About Us

Olivia Zamorano-Pedregon got involved in the research realm during the Fall of 2020 semester.  She is a senior in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences program at San Francisco State University. This voice lab has allowed her the opportunity to work collaboratively with  undergraduate and graduate colleagues, under the advisory of Anusha Sundarrajan, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. Together they  compiled the literature needed to create a research protocol to investigate voice problems in university professors. This is Olivia's first research experience; she is learning how to conduct and record research findings.

Jessica Ramirez is a first year Graduate Student in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. Jessica was initially interested in becoming a Biomedical Engineer however, after some courses in the field and personal interaction with a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), she knew her passion for helping others and advocating for improvements in quality of life could be fulfilled by being an SLP. Jessica’s research interests include: Traumatic Brain Injury, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and how the function of the human voice is altered with overuse, abuse and lack of care. Jessica has worked, in collaboration with other students and faculty, to spearhead San Francisco State University’s first Interprofessional Education Event. She also advocated in Washington D.C. for the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association’s (NSSLHA) Student Advocacy Day, where SLP and Audiology students from all across the nation band together and bring visibility to issues within their fields to state legislators and government officials. Jessica would someday like to work in a healthcare setting, emphasizing unlimited access to communication for all through AAC.

Kelsey Garcia is a 4th year undergraduate student aiming for a BS in Speech-Language Hearing Sciences at San Francisco State University. Early on in her career Kelsey was studying Biology to become a pediatrician, but changed her major when her nephew was diagnosed Autistic. Kelsey went to several therapy sessions with her nephew where she met his speech language pathologist (SLP) and discovered a different side of the medical field. As a speech pathologist, Kelsey knew she would be able to do two things she cared about the most, working with children and researching Autism. As she began working with children on the Autism Spectrum as a behavioral therapist, she decided to minor in Special Education to further expand her knowledge. She is an advocate for inclusive education and has volunteered as a Para-support to guide young teens in their inclusive classrooms. Kelsey has sparked interest in researching the cause(s) of Autism, improving inclusive education, and Child-Centered Play therapy (CCPT). Kelsey’s aspiration is to work in a school setting and later have her own private practice to help families in low-income areas.

Hannah Khorassani is a 1st year graduate student at SF State studying Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences (SLHS) with a specialization in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) at San Francisco State University. While attending Business School in Madrid, Spain, she had a change of heart and decided to pursue a career that can help children. In 2020, Hannah graduated San Francisco State University with her B.S. in Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences and Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, along with a minor in Education. During her time in the SLHS community, Hannah took on the role as Operation Smile at SF State’s Club President and mentored students in anatomy and physiology and neuro. Hannah has also been an active member of Dr. Teresa Gray’s Gray Matter Lab, where she has worked on numerous projects, such as the babSANT and abSANT study to provide diagnostic testing and treatment in English and Spanish, managing a language usage questionnaire for bilingual participants, and the SF Build projects where she is working on building experimental paradigms that tap verbal and nonverbal control mechanisms, and was accepted to present a research poster at ASHA 2020. Hannah also has been co-facilitating a Conversation Club that fosters quality of life experiences for people with aphasia. In the future, Hannah is planning to work as a pediatric Speech language Pathologist, focusing on AAC.

Zuri Hernandez is completing her last year of undergraduate coursework at San Francisco State University majoring in Communicative Disorders with a minor in Special Education. She grew up in a rural, agricultural town in the Central Valley. She and her family immigrated from Mexico to the United States when she was six. Therefore, growing up she had no idea what a Speech Pathologist was. However, she always had a passion for words and for helping others learn. She has a fond memory of her third grade teacher letting her read a book she wrote to another class. It was not until her father got a stroke that damaged the right side of his brain and left him paralyzed from the left side that she discovered the fascinating world of rehabilitation. She fell in love with Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy. However, she ended up picking Speech Pathology. Now her dream is to help bring more diversity into the field of Speech Pathology. Zuri hopes that more children of farm workers discover amazing careers like Speech Pathology. She hopes to own her private practice one day and help bilingual children and infants that come from underfunded and under resourced communities thrive.

