2023 and 2024 has been two years of great change for Family Chatterbox. Great change, great challenges, and great opportunity. As life continues to move on, and we look for more ways to serve and reach more and more kiddos throughout the Twin Cities, we are constantly looking for the right people to join our team, at the right time. This has been a challenge, and we have been deliberate with the selection process, knowing that what we have, and that the team that we have is special. However, we could not be more excited to share that we have found an AMAZING person to join our team and our Family Chatterbox Family. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the newest member of our family, Alli Ford! You can learn more about her below!
First tell us a little about yourself:
Hello! I am a born and raised Minnesotan! Grew up in a small town called Gaylord, MN. Interesting fact, I lived in 5 different states in 4 years. This was done during my undergraduate years where I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (UWEC) and finished graduate school at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). I met my husband when living in Eau Claire, WI and luckily he stuck with me and my dog during my schooling, then got married in September of 2023! We have 2 dogs, Nala (4.5 yrs) and Ivy (10 mo). I enjoy spending time with my family and dogs, hiking, reading, playing pickleball, going for walks, and traveling! I am very excited to continue my SLP journey at Family Chatterbox.
Why did you choose Speech Language Pathology?
I grew up babysitting for a family friend of mine and their daughter had a cleft palate and lip, and experienced hearing difficulties. I always found it very interesting to know more about her appointments and therapies. Then following a career fair where I accidently sat in on a Speech Language Pathology presentation, I quickly fell in love with the career and continued my education to further my knowledge.
What is your work experience?
Throughout my schooling, I had the opportunity to experience a variety of clientele and settings. I had lots of experience working with the pediatric population and some working with adults. During graduate school, I had completed my placements at a private practice, school, acute care, outpatient, inpatient rehab, transitional rehab program, and our on-campus clinic. Before transitioning to Family Chatterbox, I work(ed) at a clinic serving individuals with autism and focused on expanding and increasing overall functional communication skills. Over the past few years, I was able to work and learn about a variety of diagnoses such as articulation disorders, fluency, language, augmentative and alternative communications (AAC), feeding and swallowing, cognition, etc. I am excited to continue learning about the field of Speech Language Pathology!
What are you most excited about when you think about joining Family Chatterbox?
I am very excited to work with clients within their home environment! This is where they are the most comfortable and can increase generalization and carryover of targeted skills. Not only will I be able to work with the clients, but also their caregivers! This is a great opportunity to collaborate and educate caregivers on the purpose of therapies. I am also very excited to collaborate with the Family Chatterbox team! Everyone seems very supportive, kind, enthusiastic, determined, and knowledgeable. I am very eager to start learning from everyone!
Lastly and most importantly…what’s your favorite food?
I love trying any and all new foods. For specific foods, my favorite ones include brisket, lefse, pears, and cookie dough 🙂 If we’re thinking types of cuisines, Thai and Mexican cuisines!
We could not be more excited to have Alli join our team! We think you guys are going to absolutely love her! We know we do! Welcome to the Family Alli!
-Kasey-
