Meet Our Nationwide Team
At Lingua Health you will be supported by a team of highly skilled and energetic clinicians, whose focus is to ensure your career is a huge success. We are your go-to resource, providing the answers and training you need.
John Consalvi, MA, CCC-SLP, Founder and CEO
John is passionate about improving the lives of children with special needs. He has spent his career working with school districts and clinicians, ensuring they have the training and skills necessary to help school aged children reach their full potential. John founded Lingua Health to continue this mission and to inspire and support fellow clinicians in their careers. He has developed and provided CF and leadership opportunities for hundreds of clinicians nationwide for over 20 years.
John is actively involved in state and national associations, currently he is the President of the ASHA Multicultural Constituency Group, The Hispanic Caucus. He also serves as the Vice President of Professional Affairs of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA). John is always available, whether you’re a school district administrator, a future Lingua Health family member or already a part of our fabulous team.
Millie Figueroa, Vice President of Operations
Millie is a seasoned human resources expert, whose specialty is working with the unique needs of a school based clinician. She provides personalized service to our Lingua Health team members in meeting both their career and personal goals. Her job is to take the worry out of issues such as health care, paychecks, placements, materials and anything else that we as a supportive employer need to do. She works with you and our management team to ensure your career with Lingua Health is beneficial and enjoyable.
Carrie Slaymaker, MA, CCC-SLP, Director of Clinical Services, IL
Carrie is a distinguished member of our management team with an impressive track record of providing exceptional services. She has extensive augmentative communication experience as well as a deep understanding of the unique needs of the autism spectrum population. Carrie has developed a unique mentorship and CF training program that is tailored to meet the needs of each new clinician. To learn more about our CF training program, email SaraP@LinguaHealth.com. As a treating clinician for over 10 years, Carrie brings a wealth of experience that she can’t wait to share with you.
Ellen McCarthy, MA, CCC-SLP, Director of Clinical Services, TX
Ellen served as a public school speech-language pathologist for almost 30 years, the first 22 of which were devoted to serving students ranging in age from preschool to high school. Ellen was the Lead SLP/Administrator for the Northeast ISD in San Antonio, Texas where she supervised and mentored a staff of 65 clinicians. In May 2005, Ellen was elected by Texas ASHA members to represent them at the national level. Her mission as Legislative Councilor was to be part of a delegation who called upon United States senators on Capital Hill to ask for their support on legislation relevant to ASHA members and bring Texas member concerns before the ASHA governing assembly. Ellen’s expertise in the field proves invaluable to fellow clinicians here at Lingua Health and the districts we serve.
Brenda Gorman, PH.D., CCC-SLP, Advisory Clinical Director
Brenda is an integral part of the Lingua Health training program. She shares her extensive knowledge and expertise in many areas including: language and literacy intervention, language development, bilingual assessment and intervention, and speech-language pathology. Brenda supports our therapists through online training, Lingua Health sponsored continuing education opportunities and a bi-weekly blog. Brenda is an assistant professor in the Speech Pathology and Audiology program at Marquette University where she helps coordinate the Bilingual English/Spanish (BIES) certificate training program. In addition, Brenda directs the University’s Bilingual Language and Literacy lab. Lingua Health employees love the education and support Brenda has provided over the years.
Sara Pessman, Recruiter
Sara takes the time to understand each clinician’s individual goals, ensuring a career with Lingua Health will be a huge success. She works with our management team to find the ideal placement based on each clinicians needs in interests. Sara follows each team member throughout their career to make sure Lingua Health continues to meet their goals. Her Master’s Degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology and her experience in recruiting help develop practices to create a happy and engaged team. Learn more about Sara’s approach in her interview with John Consalvi, MA, CCC-SLP.
Maggie Murphey, MS, CCC-SLP
Regional Manager, Texas 12 Years of Experience
Maggie has extensive experience with the Texas public schools, where she has worked at the elementary, middle, and high school level as well as in administration. She has an appreciable amount of experience in diagnostics and has an understanding of cultural and linguistic differences in English Language Learners. Maggie also has an extensive knowledge of special education law. She strives to ensure that together with her team, students receive quality service in order for them to make the most progress possible which will help to establish groundwork for a successful future.
Tsambika Bakiris, MS, CCC-SLP
Regional Manager, TX 7 Years of Experience
Tsambika was raised Greek-English bilingual, and spent the majority of her childhood in Greece. She began learning Spanish while in Greece, and furthered her studies during college and as a young adult. She has a genuine passion for working with multilingual and multicultural populations and has been able to foster this as early as her Clinical Fellowship year when she practiced in a Spanish-English bilingual majority community. Her diverse background in the field includes direct treatment in a hospital setting, home health, public school setting, as well as owning and operating a home health agency. Tsambika is also involved in the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association where she serves as co-chair of Grassroots Development for the Social and Governmental Policy Task Force.
Patty Boyer, MA, CCC-SLP
Regional Manager, IL, 19 Years of Experience
Patty has a passion for literacy and is certified and licensed to provide services for bilingual students at the early childhood and elementary school level. Her background includes specialized training in the Esperanza and Wilson reading systems. Patty’s knowledge of second language acquisition, combined with her specialized training in literacy, brings a unique perspective to the Intervention teams she supports. Her specialization in early intervention taught her the value of being part of a team focused on a proactive approach. Patty works to empower clinicians, students and families to easily access the tools they need to ensure a successful outcome for their children.
Consuelo Martinez, MA, MS, CCC-SLP
Regional Manager, IL 12 Years of Experience
Consuelo is a bilingual SLP certified and trained in both school leadership and facilitating language development at the early childhood and elementary school level. Consuelo has extensive experience working with children who are hearing impaired. Her team-based approach is centered on making children’s needs a top priority and striving for continuous improvement for herself, her team and the children, parents and administrators she serves.
Elia Olivares, MS, CCC-SLP
Regional Manager, IL 14 Years of Experience
Elia is a driven SLP that approaches every task with a high level of energy and dedication. She is certified and licensed to provide services for bilingual students at the K-5 level. Elia specializes in working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations and providing tools to make better decisions for assessment and intervention. Elia’s extensive experience made her the choice of Northern Illinois University’s faculty to help develop a University program that enables student clinicians to learn how to effectively work through interpreters and translators for assessment and intervention. Elia’s time at NIU also allowed her to hone her staff management and mentorship skills. She continues to challenge herself by teaching courses at NIU that provide SLP clinicians with resources for successfully working with students who speak different languages. Elia’s child-centered approach is focused on creating positive learning environments for children by working as a team with teachers, clinicians and families.
Melissa Zbinden, MS, CCC-SLP
Regional Manager, IL 9 Years of Experience
Melissa specializes in the assessment and treatment of bilingual children from early childhood through adolescence. She has a diverse professional background having practiced across settings that include private practice, homebound services, medical pediatric setting and school districts with large Hispanic communities. Melissa has a strong background in early childhood assessment and is formally trained to administer the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Her priority is to properly assess and effectively treat bilingual students with speech and language needs, placing high emphasis on collaboration between student, staff, parents, and community.
Stephanie Newell McCabe, MS CCC-SLP, C.O.M., DT, Private Practice & Early Intervention Specialist
Stephanie owns and manages her own private pediatric practice and is also a credentialed early intervention specialist in speech-language pathology and developmental therapy. She serves as a trainer and mentor to Lingua Health’s speech-language pathologists.
