About Us
Alexia D. Mazzone, M.S., CCC-SLP
President and Director
Alexia Mazzone is the owner and director of TALK. She has a passion for working with children and loves watching them achieve their communication potential. Alexia takes great pride in her ability to connect with kids and reach out to families. She enjoys watching the profound change often seen in a family dynamic as the child develops and increases their communication skills. Alexia worked with children in private practices in Honolulu, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego, before opening TALK. She loves the personalization and intensity that is possible in a private setting as she sees faster gains and greater family involvement in this environment.
Alexia earned her Bachelor of Arts from U.C. Santa Barbara, then her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of the Pacific. She holds a certificate of clinical competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), the national association for Speech Language Pathologists. Alexia is also licensed by the state of California Department of Consumer Affairs Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board. She has experience working with local Regional Centers providing early intervention services for children three years of age and under.
Alexia has worked for over 15 years with the pediatric population and has worked as certified speech language pathologists for more than seven years. Her experiences include working with children with developmental delays such as Autism, various syndromes including Down syndrome, and neuromuscular disorders such as cerebral palsy. Alexia is trained in oral placement and motor planning techniques such as Talk Tools and PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Targets), the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding, the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM), and she is proficient in Sentence Writing Strategy. She is committed to continuing her education and staying current on the latest research-based treatment methods for communication disorders. Alexia believes that every child has the potential to improve, therefore she sets high standards so that the children she works with will perform to higher levels of success.
Sarah A. Clapper Lopez, M.S., CCC-SLP
Assistant Director
Sarah Ann Clapper Lopez, Assistant Director at TALK, is an enthusiastic and dedicated speech-language pathologist. She earned her Master of Science degree from the University of the Pacific in Speech-Language Pathology. She has experience working with children in public schools, a non-profit school for children with Autism, private practice settings, and has provided treatment to children with a wide variety of communication deficits including: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Apraxia, articulation, phonology, receptive and expressive language, and pragmatic language disorders. Sarah Ann has attended training courses in Talk Tools, Advanced Social Communication/ Emotional Regulation/ Transactional Support (SCERTS), The Sentence Writing Strategy, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) and social thinking workshops.
Sarah Ann loves working with children and has been helping them strive to meet their full communication potential for over six years. She specializes in Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) and believes it is important to foster strong relationships with the children, their parents, her co-workers, and other team members, in order to both provide positive and valuable therapy and promote generalization across all settings. Most of all, she believes that therapy should be fun!
Mari A. Yao, M.S., CCC-SLP
Mari Yao is a creative and passionate therapist and a welcome addition to TALK. She holds her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of the Pacific. Mari has experience throughout the Bay Area working with children with speech and language difficulties in both the public school and private practice settings. She has provided services for clients with a variety of deficits including, but not limited to: Autism Spectrum Disorder, developmental delays, oral motor issues, voice, articulation, and Apraxia. Mari has worked with children with special needs for over ten years and enjoys helping them reach their full communicative potential. Mari is also interested in narrative workshops and social skill development; she enjoys creating motivating therapy activities for children of all ages in a patient and gentle manner. Mari believes in providing therapy that is meaningful to both the child and their family, enhancing communication in everyday life.
Kira E. Moler, M.S., CCC-SLP
Kira Moler, an eager and devoted speech-language pathologist, earned her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from San Francisco State University. Throughout her professional and academic career, Kira has worked with children and adults in a wide array of clinical settings: a public elementary school, university clinic, an acute inpatient hospital, a skilled nursing facility, and outpatient rehabilitation. Her areas of professional interest include: social and pragmatic disorders, literacy and writing delays, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), swallowing and feeding disorders, Apraxia, and fluency. She believes in a comprehensive approach to therapy with children and their families, better helping them reach their full potential in all areas of life; and that therapy should be fun and an overall positive experience. Here at TALK, Kira loves collaborating with the TALK Team, working with other team members, and involving each family in the therapy process.
Elizabeth P. Ho, M.H.Sc., CCC-SLP
Elizabeth Pile Ho, M.S., CCC-SLP, moved to the Bay Area from Toronto, Canada. She earned her B.Sc.H. in Psychology from Queen's University and her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Toronto. Speech and communication development has been a passion of Elizabeth’s since she began volunteering with special needs children in her hometown, Toronto; she worked at the Holland Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, where she focused on assessing and implementing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems for children with complex physical and communication needs. Elizabeth has experience working with children with many different needs, including cerebral palsy, autism, Down’s Syndrome, global developmental delay, and other neuromuscular conditions. In addition to AAC, she enjoys working on feeding and swallowing, speech-sound development, and early intentional communication with her clients. Elizabeth is certified to lead the Hanen It Takes Two to Talk program, training parents in strategies to help stimulate speech and language development in their children, a program we’re looking forward to implementing at TALK. She speaks basic conversational French and limited spoken Cantonese. Elizabeth is loves working with the TALK families and team to help children reach their full speech and communication potential!