Kale Carder is a senior undergraduate candidate for a B.S. in speech-language pathology at SFSU. Initially, Kale began his college career with an interest in atypical child development and psychology. After shadowing his aunt, an established speech pathologist, he fell in love with speech therapy; a discipline that provided him the ability to give back to diverse populations in a multitude of settings. Kale’s philosophy is rooted in the idea that individuals, regardless of physical capability, diagnosis, cognitive status, or development, possess the ability to make progress in their goals. Kale also believes that to motivate a patient, a therapist must focus less on the skill sets a client is lacking, and more so on the existing competencies a therapist may build upon to support a patient’s prognosis. During his time at SFSU, Kale has worked alongside the SLHS department in a variety of ways. He is the president of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapter at SFSU, a highly active student-run service organization in the Bay Area. Kale also works as a research assistant alongside Dr. Anusha Sundarrajan and second-year graduate student Mitchell Peck, where he collects data on participants receiving Conversation Training Therapy (CTT) in the Gender-Affirming Voice Clinic. Similarly, Kale is a clinician aide to Oneida Chi in the GAV clinic, where he supports graduate student clinicians in their clinical practicum. Additionally, Kale has participated in volunteer activities alongside the Oakland Pride Organization, Treehouse Tribe, and Support for Families of Children with Disabilities. Kale plans to further his research studies in gender-affirming voice therapy, but aims to attend graduate school, and hopes to complete his clinical fellowship in a school-based setting.

Allyssa Madriaga is a 4th year candidate for a B.S in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences with a double minor in Education and Special Education at San Francisco State University. Prior to switching to the SLHS program, Allyssa was a Pre-Nursing major. Her past experiences of volunteering at a pediatrician’s office in San Jose, helped Allyssa realize she wanted a career path that would allow her to improve quality of life for children and a chance to give back to her community. Allyssa was first introduced to the Speech Pathology field by her auntie, a current practicing SLP. After researching more about the field, Allyssa realized that speech-language pathology was the perfect fit. Allyssa's research interests include: assessment in culturally and linguistically diverse populations, Pediatric Dysphagia, Cognition in patients post-stroke, and Traumatic Brain Injuries. In the future, Allyssa aspires to attend graduate school and obtain her license to practice as a Pediatric Speech Pathologist. During her time in the SLHS program, Allyssa has taken on the role of Secretary for the Operation Smile chapter at SFSU. Allyssa is actively working as a Clinic Research Assistant to Professor Anusha Sundarrajan in the gender affirming clinic.

Mitchell Peck Eng, M.S. Candidate (2021) is a vocalist, husband, and father of two cats. Mitchell was previously a research assistant for the Gray Matter Lab (GML) in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Mitchell worked on a multiple case series study in the GML and co-created an experimental design examining the effects of code-switching in bilingual aphasia. He is currently conducting applied research in gender-affirming voice with a focus on participant-reported outcomes (PROs). His research interests include exploring applications of single-case experimental design to clinical voice research using PROs to advance practical, evidence-based practice in the field. When not huddled over a laptop screen, Mitchell can be found hiking or camping around California and baking for his family.

Laura Pagliaro is a senior in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences undergraduate program at SFSU. She was introduced to the field of speech pathology by her mother who has been working as an elementary school principal for almost 30 years. Laura later discovered her passion for working with children with communicative disorders after she began working as a Behavior Technician for children with autism. Since joining the program, Laura has had the opportunity to act as a research assistant for Anusha Sundarrajan’s Voice in University Teachers Research Study as well as a clinic aide for Dr. Laura Epstein’s Bayshore Elementary School Clinic. In the future, Laura hopes to work with children with autism, incorporating music therapy into her practice as an SLP.

Haley Afshar is a Senior at San Francisco State University majoring in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences and double minoring in Special Education and Education. She found her love for the field through her mother who has been a Speech Language Pathologist for nearly 30 years. Currently, Haley is a clinic aid at Bayshore clinic where she is able to get hands on experience providing speech and language services in a school setting. She also works as a research assistant for two labs on campus. Find Your Voice Lab and Race, Language and Disabilities Lab have been wonderful experiences and have enriched her research skills. Haley plans to obtain a master in speech to ultimately become a Speech Language Pathologist.

