Our Therapists
Our Support Staff
Amy earned her Master’s degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences at Washington State University in 2000. She earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one in Communication Disorders and another in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998.
Prior to becoming the owner of Susan L. Cohn & Associates in 2010, Amy worked in public schools, private practice, and as building coordinator for special education services. In 2014, Amy had the prestigious honor to serve as a co-presenter at the American Speech & Hearing Association National Convention in Orlando, FL. In 2018, she co-presented (with Amber and Toddie) a Poster Session at the American Speech & Hearing Association National Convention in Boston, MA. In addition to managing all of the operations of the practice, Amy provides diagnostic and treatment of speech and language disorders for children and adolescents with special interest working with those who present with articulation delays, phonological disorders & those who have deficits in language acquisition. She is licensed by the state of Washington and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. On a more personal level, Amy is a breast cancer warrior! She was diagnosed March, 2018 and has found a new passion for advocating for early detection.
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because it is such an honor to play a role in a child’s communication journey assisting them in becoming effective communicators. I love working as a collaborative team with parents, caregivers, and other professionals to ensure carryover of learned skills to other communication settings outside of the treatment room. As the owner of the practice, I have the privilege to witness so much growth and progress among all of the children we serve.” ~ Amy
Amber earned her Master of Science Degree in Communication Disorders at Boston University’s Sargent College in 1997. Amber has worked in the schools (public, private, inner-city and alternative), pediatric rehabilitation, research, hospitals and private practice. She loves working with any child with a communication disorder. Her specialties include autism, apraxia, pragmatic language impairments (social skills), and childhood articulation and language disorders. She has been trained in a variety of therapy approaches for children with autism under Barry Prizant ~ SCERTS, Tamara Kasper ~ Verbal Shaping, Michelle Garcia Winner ~ Social Thinking, and Ross Greene ~ Collaborative Proactive Solutions. Amber has also found an interest in evaluating myofunctional disorders. In 2018, Amber co-presented (with Amy Svensson and Toddie) a Poster Session at the ASHA National Convention in Boston, MA. During her time, with Susan Cohn and Associates, she has been an amazing Supervisor and Mentor to Graduate Student clinicians sharing her skills and expertise as well as continuing to learn from our wonderful students. She holds an ASHA certification and a WA state license in speech-language pathology.
She enjoys hiking, triathlons and spending time with her husband, 2 children, 1 dog and a guinea pig!
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because I love making a difference in the life of a child by helping them communicate more effectively!” ~ Amber
Amy earned her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from Washington State University in 2005 (Go Cougs!). She served one year in a low-income school district with a high prevalence of English Language Learner (ELL) students. Amy then worked in local school districts for an additional three years, focusing on Early Childhood Education students, as well as programs developed solely for students on the Autism Spectrum, and students with moderate to severe delays.
Amy has developed and implemented Motor Language Groups for children with both communication and motor delays in collaboration with Occupational Therapists, and has served on the Assistive Technology team in the school district. She has worked at Susan Cohn & Associates since 2009. Amy specializes in early childhood expressive and receptive language delays, speech articulation and phonology, Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and fluency disorders. Amy enjoys working closely with her patients, their families, and other members of their care team to develop functional, effective, and successful communication plans. She relies heavily on family input to best determine treatment strategies that will create patient success.
Amy bases her therapy techniques on following the child’s lead, providing them choices and control in their treatment sessions, and “meeting the child where they are at” to facilitate a strong sense of empowerment and motivation in order to increase successful communication. Amy is licensed by the Washington State Department of Health, and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Amy loves “all things girly,” crafts, reading and spending time with her three children, husband and two dogs.
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because watching a child grow and become confident in their own voice is gratifying and rewarding.” ~ Amy
Bridget earned a MA in Speech-Language Pathology from Montclair State University (New Jersey) in 2010. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 2004. Bridget has worked as a school-based SLP in elementary schools as well as in Early Intervention as a home-based therapist. Her primary areas of practice within the field of speech-language pathology are working with pediatrics presenting with expressive and receptive language delays, oral-motor delays, and articulation/phonological disorders. Bridget is also proficient speaking Mandarin-Chinese.
Bridget is licensed by the Washington State Department of Health and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
She enjoys traveling, reading, and playing sports with her two children and husband.
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because I get to make a difference in the lives of another individual. I love the reward it brings everyday knowing that I was able to help someone with their communication and advocating for their needs.”
Cassie earned her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology at San Diego State University where she also completed her undergraduate studies (Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa). She has 19 years of experience, 10 of which were in the public schools in California and Washington working with preschool through elementary age students with a variety of communicative disorders.
While in San Diego, Cassie supervised and mentored Clinical Fellows which is the final requirement speech-language pathologists (SLPs) must fulfill in order to earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in our field. More recently, Cassie worked in the Issaquah School District (WA) focusing primarily on preschool age children with receptive and expressive language delays, Autism Spectrum Disorders and speech production delays. Cassie has been part of the Susan Cohn and Associates “Family” since 2014. During this time, she has been an amazing Supervisor and Mentor to Graduate Student clinicians sharing her skills and expertise as well as continuing to learn from our wonderful students.
