Faculty and Staff

Mallorie Desimone, B.A.

Academic Office & Clinic Coordinator

mallorie@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 114

Mallorie Desimone graduated from SF State in May 2007 with her bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies. While a student, she worked in the Credential Services Teacher Preparation Center. She is currently the SLHS department administrative office coordinator.

Michele Caputo, M.S. Ed. 

Lecturer

mcaputo@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 152

Michele Caputo, M.Ed. is a lecturer and field supervisor in the departments of Special Education and Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences at San Francisco State University. Her areas of interest include curriculum design, language and literacy intervention, and personal narratives for students with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs. She has taught special education and AAC in Oakland Public Schools for more than 15 years and has collaborated with school districts, education organizations and families to develop AAC programs and systems. Michele holds a masters in special education and a special certification in AAC from San Francisco State University.

Jim Cartwright, M.F.A, M.S., CCC-SLP

Lecturer

jamescartwright60@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Jim Cartwright is devoted to exploring the intersections between speech therapy, social justice, creativity, coaching, and counseling. He has a B.A. in Literature, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, and an M.S. in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences( called “Communication Disorders” at the time) from this program back in 1996. Before becoming a lecturer at SF State, he worked for the San Francisco Public Schools for 10 years, then for a free community clinic for 16 years, where he was also the director and taught after-school creative writing classes for tweens with learning disabilities. He lives in San Francisco with his husband Jorge and is an author and a singer-songwriter. If you’d like to learn more about him, his personal website is https://www.jimcartwright.org/.

Oneida Chi, M.S., CCC-SLP (They/them)

Clinical Instructor

oneidac@sfsu.edu

(415) 375-0279

Burk Hall 114

Oneida Chi is a first generation, Chinese American genderqueer speech-language pathologist who grew up in San Francisco and is an SF State alum. They worked in home health and public schools throughout the Bay Area for the past 15 years and supervised several interns and Clinical Fellows. They started their private practice to assist friends and community members to explore their voices in a healthy way that is congruent with their gender identity and expression. At SF State, they supervise the Gender Affirming Voice Clinic. Additionally, they work in early intervention and at the Gender Health Clinic in Santa Clara.  

Wes Heidenreich, M.S., CCC-SLP

Lecturer

wbh@mail.sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 152

Wes attended San Francisco State University for both his Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Communicative Sciences.  During his graduate program he focused on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), including completing a thesis on pragmatic factors that impact production of morphosyntactic forms when using AAC.  Since 2014 he has been a clinician with San Francisco Unified School District working primarily with young adults and adolescents with complex communication needs.  He can usually be found riding his bike around the city.

Ruchi Kapila, M.S., CCC-SLP

Lecturer

ruchi.kapila@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Ruchi Kapila, MS, CCC-SLP, NCVS trained vocologist (they/she) is CEO of Kapila Voice and Speech Services, A Professional Corporation in Hayward, CA, providing voice and communication services with a gender-inclusive lens as a speech-language pathologist and singing voice specialist. Mx. Kapila also teaches singing voice in their private studio. They frequently present, publish, and educate nationally on gender-affirming voice care and intersectional cultural responsiveness within the SLP field. They also serve as a founding member of Trans Voice Initiative, board member for the newly-formed Disability Caucus, and officer and parliamentarian for L’GASP (LGBTQ+ Caucus of ASHA). In addition, they are an adjunct faculty lecturer for Minnesota State University - Mankato and San Francisco State University.

John Kim, M.S., CCC-SLP

Lecturer and Clinical Instructor

jkim61@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 152

John Kim MS CCC-SLP, ATACP (he/him) is a doctoral student in the Joint Doctoral program at San Francisco State University (SFSU) & UC Berkeley in Special Education. John’s area of research is at the intersection of visual-graphic symbol acquisition, equity-centered AAC implementation, and translanguaging practice in the exchange semiotics of AAC users. John currently works as a clinical faculty at SFSU, speech-language pathologist and AAC specialist serving individuals, families, and communities.

