Meet Michele, a dedicated member of the Step Forward Therapy team since June 2017. Michele holds a Bachelor of Science degree earned in 2003 and a Master of Science degree obtained in 2004, both from Marquette University. Following her education, Michele completed her Clinical Fellowship in 2005 and received her Certificate of Clinical Competence.

With a wealth of experience, Michele has previously worked in the Illinois Public Schools and another private clinic before joining Step Forward Therapy. Her areas of specialization include articulation/phonological processing, cleft lip and palate, pragmatic language, and multi-lingual language development.

Michele is passionate about building strong relationships with each child’s team and family. She believes in providing comprehensive support by fostering an understanding of speech and language development. Through collaboration and communication, Michele strives to empower families to facilitate their child’s development and ongoing success.

Meet Mike, a valued member of the Step Forward Therapy team. Mike graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Illinois State University in 2019, where he also pursued a double major in Spanish. He furthered his education by obtaining a Masters of Arts degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Indiana University, Bloomington.

During his graduate studies, Mike participated in the Speech Therapy Education, Practicum, and Services (STEPS) program at Indiana University. This specialized training equipped him with the necessary skills for appropriate treatment and diagnostic practices for multilingual children, with a focus on serving Latine families.

Mike’s professional journey includes a Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) in a local school district, where he continued for an additional year. Throughout his tenure, he collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to support children’s expressive and receptive language skills, fluency, and social/pragmatic skills across preschool to eighth-grade levels.

Passionate about serving children of all ages and communication needs, Mike’s particular interests lie in working with children who stutter, speech-sound/articulation disorders, and providing culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment and treatment for multilingual children. He strongly advocates for his clients, believing in holistic care that empowers them to advocate for themselves.

Outside the clinic, Mike enjoys biking, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and embarking on adventures with his fiancée Breanna and their dog Jovi.

Meet Rachel, a valued member of the Step Forward Therapy team. Rachel holds a Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Concordia University Wisconsin.

Throughout her clinical experiences, Rachel has had the privilege of working with clients spanning various age groups, from preschoolers to geriatric populations. However, her true passion lies in working with children. Rachel finds immense fulfillment in helping children shape their communication skills and fostering positive relationships with others.

Rachel has a particular interest in working with children who stutter. She is dedicated to helping them develop resilience and confidence in their communication abilities, empowering them to navigate the world with ease.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Rachel enjoys immersing herself in a good book, honing her crocheting skills, and cherishing moments spent with friends, family, and her beloved animals.

Meet Megan, a dedicated member of the Step Forward Therapy team. Megan holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Western Illinois University. 

Megan has extensive experience working with children of various age groups and abilities. Throughout her experience, she has found a love for working with the autistic population to provide neurodiversity-affirming therapy. To aid in this, she is a Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) trained therapist, after completing a training on Gestalt Language Processing (GLP). 

Megan also has a passion for working with AAC. She enjoys every step of the process, from assessing a potential AAC user to determine the best system, to customizing the device or working with an AAC user who already has years of experience. She loves empowering those who cannot use verbal speech to meet all of their communication needs by providing them a voice. 

Outside of the therapy room, Megan enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, and doing anything with arts and crafts. 

Meet Colleen, a passionate member of the Step Forward Therapy team. Colleen holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Northern Illinois University. 

Colleen has over 20 years of experience working with individuals from 0 through adulthood.  She has experience in a variety of settings from Early Intervention, school-based work including therapeutic schools and outpatient clinics for those experiencing TBI (Traumatic Brain injury).  Throughout her experience, she focused her work on helping individuals with Autism and their families to develop systems of communication.  Colleen is proficient in behavior management and pragmatic language development as well as reading comprehension with a focus on receptive and expressive vocabulary and language expansion.

Colleen is also well versed for working with AAC (augmentative and alternative communication). She understands the importance for every individual to have a way to share their voice and be heard.  She is able to work with individuals to discover best ways for them to access communication based on their needs and abilities.  Colleen will work with families to understand how AAC works and guide families on how to take what is learned in therapy sessions to their home.

When she’s not working, Colleen enjoys spending time with her scientist hubby, 3 children and 2 funny and loving dogs.

Meet Krystal, an ASHA certified speech-language specialist and valued member of the Step Forward Therapy team. Krystal earned her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Midwestern University and her Bachelors from Illinois State University. Krystal has experience working with pediatric, adult, and geriatric individuals to provide tools, strategies, and encouragement to work toward independence in communication and feeding.

Meet Mairead, a valued member of the Step Forward Therapy team. Mairead earned her Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022 (I-L-L!). She recently completed her Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Saint Xavier University.

Mairead brings a wealth of clinical experience across the lifespan, with a particular passion for working with children of all ages. She is dedicated to creating a therapy environment that is fun, engaging, and empowering, while skillfully targeting each child’s communication goals.

With a special interest in helping children with social pragmatic challenges and speech/articulation difficulties, Mairead believes that everyone deserves to be heard and supported in achieving their goals, no matter what tools or strategies are needed. She enjoys collaborating closely with her colleagues and families to ensure a holistic approach to each child’s care.

When she’s not in the clinic, you can find Mairead spending quality time with her family and friends, diving into a good book, binge-watching a new TV series, or enjoying a well-deserved nap!