Meet Our Team!

Vanessa is a South Dakota native who attended Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD and received her masters degree from the University Of South Dakota in 2010. Vanessa began her career working in skilled nursing homes in South Dakota and then started her own private practice specializing in motor speech and feeding disorders in 2013. Her certified trainings include TalkTools Oral Placement Therapy (Level 4 Certification), PROMPT® Bridging, Tethered Oral Tissues Specialty (TOTS), and The SOS Approach to Feeding. Vanessa has also done specialized training in myofascial release, apraxia of speech, pediatric dysphagia and orofacial myofunctional disorders. In addition to these trainings Vanessa is a Certified Orofacial Myologist® through the International Association of Orofacial Myology. She is a TalkTools® instructor and serves on the board of directors for Wonderfully Made (a Down syndrome family support organization), the Huntington’s Disease Society of America South Dakota Chapter, and the South Dakota Speech-Language and Hearing Association. She lives in her hometown of Canton with her husband Ryan, their son Drake, 2 dogs, and one cat.

Anna is from Sioux Falls and received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Human Resources emphasis from SW Minnesota State and in 2014 graduated with her Master’s degree in Multi-Categorical Special Education from USD. She is certified to teach K -12 special education in SD and has worked in higher education for over 10 years. Anna is trained in Orton-Gillingham, Lindamood-Bell and the the Barton Method and is passionate about providing students with the tools and support they need to be successful. Anna lives in Hartford with her husband Chad, son Nyle, and their fur baby Tucker!

Jane is a South Dakota transplant from Iowa. She has lived in Sioux Falls for over 30 years and is happy to call this her home! Jane attended University of South Dakota for her undergraduate studies and graduated with her Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology in 2001. Jane began her career with Children’s Care Hospital and School (now known as Lifescape) where she spent 7 and a half years. She then spent 8 years in the Harrisburg School District where she focused on Birth to Three and Early Childhood Services. After becoming a grandma and wanting a more flexible schedule, Jane retired from the school district and works part-time at the clinic. Jane is certified in TalkTools Oral Placement Therapy, Tethered Oral Tissues Specialty, and Feeding Therapy: a Sensory Motor Approach. Jane resides in Sioux Falls with her husband Tony, and is part of the No Pets club with Jessica, Laura W, Katelyn and Laura E.

Katelyn is from Lennox, South Dakota and received her B.A from Augustana University in 2017 and her Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of South Dakota in 2019. She has a passion for working with children in early childhood. Katelyn interned with Anderson-Smith Therapy Institute in the summer of 2019, so she is a familiar face to some of the patients at Anderson-Smith Therapy Institute. She is a Speech-Language Pathologist for the West Central School District and lives in Sioux Falls. She is part of the No Pets club with Laura W, Jane, Laura E and Jessica.

Kelli is a Minnesota native but has lived in the Sioux Falls/Brandon area for 16 years. She took a non-traditional route to the world of speech therapy. She has many years of experience caring for the geriatric population in nursing homes and has a background in respiratory therapy. In 2014 she graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology. She began her career in the Dell Rapids School District and worked there for 6 and a half years. Through her diverse work experience she’s discovered that she can’t choose a favorite age group to work with – she loves them all! Kelli recently became certified in Talk Tools Oral Placement Therapy and Feeding Therapy: A Sensory Motor Approach. Kelli moved from Sioux Falls to Brandon in 2019 where she lives with her daughter Ella, and her son Sawyer. She is also the newest member of the No Pets Club, though her children are begging her to change her status.

Kelly is from Sioux Falls and attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln for undergraduate studies. She received her masters degree from the University of South Dakota in 2013. Kelly started her career working in outpatient clinics and skilled nursing facilities in Southwest MN serving a diverse patient population. She began working with Anderson-Smith Speech Therapy in October 2016. Kelly’s certified trainings include Talk Tools Oral Placement Therapy, Planning and Assessment of sensory motor feeding disorders, Tethered Oral Tissues Specialty, the SOFFI Treatment Method® (Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants), and Foundations in Myofascial Release for Head, Voice and Swallowing Disorders. Kelly recently completed her Certified Lacation Counselor (CLC®) training and is now available for Lactation support. Kelly resides in Sioux Falls with her husband, Andrew, daughters Ruby and Isla, and two cats.

Laura was born and raised in Minnesota, but has lived in South Dakota for more than 15 years. She completed her undergraduate studies at Augustana University and received her Master’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 2010. The first four years of Laura’s career was spent working at a behavioral residential school as well as with the Birth to Three population. She spent the next five years working with preschool through 5th grade students at Luverne Elementary. Laura has worked with a variety of patient populations and has a special interest in autism, behavior management, social thinking, oral motor and feeding. Laura’s certified training includes Talk Tools Oral Placement Therapy Level 1, Tethered Oral Tissues Specialty, Pivotal Response Training, Discrete Trial Training, Verbal Behavior Approach, High Functioning Autism Behavior Intervention, and Behavior Management. Laura is seeking further training in PROMPT®, A SensoriMotor Approach to Feeding, and will be Talk Tools Level 2 certified in the summer of 2020. She lives in Sioux Falls with her love Walter, and can often be found in the garage helping build motorcycles. Sadly, she doesn’t have any animals (yet!) so she, Jane, Katelyn, Laura W and Jessica have formed their own club.

Nikki received her B.A. from Augustana University in 2004 and her M.A. from the University of South Dakota in 2006. She has spent the last 13 years working in the schools with a particular interest in early intervention and feeding disorders.  Nikki‘s certified trainings include: Talk Tools Oral Placement Therapy, Tethered Oral Tissues Specialty, and Sensory Motor Feeding Disorders. Nikki is Level 2 TalkTools trained and is seeking further training in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and PROMPT®.  She lives in Sioux Falls with her husband, Ryan, two children, Mahlaya and Zavier, and two very, very fluffy cats!