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Wendy Duke - founder of Columbia Speech Language Services

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Linguistics, University of British Columbia

Before Columbia, Wendy worked as a speech-language therapist in the brain injury program at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre where she first started as a practicum student in 1980. She has also worked at Vancouver General Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, and the George Pearson Centre and has taught courses at Douglas College and at UBC in both the Special Education Department and in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. She remained at GF Strong part-time for Columbia's first two years, and in 1989, left GF Strong to focus on the expansion of Columbia. The Insurance Corporation of B.C. had started referring clients with brain injuries to Columbia and a growing number of people were interested in stuttering treatment. Eventually Wendy contracted the services of 15 additional speech-language pathologists with specialized areas of practice.

Wendy is an honourary clinical assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine's School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of B.C. where she is a sessional instructor. She also offers her services to lawyers and insurers as a medical-legal witness in court for personal injury and medical malpractice cases. She assesses speech and language problems and describes to the court how people's lives are affected by communication challenges. In the past, speech-language therapists rarely appeared in court; however, since Wendy started offering this service, lawyers and insurers are understanding the importance of communication. In addition to her clinical contact with clients, one of Wendy’s favourite parts of her job is having the privilege of working with a talented, committed and bright team of therapists. She has now celebrated her 30th year in practice.

"Communication is what allows us to participate in society on many levels - at work and at play and at school. It's never hard for me to convince people of the value of speech therapy because I really believe in it," Wendy says.

Ramanjit Bains - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia

Ramanjit believes that the ability to communicate is the most fundamental thing that connects people with the world around them. What she enjoys most about her job is the opportunity to meet such a diverse range of people and create therapy programs that target each client’s individual strengths and personality. She loves to see the effect that speech-language therapy can have in helping people re-engage in everyday life and reconnect with their loved ones.

Ramanjit works in the area of adult therapy (acquired brain injury rehabilitation and swallowing rehabilitation), as well providing aphasia group treatment for a portion of the year. She provides assessment and speech therapy services in both English and Punjabi.  She is actively involved in supervision of student clinical practicums from the University of British Columbia.

Ramanjit sees clients in Vancouver and is available to travel to Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Delta and Surrey.  She occasionally sees clients in the Eastern Fraser Valley (Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack).

Julia Baylis - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, Dalhousie University
• Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, University of British Columbia
  

Julia loves working alongside people to help them improve their lives in fundamental ways.  She has always been interested in communication, and is honored to help individuals with such foundational components of life as speech and language.

Julia’s main area of practice is adult therapy in acquired brain injury rehabilitation. She provides services to individual clients as well as having experience in intensive aphasia rehabilitation.  As a student intern, Julia worked in Dalhousie Unversity's residential aphasia treatment program, InteRACT.  She then worked as an SLP in Columbia's Intensive Aphasia Treatment Program in the summer of 2011.

Julia sees clients at Columbia’s central Vancouver office and does limited travel to the suburbs.

Sarah Blois - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, French, Simon Fraser University

Sarah has a long-standing passion for both language and rehabilitation. Therefore, a career in speech-language pathology has been a natural way for her to combine both loves. She enjoys the challenge of creating tailored programs to help her clients. Her enthusiasm and energy make her a hit with children of all ages.

Sarah works in children’s therapy (speech and language delays and disorders) as well as with teenagers and adults with acquired brain injury. Autism treatment is a particular interest of hers. She welcomes pre-school and school-aged children with autism as well as French speaking clients to her caseload. As a Registered Autism Service Provider (RASP) with Autism Community Training- BC ( ACT-BC) her clients with autism are typically eligible for MCFD funding.

Sarah has recently moved to the community of Chilliwack and is able to see clients in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and the surrounding area.

Patrick Byrne - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Russian Language and Literature, University of Oregon

Patrick's interest in our ability to produce language led him to investigate what happens when that ability fails to develop adequately in childhood or is lost later in life. He has helped people at every stage of life with their communication needs. Patrick returned to Columbia Speech and Language Services, where he had done a practicum as part of his graduate studies, after six years of working for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority with both children and adults.

