About Our Team
Who we are:
It happens over one hundred times each week. Our speech pathologists improve the communication of a child just a little bit more, reassure a parent, and give needed resources to colleagues and teachers. Every small act honors our commitment to each other and to improving the lives of the families we serve.
Our brave and imaginative team of bilingual speech pathologists is based in Austin, Texas. We are vastly different in our individual pursuits but share in our love for international travel, language, and serving the community. Click below to meet those who have come together to form Bilinguistics.
What we do:
We provide speech-language therapy and evaluations and speech therapy to school districts throughout Central Texas.
We have a clinic where we serve local children, conduct research, and mentor graduate and undergraduate members of the speech community.
We create products to better serve the diverse community.
We present nationally and internationally and are involved in state taskforce initiatives on speech and language issues.
About our community:
We are uniting speech pathologists who work with diverse children throughout the world. Our blog, website, resource library, facebook page, and CEU website together create a network for speech pathologists looking to find resources and share great ideas.
We are energized by our passionate belief that all children can be served effectively when speech pathologists have the right tools to mitigate cultural, social, and economic differences.
President
Dr. Kester founded Bilinguistics to meet the speech and language needs of children from diverse backgrounds. She co-chairs the Task Force on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity for the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association and leads the bilingual speech-language pathology trainings for the Region 13 Educational Service Center. She provides workshops on bilingual development, assessment of bilinguals, and parent and teacher involvement for school districts and the State of Texas Early Childhood Intervention Program. She has performed workshops, trainings, and presentations both nationally and internationally. Dr. Kester teaches courses in language development, assessment and intervention of language disorders, early childhood intervention, preschoolers with special needs, and measurement at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research and clinical work address the important issue of differentiating bilingual children with typical development from those with language impairment, and identifying appropriate goals for intervention with bilinguals.
Dr. Gorman earned her Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Austin, specializing in language and literacy development and cross-language transfer of skills of bilingual children. She completed her master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in the Bilingual/Multicultural Speech-Language Pathology program and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Latin American Studies. Dr. Gorman has worked as a bilingual Spanish/English speech-language pathologist in New York City, California, and Texas in a wide variety of settings including school districts, Head Start centers, home-based early intervention, and private practices. She is an assistant professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Vice President
Scott earned his master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in Communication Sciences and Disorders. He also completed his bachelor’s degrees at the University of Texas in Spanish and Communication Sciences and Disorders. His studies focused on second language acquisition and speech productions in Spanish-speaking children with cochlear implants. He has expertise in working with children with cleft lip and palate. Scott keeps audiences laughing at his frequent presentations for speech-language pathologists on bilingualism, cleft lip and palate, assessment, and teacher collaboration. He provides workshops nationally and internationally. A recent research focus for Scott has been on accurate identification of minority populations.
Director of Services
Kara earned her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. Her studies focused on right brain language functions in the Spanish-speaking population. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Kara’s clinical expertise includes implementing communication strategies to alleviate behavioral issues in children, addressing communication through joint attention, and using literature-based intervention. She has led our team in the development of many creative literature-based materials for bilingual children.
Clinic Manager
Keith earned his master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at The University of Texas at Austin, where he participated in the bilingual clinical training program and research on bilinguals. He speaks English, Spanish, and French. He lived in Venezuela, where he interned at the Instituto Venezolano de la Audición y el Lenguaje. Keith worked as a bilingual speech-language pathologist in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He has extensive experience working with the birth-to-three and preschool population, as well as providing treatment for dysphagia and cognitive/linguistic rehabilitation for adults in acute and home-care settings.
Anne completed her master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in Communication Sciences and Disorders. During graduate school she participated in the bilingual clinical training program conducting research on bilingual populations. She also studied the influence of cultural characteristics of the Spanish-speaking community on the evaluation and treatment of stuttering. She co-authored SMILE for Infants and Toddlers, and has extensive experience working with the birth-to-three population, the school-age population, and adults with Aphasia.
Adrianne earned both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She was born and raised in Bolivia and has expertise in multicultural differences in family approaches to addressing developmental differences. Her clinical interests include speech development in bilingual children with cochlear implants and differentiating speech and language errors resulting from bilingualism and language disorders.
Marie earned her master’s degree in Communicative Disorders at the University of Wisconsin — Madison. She earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Sociology at The University of Notre Dame. During her studies, Marie spent time in Mexico and Spain studying Spanish. Following her graduate studies, Marie worked as the Bilingual/Bicultural Speech-Language Pathologist for the Madison Metropolitan School District. She held this position for two years before moving to Guanajuato, Mexico where she dedicated herself to perfecting her Spanish and teaching English as a Foreign Language. Marie’s current focus with Bilinguistics is in bilingual language acquisition and culturally-sensitive assessment procedures. She led the development of the second edition of SMILE for Young Children.
Mary earned her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Texas Christian University in the bilingual track. She completed her bachelor’s degrees in both Spanish and Speech-Language Pathology at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Mary’s areas of expertise include stuttering and severe articulation and phonological disorders. She has presented workshops on speech sound disorders locally and statewide. Mary serves as adjunct faculty for her alma mater, teaching distance courses in the field of speech-language pathology.
