of interest include expressive and receptive language, social pragmatics, articulation/phonology, fluency and cognition. Yesenia is a lifelong learner and is committed to providing the highest standard of care for her patients and their families, ensuring that they have the tools they need to succeed in all environments.
Mariam Khan, M.S., CF-SLP
Mariam grew up in the Silicon Valley, where her enriching volunteer and educational experiences fostered her interest in education. She first observed a middle school speech therapist when she was in community college and knew at that moment, she had found her calling. Mariam received her B.S. in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences with a minor in Special Education at San Francisco State University, where she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree and has completed a certification under Project ALLIES. Her experience includes working with children on the autism spectrum, apraxia, articulation disorders, receptive and expressive language, and social skills. She is particularly interested in autism and early intervention. Mariam believes that everyone is entitled to a voice and is committed first and foremost to compassion in practice.