Heather D. Angstadt, M.A., CCC-SLP
Heather Angstadt is an energetic and committed Speech-Language Pathologist who holds a Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology from San Jose State University. She has worked at a non-profit school for children with Autism, as well as in private practice settings. Heather’s experiences include providing treatment for children with a variety of communication deficits including: Apraxia, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental delays, articulation, and receptive and expressive language disorders. Her special areas of interest include Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and language disorders. Heather finds great fulfillment in working with children and enjoys encouraging and inspiring them to reach their full potential. She brings a warm, playful energy to children during therapy and believes in a well-rounded approach to treatment. Heather feels the child, family, co-workers, and other team members are all an integral part of therapy and are key figures in a child’s communication development.
Anya Ashouri, M.S., CF-SLP
Anya Ashouri is a resourceful and enthusiastic speech-language pathologist. A recent graduate of San Francisco State University where she obtained her Master's in Communicative Disorders. Her clinical experience includes working with children with a variety of communication disorders: Autism Spectrum Disorders, hearing impairment, articulation disorders, expressive and receptive language delays, fluency, and developmental delays. Anya believes that incorporating the child’s interests, as well as collaborating with family, teachers, and colleagues, makes therapy constructive, engaging and effective. She makes an effort to pull from past experiences when working with clients, their families, and her coworkers while maintaining an understanding that each child possesses unique qualities and strengths and that integrating those into treatment will encourage each child to reach their full capability. Anya regards communication, both verbal and non-verbal, as the element that connects us to one another and she looks forward to fostering and manifesting that in each child and family with which she works.
Lydia F. Visser, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lydia Visser is an lively and committed speech-language pathologist who, having completed her clinical fellowship and successive year at the UCSF Voice and Swallowing Center, an outpatient clinic specializing in voice and swallowing disorders, is thrilled to have joined the TALK Team. She has worked with children and adults in a variety of clinical settings: university clinic, public elementary and middle school, acute inpatient hospital, and outpatient rehabilitation. Lydia has a background in singing and music, which contributed to her initial desire to become a speech-language pathologist. She brings a creative and compassionate energy to her clients; she believes in collegiality and collaboration and enjoys fostering relationships with the child, their family, and other professionals while providing therapy that is meaningful and motivating. Lydia believes that communicating comes in many forms whether it is speaking, writing, lip reading, smiling or even frowning. Having been a singer for most of her life, she loves encouraging others to find their own voices.
Natalie Hole, M.S., CF-SLP
Natalie Hole, M.S., CF-SLP, an innovative and animated speech-language pathologist, recently earned her Master’s in Communication Disorders from California State University Northridge. Her academic clinical experiences include: early intervention and general clinic at the Language-Speech and Hearing Center at California State University Northridge, cognitive rehabilitation therapy in an out-patient traumatic brain injury facility, and a public elementary school. Natalie has worked with a wide range of ages and an eclectic array of communication disorders including: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, articulation disorders, hearing impairment, Apraxia, Dysarthria, expressive and receptive language delays, fluency, and developmental delays. During her undergraduate studies, Natalie worked as a behavioral therapist and developed a passion for working with children. She believes in a collaborative approach to therapy, working closely with families, teachers and colleagues to determine the most effective way to work with each individual child. Natalie believes therapy should be fun and is dedicated to finding the right tools and tasks to keep the child motivated and engaged.
Amy Bennett, M.S., CF-SLP
Amy Bennett, M.S., CF-SLP, a creative and patient therapist, recently moved from Boston to the Bay Area. Having completed her Master of Science degree from Boston University, she has a wide range of academic clinical experience including: Tufts Floating Hospital for Children, an outpatient pediatric rehabilitation center, and a public elementary school. Prior to returning to graduate school, Amy spent a year teaching English as a second language to elementary school-aged children in Thailand. She also gained experience in early intervention with children on the autism spectrum, working closely with families and utilizing techniques of both Floortime-DIR and Applied Behavioral Analysis. Amy believes building a strong rapport with the client and collaboration with family, teachers, and other therapists are critical to successful therapy. Amy loves to work to make therapy both meaningful and motivating for children and their families.