Lara Crotwell is a first year graduate student at SF State in the Fall of 2020 working towards a Masters of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. When Lara Crotwell began to work with individuals on the Autism Spectrum she learned about the challenges this community faced and the other numerous populations who faced communication differences and disabilities in the community. Working with these populations led her to become a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences student at San Francisco State University (SF State). Lara Crotwell is now a part of the grant specialization-program Project Allies which focuses on inclusivity for neurodiverse and underserved populations and the removal of barriers for autistic individuals to promote meaningful participation and communication. Lara Crotwell has been invested in the SLHS department through her role as an officer within The National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Chapter and the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) Chapter. Lara Crotwell was an invested part of the undergraduate team that implemented not only the first, but the second Interprofessional Education(IPE) event at SFSU. Lara Crotwell has worked as a research assistant with Anusha Sundarrajan and Nancy Robinson developing a manual on IPE for inclusive schools. As a team they further implemented IPE within our SLHS department at SF State by creating a website dedicated to IPE implementation. Lara Crotwell and co-researchers were accepted to present an educational research poster on IPE at CSHA 2021 and ASHA 2020. Lara Crotwell is currently working on a masters thesis within the SLHS field by using a neurodiversity approach to research to discover communicative competencies in topical talk and social interaction of autistic individuals. The study is a mixed methods design which implores the use of qualitative features: conversation analysis and semiotics, and quantitative features: The use of Praat to analyze acoustic prosodic elements of voice. 

Allyson is a senior undergraduate in the Science Language and Hearing department at San Francisco State University.  While attending her first two years in college, she decided to switch from child education to speech language pathologist. Allyson always wanted to work with young children. In 2017, she began working as T.A. in a preschool program in the Berkeley, CA. From there, she decided to expand her career. In 2018, she began working as a T.A. at a bilingual school age program and in a bilingual preschool program in Berkeley, CA. While working with all age group of kids, she realized her passion is to serve her community especially towards bilingual kids that do not have access to these services. Allyson’s goal is to continue her education, obtain a master's degree, and work with young kids in a school district. Also, become an educator to shared awareness of communication disorders that tends to be overshadow in the Latin community. She is excited to become part of this research, which allows her to learn research techniques that can be used when becoming an educator as one of her goals.

McKenzie O’Connor, B.S. Candidate is a senior at San Francisco State University majoring in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and double minoring in Special Education and General Education. McKenzie hopes to continue her education by getting her Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) certificate. She currently works as an early childhood educator and has always been drawn to the unique language development of children. Her interest in this field stems from many different aspects of her life but continues to grow as she is exposed to more of the speech and language field.

Danielle Springer is in her final year of Undergraduate in the department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. Danielle first became interested in Speech Language Pathology after talking to fellow classmates who were majoring in the field. She then took it upon herself to take coursework in the major and realized her passion for working in Early Intervention could be achieved with her new passion of becoming a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP). Danielle has had the opportunity to begin cultivating a background in research and collaborating with her peers and professors by working on the San Francisco State lead research project, which focuses on the alterations made on a teacher’s voice from overuse. Her involvement in the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSHLA) has allowed her to advocate for legislation that will build a more diverse community in the profession. Danielle hopes to someday work in a school-based setting with the early childhood population to ensure that early intervention is prioritized for students of all backgrounds.

Kelly Weatherwax is a first year Graduate student in the Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences (SLHS)  at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Kelly started out in nursing school and during her clinical work  she discovered Speech Therapy. Kelly was captivated by the work she witnessed, she then resigned from nursing school and immediately began pursuing her career in Speech Therapy at San Francisco State University.  While working on her undergraduate degree Kelly was involved in several different projects, she assisted in planning the University’s second ever Interprofessional Education Event (IPE). Kelly mentored students in Neuroanatomy for her Professor Flo Kimmerling. During this time Kelly also became the Outreach Coordinator for the University’s first chapter of Student Academy of Audiology (SAA). Kelly has recently been accepted to Project Allies, a grant specialization where she will have the opportunity to continue her passion in working with those individuals on the Autism Spectrum, specifically those in underserved communities. Kelly’s research interests are in social communication specifically in pragmatics for those on the Autism Spectrum. In the future Kelly would like to either work in schools or private practice when she graduates.