Patrick’s primary areas of practice are in children’s speech therapy (speech and language delays and disorders; treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders and Asperger’s syndrome), stuttering therapy (with specialized training in the Lidcombe Stuttering Treatment Program for early childhood stuttering), and adult speech therapy (acquired brain injury rehabilitation). He is on the Registry of Autism Service Providers (RASP) with ACT Autism Community Training; therefore, autistic children he sees are typically eligible for MCFD funding.

Patrick works both in the Vancouver area and in Abbotsford.

Jayme Carvey - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Brandon University
• Diploma in Applied Linguistics, University of British Columbia

Jayme believes the ability to communicate is integral to our ability to function in the world and to build and maintain relationships. She finds the challenge of helping people communicate fulfilling and describes her work as "the best job to have." She says “providing support to people with communication impairments and seeing the impact it can have on their lives is pretty amazing." Jayme's duties at Columbia also include supervision of the clinical internships of University of British Columbia graduate students.

Jayme's areas of practice include adult and children’s therapy in the area of acquired brain injury rehabilitation. She is also the lead therapist of our intensive clinic for adults who stutter.

Jayme sees clients in Vancouver and is available to travel to Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Aldergrove, and Abbotsford.

Alisa Ferdinandi - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, McGill University

Alisa loves working with people and believes that communication is what connects us with others and thus impacts our quality of life. She has always had an interest in language acquisition and how people communicate. Alisa's clinical teaching has included graduate students in speech sciences from UBC and other universities and she has volunteered at the Pacific Brain Injury Conference each year from 2000 to 2006.

Alisa’s main area of practice is adult therapy in the area of acquired brain injury rehabilitation. She also provides aphasia group treatment for a portion of the year.  Alisa is the lead therapist and driving force behind Columbia's Intensive Aphasia Treatment Program, the first of its kind in Western Canada.

Alisa sees clients in Langley, Surrey, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Burnaby, Richmond and Vancouver and is able to travel to all of these areas.

Allison Haas - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Applied Linguistics and German Language, University of Victoria

Allison has always had a strong interest in languages and linguistics. She worked as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor prior to becoming a speech-language pathologist. Allison works mainly in the area of adult therapy (acquired brain injury) and also has an interest in stuttering.  In addition to her work at Columbia, she has worked in a variety of health care settings including community programs, as well as Columbia's Intensive Aphasia Treatment Program.

Allison sees clients in their home or in our new West Vancouver office. She is able to provide assessment and therapy services in both English and German.

Erika Innes - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Applied Science, Speech Language Pathology, McGill University
• Bachelor of Arts, German and History

Erika loves language and has studied several. She realized how much there was to learn about language itself - how people learn it and how they lose command of it after a stroke or other type of brain injury. Today she feels lucky to work with so many interesting and inspiring people. Erika has previously been involved with clinical teaching of University of British Columbia masters students doing internships at Columbia.

Her main area of practice is adult therapy. Erika is currently on maternity leave, but is seeing a select number of clients in Vancouver.

Tracey Jalovec - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of British Columbia
• Diploma in Applied Linguistics, University of British Columbia

Tracey believes that communication is central to all areas of our lives, and that by helping people to improve their communication, we help people improve the quality of their lives. She loves to travel and a highlight for her is meeting people from all over the world in Columbia's accent reduction program.

Her current practice areas are foreign accent reduction, adult articulation, voice therapy and adult acquired brain injury. Tracey sees clients in Columbia’s central Vancouver office, and does limited travel to New Westminster, Burnaby, Delta and Coquitlam.

Anne Maccallum - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Linguistics, University of British Columbia

Anne is a veteran speech-language pathologist well-known throughout British Columbia. After obtaining her master’s degree in 1980, she began her 30 year career spanning school districts (Terrace and Chilliwack) as well as health care. At the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre, where she has worked since the 1980s, Anne has assessed and treated children, adolescents and adults who have various forms of brain injury and/or neuromuscular conditions.

Currently, Anne is the lead clinician in the Assistive Technology Program at G.F. Strong, where, amongst other duties, she consults to other speech-language pathologists in the province who wish to learn about augmentative communication and other forms of rehabilitation technology.

Anne works part-time on the Columbia team, primarily conducting expert witness assessments for court.

Karen Salamon - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, San Francisco State University
• Bachelor of Arts, English Linguistics and French Literature, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Karen says the highlight of her work is having the opportunity to work with amazing people, especially her clients and their families. She loves her hands-on work with language and linguistics. Karen supervises SLP practicum students from the University of B.C. most summers.

