Meet the Speakers of the SLP Convention of the year: Desert Days 2026

Meet the Speakers of Desert Days 2026

We're bringing together an incredible group of leaders, creators, advocates, and innovators for a one-of-a-kind professional development experience in Scottsdale, Arizona. Get to know the speakers of Desert Days 2026, explore their work, and see what they’re most excited to share with you!

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jasmine Simmons

Jasmine is a DeafBlind audiologist, children's book author, and accessibility consultant. Born profoundly deaf and later diagnosed with Usher syndrome, Jasmine brings a powerful intersectional perspective to her work. Through her speaking, writing, and advocacy, she challenges ableism, promotes inclusive practices, and helps professionals understand the real-world impact of accessibility.

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What she's excited to share:

"I’m most excited to connect with SLPs and related professionals about how to build more inclusive, accessible practices for both children and adults with disabilities. I’ll be sharing real-life strategies and insights rooted in lived experience, including how to implement accessible communication, create affirming environments, and better support individuals with multiple disabilities."

Christina Schmidt (she/her)

Christina is a Black African-American-Australian, multicultural and multidialectal AuDHD woman who proudly embraces her identity across all facets of her work and advocacy. As the founder of Free to Be Me Speech Therapy, she provides neuroaffirming support to paediatric and adult clients in ways that honour each person’s unique communication needs, strengths, and ways of being.

Her approach is transformative - grounded in deep presence, cultural integrity, and lived/living experience. Whether she’s guiding fellow speech pathologists, connecting meaningfully in client sessions, or presenting to captivated audiences around the world, she weaves together the personal and professional to create resonant, lasting impact.

Christina lives, works, plays, and creates on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri People in Naarm (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). Her work is rooted in justice, joy, and the ongoing commitment to amplifying diverse voices and stories - always with the belief that we all deserve to be seen, heard, and free to be.

Links:

  • Find all Christina's links here

What she's excited to share:

"It lights me up to be joining such passionate SLPs to share ways we can feel more confident and creative in how we model AAC across the moments we’re already part of - like play, routines, movement, books and chats. It’s going to be a beautiful space to explore what’s possible together when we water our seeds of belief, curiosity and joy to see connections grow."

Alexandria Zachos

Alexandria is the founder, clinical director, owner, and senior speech-language pathologist with Social Butterfly Inc. and Meaningful Speech®. She has been a practicing SLP for 21 years and has worked extensively with gestalt language processors since 2016, utilizing Blanc's Natural Language Acquisition protocol. She educates SLPs, parents, and related professionals through her social media platforms, podcasts, blogs, and her internationally acclaimed courses on Meaningfulspeech.com.

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What she's excited to share:

"I'm most excited to teach the audience about the 'other' way to develop language! This is what we were all missing in graduate school. I promise it will transform your work supporting GLP and especially autistic individuals and will have you looking at language through a totally different lens!"

Biancha Diaz, MS, CCC-SLP

Biancha is a bilingual pediatric speech-language pathologist practicing in an outpatient children's hospital. She specializes in feeding needs using a sensory-based, child-led approach and supports bilingual language development and articulation in both English and Spanish. Passionate about empowering families and making mealtimes meaningful, she blends evidence-based practice with creativity and compassion.

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What she's excited to share:

"I’m so excited to share practical, evidence-based approaches for sensory feeding therapy that go beyond the basics and really honor the individuality of each child. At Desert Days, I’ll be diving into the 'why' behind our sensory-informed decisions and how to empower SLPs to feel more confident and creative when working with pediatric feeding cases."

Dawn Winkelmann

Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP, is an internationally recognized pediatric feeding expert, award-winning inventor, and founder of the Baby-Led Oral Care™ (BLOC) movement. A proud Latina entrepreneur, Dawn brings over 30 years of medical, clinical, and academic experience to her work.

She is best known as the product designer for ezpz, where she creates developmentally appropriate feeding and oral care tools used by over 10 million families worldwide. Her products are trusted by feeding therapists, pediatricians, and dentists, and have been featured on Shark Tank, Parents Magazine, Good Housekeeping, and Martha Stewart. You can find her designs at major retailers including Target, Nordstrom, and Crate & Kids.