Alyson earned both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Communication Disorders at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO, with a minor degree in Spanish. In her undergraduate career, she studied abroad in Costa Rica and began to provide therapy in Spanish. This sparked her interest to continue working with Spanish speaking and bilingual individuals. After finishing her master’s degree, she moved to Austin, Texas for her Clinical Fellowship and worked as a pediatric, bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist. Her interests include exploring and understanding different Spanish dialects, as well as providing therapy to children with a variety of communication disorders, specifically phonological disorders and individuals on the Autism spectrum.
Katherine earned her master’s degree in Communication Disorders from Southeast Missouri State University. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Communication Science and Disorders with a minor degree in Spanish from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She studied abroad in Spain during her undergraduate degree, and later spent a month in Guatemala improving her Spanish and working in an orphanage for malnourished children. While feeding and caring for the children, Katherine provided language therapy and stimulation to those with language delays. Her interests include cleft lip and palate, swallowing disorders in infants, and bilingual effects on language learning and disorders.
Meagan Morgan earned her master’s degree at Arizona State University, where she focused on bilingualism. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of New Hampshire. Meagan spent a semester in Spain during her undergraduate program. She has worked in both clinic and school settings. She has provided numerous professional development trainings for teachers, SLPs and graduate students on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity.
Carolyn earned her master’s degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences from San Jose State University. During graduate school, she focused on appropriate assessment and treatment practices for bilingual individuals and concept development in bilingual preschool children. Carolyn earned her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. She grew up in Miami, FL, the gateway to Latin America, where she enjoyed the multi-cultural environment and had the opportunity to develop her facility in the Spanish language. Prior to joining Bilinguistics, Carolyn worked as a bilingual speech-language pathologist primarily in the San Jose, CA public school system. Her current interests include developing culturally sensitive therapy programs, building self-esteem in children with communication disorders, and using technology as an effective clinician-mediated therapy.
Patricia earned her master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas. She has worked as a graduate research assistant in Dr. Anne van Kleeck’s Pre-School Language Lab where she served as a Spanish translator, as well as evaluated and performed interventions for bilingual pre-school age children. Patricia is originally from Laredo, TX and is a native bilingual speaker. Her interests include aligning state curriculum guidelines with the needs of students receiving special education, cross-linguistic influences on second-language acquisition, and the use of literacy-based interventions for bilingual children.
Lia Johnston earned her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a participant in the Implementing Effective Treatment Practices for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children (ITP) training grant. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders and Sciences at the University of Oregon, during which time she studied abroad in Spain and spent time traveling in South America. Lia’s interests include literature based language interventions, effective collaboration with parents and teachers, and appropriate assessment of bilingual children with a range speech and language concerns.
Lindsey Williams earned her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Boston University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Georgia, Athens. Upon graduating from the University of Georgia, she spent three years in Madrid, Spain enriching her Spanish by working as a teacher’s assistant in the city’s bilingual public schools. Lindsey enjoys working with a variety of age ranges, cultural backgrounds, and disabilities.
May-Ling (pronounced May-leen) earned her master’s degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from Michigan State University. During graduate school, she re-established a group called Organización de Logopedia y Audiologia (OLA) for undergraduate and graduate students in bilingual speech-language pathology. Before graduate school, May-Ling earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Florida. She is originally from Nicaragua and grew up in Miami, FL where she experienced a variety of Latin American dialects on a daily basis. One of her interests is working within cultural parameters in the Hispanic population to help ensure proper assessment and treatment of English/Spanish bilingual children.
Gail’s undergraduate degree is from Rice University. She taught English, Spanish and remedial reading at the secondary and community college levels in Texas and the Republic of Panamá, where she lived for 26 years. After earning her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin, she worked as a bilingual speech-language pathologist for the Austin Independent School District and was a clinical supervisor at the UT Speech and Hearing Center. Gail retired in June 2008 from Austin ISD, having spent the last two years as the Coordinator for Speech/Language Services. She has presented at the state, national and international levels, and in Central America has participated in workshops and consultations with therapists there, and been part of a medical team performing craniofacial surgery. Gail is certified in the Hanen program.
Office Manager
Maritza’s career at Bilinguistics began in 2009 when she moved from Cleveland, Ohio. She has over 16 years of office management experience in a legal office and is a capable and well-rounded business professional. Maritza enjoys the day-to-day interaction with the clients and families that come to Bilinguistics. She feels fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a great staff and watch the progress of the clients.
Patient Care Coordinator
Eva was born in Mexico and her primary language is Spanish. Eva was born with microtia and attended summer camp at Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville, TX where she first learned sign language. Eva loved summer camp so much that after being a camper for many years, she went back to became a camp counselor for several more years. Eva met many children with various disabilities and was in awe of their capabilities. Texas Lions Camp had such a profound impact on Eva that she soon worked with children with disabilities and their families as a Deaf Education Teacher and as an Early Intervention Specialist. Eva has a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin in Communication Sciences & Disorders.
Speech-Language Coordinator
Anna is the liaison between Bilinguistics and the local school districts. Her duties include coordinating and facilitating the Admission Review and Dismissal (ARD) process and provide support to the speech therapists. Anna, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, has over 17 years of management experience in a legal office.