Cassie holds a Washington state license and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She enjoys reading, traveling and being active with her two kids and husband.
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because working with children and families is what I believe I was meant to do with my life. Watching children grow, learn and become confident communicators brings me so much joy.” ~ Cassie
Katie Russell
M.S., CF-SLP
Katie earned her Master’s degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from New York University in 2022. She also holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Pittsburgh since 2009, and has presented and published on language and cognition after traumatic brain injury as well as contributed a chapter for a neuropsychology textbook on developmental cognitive neuroscience. Previous clinical experiences included work with preschool, elementary, and middle school students in school settings and a rotation with adults in a short-term rehabilitation facility. She is looking forward to working with pediatric clients of all types again, though she has a special interest in language and cognition. Katie will be serving as a Clinical Fellow (CF-SLP) while she qualifies for full licensure, and will be supervised by Amy Svensson and Toddie Downs. In her spare time, Katie likes spending time with her husband, twin boys, and dog, as well as playing games and knitting.
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because watching a child discover the power they can have by communicating is an unparalleled experience.”
Toddie earned her M.A. in Speech Language Pathology from Kent State University in 1998. Her career began in Ohio, where she worked at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation, first as a rehabilitation SLP for inpatients and outpatients, and then as a feeding specialist, where she was part of an interdisciplinary feeding team working with children with pediatric feeding disorders of all types. She also worked in the Shaker Heights school district in Shaker Heights, Ohio as the designated SLP in the middle school’s classroom for children with multiple disabilities.
Upon moving to Washington in 2004, she has worked in the private practice sector with Susan L. Cohn & Associates. Toddie specializes in AAC (augmentative and alternative communication), reading disorders, word retrieval difficulties and other expressive language issues, and Apraxia of Speech; she is trained in Level 1 of the PROMPT system. During her time, with Susan Cohn and Associates, she has been an amazing Supervisor and Mentor to Graduate Student clinicians sharing her skills and expertise as well as continuing to learn from our wonderful students. In 2018, Toddie co-presented (with Amber and Amy Svensson) a Poster Session at the ASHA National Convention in Boston. MA. She holds a Washington state license and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Toddie loves travel, technology, reading, writing, and knitting.
“I love being a speech-language pathologist because there’s nothing better than a child’s smile when they can communicate effectively!” ~ Toddie
Tracy joined Susan Cohn and Associates in 2014. She earned her Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology from Case Western Reserve University in 1999. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Prior to coming to Susan Cohn and Associates, Tracy worked in the public schools providing speech/language services to children of all ages.
Tracy has experience working with children presenting with a variety of communication needs. She has a special interest in early language development and is certified with the Hanen Approach “It Takes Two To Talk” for early intervention.
Outside of work, she loves spending time with her husband and children, swimming, biking, running, & camping. Tracy holds her WA State license and is certified by the American Speech Hearing Association.
“I love being a speech language pathologist because I enjoy being able to empower children with the ability to share their thoughts, needs, wants, and love!” ~ Tracy
You may think you’re seeing double, but in addition to serving as a speech-language therapist in our practice, Toddie Downs also serves as our office administrator. Her depth of knowledge about the practice, combined with her attention to detail and organization skills, means that our client families will be served in a timely, efficient, and knowledgeable manner.
Heather Kass serves as Susan Cohn and Associates Marketing Director. Heather’s roles include managing Susan Cohn & Associates (SCA) brand, marketing initiatives, communications, community and client outreach, marketing materials, website and social media management, and events.
Before working with SCA, Heather owned five barre3 studios in the Seattle area.
She got her degree in public relations from Texas Tech University.
“I love working with SCA in a marketing role. Supporting and sharing the SCA team story is beyond rewarding – they change so many children’s lives!”
Darci is our wonderful and AMAZING Billing Manager! She is the face behind all those billing statements, calls & e-mails, authorizations, appeals, ON & ON! She is also the clinic’s bookkeeper.
Darci has been in the field of medical billing for 30+ years and has been doing bookkeeping & accounting for 32 years. In her free time Darci enjoys her dog, crafting, gardening, and spending time with her family.
Jordy
Clinic Pooch
Meet Jordy, our part-time Clinic Pooch! He does not hold a formal educational degree, but he is very proud to be a pedigree 13-year-old King Charles Cavalier (papers available upon request). He brings a wealth of love, kindness, comfort and emotional support to the entire clinic. He is 100% deaf, but all of his other senses are spot on, especially his sense of taste; he happily works for treats. Jordy is happy to sit in on sessions and be part of the therapy activities or he will just lay quietly and observe following the child’s lead. His favorite game to watch and lay next to the board and child is “Diggity Dog.” He always arrives to “work” happy with a wagging tail and eagerness to please.
Read about the benefits of pet therapy and learn why we feel it very important to have Jordy be part of our Support Staff and Team. Benefits of Pet Therapy | PAWS for People
Jordy is current on all canine vaccines.