Karen works mostly in adult therapy (acquired brain injury rehabilitation) and also does medical-legal assessments.  She has a particular interest in cognitive rehabilitation for the treatment of cognitive-language impairments in people with brain injury.  Karen is also able to provide Hebrew or French speech therapy.

Lauren Tittley - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Health Sciences, Speech Language Pathology, University of Toronto
• Bachelor of Science, Psychology, minor in Linguistics, McGill University

Lauren loves having a job that allows her to interact so closely with many different people. She believes that communication plays a vital role in people’s lives and is proud to work with individuals and families on restoring and improving meaningful communication skills.

Lauren works primarily with adults who have sustained a stroke or traumatic brain injury. She has worked in acute care, as well as inpatient and outpatient rehab environments, assisting people through the initial and later stages of an acquired brain injury.

Lauren is available to work with clients in most of the Lower Mainland.

Clinton Tsang - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Speech Sciences and Psychology, University of British Columbia

Clinton particularly enjoys helping people in a practical way when they really need it. In addition to his private practice at Columbia Speech and Language Services, Clinton has worked at a variety of health care settings and continues to do so.

Clinton’s passion is working with adults who have experienced stroke, brain injury and related conditions that cause communication disorders such as aphasia, dysarthria and apraxia as well as swallowing difficulties. Children’s speech and language are also areas of interest; while at UBC he was involved in research involving the language development of young children.

Clinton can provide Cantonese speech therapy and Mandarin speech therapy to both adults and children.

Clinton sees clients in Vancouver, and is available to travel to the suburbs.

Kathy Yoshida - Speech-Language Pathologist

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology, University of British Columbia
• Bachelor of Arts, Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria

Kathy believes that communication is a human necessity - a fundamental part of life. She personally witnessed the tragedy of language loss after her grandparent's stroke and wanted to learn how this loss could be turned around. Since then, she has found the broad scope of her field fascinating. Kathy’s clinical teaching includes supervising graduate students from UBC and other universities.

Kathy’s areas of practice are adult and children’s therapy in acquired brain injury rehabilitation, including providing aphasia group treatment for a portion of the year. She has a special talent and sensitivity for working with teenagers with brain injury. Kathy also provides medical-legal assessments.

Kathy is available to see clients in Vancouver, North Vancouver, New Westminster, Burnaby, North Surrey, and North Delta.

Joe Newsted - Retired Speech-Language Pathologist

Joe Newsted is a veteran speech-language pathologist who, since the early 1970s, has pioneered the use of intensive stuttering treatment in British Columbia. He developed the highly regarded program at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre that ran until the early 1980s. Joe's talents led him up the ladder of health care management. In the mid-1990s, Columbia Speech & Language Services Inc. founder Wendy Duke identified a gap in service for adults who stutter Ð effectively unfilled since the GF Strong program had stopped in the 1980s. She approached Joe, her former teacher, mentor and boss and together, they developed the intensive stuttering clinic still offered at Columbia Speech & Language Services Inc. Although Joe is now retired he continues to stay in touch with us and many of his past clients.

Kerensa - Administrative Staff

Kerensa is the friendly “Aussie” voice and smiling face that will greet you in the Columbia Speech therapy office. She keeps track of multiple details, requests, messages, phone calls, computers, and paperwork. She enjoys working with the SLPs and meeting clients.

Jaria - Adminstrative Staff

Jaria is our casual admin assistant who fills in at particularly busy times or when others are sick. We don’t know what we would do without her!

Janey - Administrative Staff

Janey is our accountant. She is a highly organized and efficient taskmaster who with her sweet nature always puts a smile on our faces. She is the “go-to” person if you have a question about your invoice.

Michele - Administrative Staff

Michele has been a part of the team at Columbia Speech & Language Services since 1996. She keeps us all in line and out of the fire. Due to her amazing memory and knowledge she has this office running smoothly and efficiently. She works mostly behind the scenes and is our go-to person whenever we have a question or a problem. One of her favourite parts of working at this dynamic clinic is seeing the results of the Intensive Stuttering Treatment Clinics - they never fail to amaze her!