Katie received her bachelor’s degree in English literature from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. Prior to founding Communication Connects, Katie has worked with the pediatric population to treat a variety of communication disorders in New Orleans, LA and Montgomery County, MD. Katie has experience working in public schools, private schools, clinics and private practice. Upon her arrival in Tampa, Katie established Communication Connects, LLC and fulfilled her long-time dream of starting a practice that treats the whole child. Katie is passionate about every therapy session being functional and fun, and anchors her treatment plans in those fundamentals. By fostering strong relationships with clients and their families, Katie provides individualized therapy that maximizes each child’s unique gifts and strengths.

Katie currently provides speech and language services to clients at private schools, preschools and in-home within the South Tampa community and greater Tampa area. Katie collaborates with teachers, caregivers and other therapy practitioners to maximize growth potential across multiple environments. Through close collaboration with the school teams, Katie is able to provide individualized treatment to best support academic and social success.

Katie has extensive experience working with children with autism spectrum disorders, augmentative communication, expressive language delays, language-based learning disabilities, apraxia of speech, pragmatic language disorders (social skills), stuttering, feeding difficulties, sensory processing disorders, learning disabilities, auditory processing difficulties, articulation impairments, multiple disabilities, voice disorders and other health impairments.

Katie resides in South Tampa with her husband, 3 children and dog. When she’s not cooking up new and engaging activities for therapy, you’ll find her biking with her family and enjoying one of the many gorgeous local beaches!

Jessie brings an exciting and fresh approach to speech and language therapy to Communication Connects. A life-long Floridian, Jessie was drawn to the field to give the gift of communication to others. Jessie has experience working in pediatric settings such as in-home childcare centers, preschools, and elementary schools.

Jessie is passionate about using a team-based approach to treat and positively impact the lives of children with communication disorders and developmental disabilities. Her graduate thesis research focused on developmental norms for articulation and expressive language and early intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Jessie holds a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a double minor in Education and Child Development from Florida State University.