An engaging and inspiring speaker, Dawn shares her journey from clinician to inventor, encouraging fellow SLPs to turn their expertise into innovative solutions and impactful leadership. She speaks internationally on topics such as pediatric feeding and swallowing, baby-led weaning, trauma-informed care, entrepreneurship, and baby-led oral care.

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What she's excited to share:

"What I’m excited to share: I’m most excited to share the behind-the-scenes of my business journey and offer feeding tips that are truly practical, no matter what SLP setting you’re in. I’ll be diving into pre-feeding skills, trauma-informed care, and making oral care a developmentally appropriate (and even fun!) part of your therapy toolkit. I’m also looking forward to connecting with fellow SLP entrepreneurs so we can support, inspire, and lift each other up as both clinicians and creators!"


Edwin Brown

Edwin is the CEO of One Therapy Network, Therapitas, and Mini Miracles. He has spent the last decade building and supporting therapy teams that serve thousands of families each year. His passion is helping practice owners create organizations that thrive—clinically, financially, and culturally—without burning out.

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What he's excited to share:

"I'm excited to share how our members are finding success in dealing with some of the biggest challenges in running a therapy practice—things like staffing, insurance headaches, and burnout. I’ll be sharing real examples and practical strategies that are helping owners run more sustainable, mission-driven businesses without losing their joy or their weekends."

Ebony Green, M.S.

Ebony is the CEO and founder of SLP Business Suite and The SPEAK Center for Language and Learning. With over a decade of experience, she has helped countless SLPs build six- and seven-figure businesses through school contracts and private practice coaching. Ebony is also the founder of the Made for More SLP Business Conference and the host of The SLP Business Podcast.

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What she's excited to share:

"I'm passionate about helping speech-language pathologists grow private practices that make a real impact in their communities—without sacrificing their freedom. With the right systems and a strong team, I believe you can build a business that works for you, not one that runs your life."

Jennie Bjorem, M.A., CCC-SLP

Jennie Bjorem, M.A., CCC-SLP, is an internationally recognized speech-language pathologist and leading expert in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) with over 20 years of experience as a pediatric clinician. She is the founder and CEO of Bjorem Speech® Publications, widely known for creating high-quality, inclusive, and child-centered therapy materials—most notably the popular Bjorem Speech Sound Cues.

Jennie is a sought-after international speaker, trusted educator, and mentor, celebrated for her engaging and practical workshops. Her approach blends play-based learning with evidence-based practices, empowering clinicians around the world to confidently assess and treat children with speech sound disorders.

She is also the president and co-founder of the nonprofit Bjorem & Bolles Child Apraxia Education Initiative, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting families and professionals through accessible apraxia education and resources.

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What she's excited to share:

"I’m so excited to share my favorite tips, tricks, and real-life lessons from owning my own private practice! From the messy beginnings to the moments that made it all worth it, this is going to be a fun, honest, and inspiring conversation. Whether you’re just dreaming about private practice or already in it, I can’t wait to connect and help you feel empowered to take the next step. Let’s do this!"

Jessie & Chris (Sensory SLP & Speech Dude)

Jessie and Chris are a neuroaffirming SLP couple from Los Angeles. They co-host the "Making the Shift" podcast and co-founded the NeuroAffirm Therapy Academy & Therapist Directory. Jessie is the creator of the Sensory Certificate Course and author of "Ready Set Connect," while Chris is known for the Dynamic Assessment of Social Emotional Learning and Neurodiversity Affirming IEPs.

Links:

What they're excited to share:

"We can't wait to explore how to move beyond compliance-based goals and instead create ones that honor each child’s identity, support regulation, and build meaningful communication. Whether you’re working in schools, clinics, or homes, we’ll share practical strategies to help you reframe your lens, collaborate with families and teams, and write goals that make a lasting impact."

Stay tuned for more Desert Days 2026 updates—and get ready for a transformative weekend of learning, connection, and community!

Tags: accessibility apraxia of speech Bjorem career development CEU conference continuing education desert days entrepreneurship feeding therapy gestalt language processing meaningful speech neurodiversity PDH PDH hours private practice professional development sensory sensory training for SLPs SLP SLP private practice speech pathologist speech therapist
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