Flo Kimmerling, M.S., CCC-SLP

Lecturer and Clinical Instructor

flokimm@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 146

Flo Kimmerling's lifelong fascination with language began as an undergraduate at Northwestern University, followed by a master's degree in psycholinguistics and reading at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. After serving as a high school english teacher and reading specialist for several years, she worked as a teacher of "minimally brain damaged teenagers" (what learning disabled children were called in the 70's) and then completed her M.S. in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at SF State. In addition to teaching at SF State, she works privately in the area of language-learning disorders and serves on the staff at the Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders.

Sarah Leslie, M.S., CCC-SLP

Clinical Instructor

sleslie@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 146

Sarah earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree at California State University East Bay (Hayward). Her expertise is working with individuals with complex communication needs requiring augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT). She is a RESNA certified Assistive Technology Professional. She works primarily in the school setting providing AAC & AT assessments and intervention as well as mentor student interns and Clinical Fellows (CF). Outside of supervising the adult AAC Conversation Club clinic at SFSU, she works at ACTS/Ascend Rehab Services and serves on the Board of The Nika Project.

Sumeyra Ozturk, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Lecturer

sozturk@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 152

Dr. Ozturk brings over a decade of experience in clinical practice, coaching, and research. With a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Master’s in Speech Pathology, her research focuses on the intersection of verbal and nonverbal communication, exploring how language and gesture interact in various contexts. She regularly presents at conferences and publishes articles in these areas. As the founder of Speech & Mind Hub, Dr. Ozturk provides communication and leadership coaching to individuals and organizations globally, combining her expertise in psychology and communication to help clients develop impactful skills. Learn more at https://speechandmind.com/.

Emily Root, M.A., CCC-SLP

Lecturer

emilyroot@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Emily lives in New Jersey and has taught Fluency Disorders, at SFSU since 2017 as an online lecturer.  Originally from California, she attended UC Santa Cruz for her undergraduate studies and went to graduate school at New York University.  Emily has had a private practice in New Jersey for 20 years, specializing in working with children and young adults who stutter. Emily speaks annually at the National Stuttering Awareness conferences on topics ranging from stuttering desensitization to supporting parents of children who stutter.  Emily also loves to spread the message of stuttering acceptance in as many communities as possible to decrease stuttering stigma around the country.   Emily spends her free time listening to eighties music, working in local politics, and visiting California as often as possible!

Katherine Seto, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Clinical Instructor

katherine_seto@yahoo.com

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 146

Katherine Seto received her bachelor's degree in english from UC Berkeley in 1986 and master's degree in Speech Pathology from SF State in 1990. She has enjoyed working with the adult/geriatric neurogenic population for nearly 20 years. She is familliar with acute care, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab, home health, and long term care settings. Ms. Seto is currently employed at Pacifica Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and has spent several years training Speech Pathology interns from SF Bay Area Universities. She is a big "foodie' and loves dogs. Ms. Seto lives in Foster City with her husband, three children, two dogs, and a tortoise.

Sara Spencer, M.S., CCC-SLP

Clinical Instructor

shs94116@msn.com

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 146

Sara Spencer has worked as a speech pathologist in hospitals, schools and private practice for over 30 years. She has been supervising at SF State for many of those years. She was the recipient of the 2010 CSHA Award for Outstanding Achievement. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two sons.

Alyssa Winn, M.S., CCC-SLP (they/them)

Clinical Instructor

amwinn@sfsu.edu

(415) 338-1001

Burk Hall 146

Alyssa Winn, M.S., CCC-SLP is the supervisor for the SFSU Neurodiversity Clinic and an alum of San Francisco State University (SFSU), where they specialized in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) through Project CLLASS. Alyssa now works as an ASL bilingual SLP for San Francisco Unified School District where they focus on early intervention for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children in efforts to prevent language deprivation by providing exposure to both spoken English and American Sign Language.

Outside of speech pathology duties, Alyssa is a co-leader of Queer Birders Bay Area, a birdwatching group that promotes inclusivity in nature and birding communities.