Meet the Team

Allison King

MS, CCC-SLP
clinic Director

Pronouns: she/her

Allison came to Social Thinking-Stevens Creek (STSC) from Tucson, AZ after a nomadic childhood that included living in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the West Indies, and Canada. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Anthropology, and a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Arizona. During that time, Allison was introduced to Social Thinking® by Dr. Pam Crooke. After graduation, she worked for a residential transition program for young adults focusing on independent living and social communication skills, and the Tucson Alliance for Autism, where she facilitated the Life Skills and Social Communication program for adolescents and young adults. In 2012 Allison had the opportunity to move to San Jose and work with the team at STSC. During her time at STSC she has helped to expand programs for young adults and assisted in the development of new clinic programs. As Clinic Director, Allison enjoys supervising volunteers and new clinicians, as well as presenting to parents and professionals in the community. She is able to use her knowledge and experience with life skills and transition programs to develop functional, individualized strategies for the real world. When not at the clinic, Allison spends her time outside enjoying the hiking trails, lakes, and beaches of the Bay Area.

Ryan Hendrix

MS, CCC-SLP
Senior Therapist

Pronouns: she/her

Sogol Shafiei

MS CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Amy Costello

MS CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Ryan received her bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in art therapy and master's degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Arizona. While at the U of A, Ryan met Dr. Pam Crooke, who introduced her to the unpredictable, quirky world of social thinking. Having grown up with a close family friend with social learning differences, the lessons resonated strongly with her. Ryan led social cognitive groups throughout graduate school, and together with Pam, authored a published journal article discussing results of a pilot study examining the efficacy of social thinking therapy. Following graduation, Ryan continued implementing social thinking principles in the Tucson community with preschoolers through adolescents. When opportunity knocked, she followed Pam west to the Center for Social Thinking in December of 2007. Ryan's artistic and creative talents allow her to present lessons in a visual, fun, and engaging manner. She spends her free time reading, thinking about practicing yoga, and exploring the Bay Area and has an unexplainable affinity for elephants, especially pink ones!

Sogol completed her Bachelor's in Speech Pathology and Audiology and Master's in Speech Pathology at California State University East Bay. During graduate school and post-graduation, while working with early intervention and elementary students, Sogol found her passion for working with children with social communication differences. From 2013 through 2023, Sogol worked at Neighborhood Charter Schools in New York City. During her time there, she worked as a speech-language pathologist, the network's first Supervising Speech-Language Pathologist, and eventually the network's first Related Services Program Director, helping to grow the school’s special education program and implementation of the Social Thinking® Methodology. Sogol joined Social Thinking-Stevens Creek in 2021 remotely and after moving back home to California in 2023, she joined the team in Stevens Creek full-time. She is so thankful to be a part of the team at Social Thinking-Stevens Creek and has felt so fulfilled working with clients and families of the clinic. In her spare time, Sogol enjoys traveling, dining out, and spending time with friends and family.

Amy comes to Social Thinking-Stevens Creek from Chicago, Illinois. She completed her B.A. at Elmhurst College (Illinois) with a minor in Intercultural Studies, and her M.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Amy’s experience as a clinician has spanned ages and abilities. She worked in a school setting for 7 years, with pre-k through high school age students; including individuals in transition programs. During this time, she also served the deaf/hard of hearing, blind/visually impaired, and Autistic populations. The last 4 years of her time in an educational setting were spent in an Autism Support Program at a top Illinois high school. It was during this time that Amy delved into the Social Thinking® Methodology. In her free time, Amy enjoys traveling, and spending time outdoors; taking hikes or riding bikes with her husband and daughter.

Caitlin Zeien

MA, CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Caitlin comes to Social Thinking - San Jose from Chicago, Illinois. She received her undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University and her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Kansas. Caitlin worked for over a decade at a multidisciplinary clinic in Chicago, serving children of all ages and their families. She went to her first Social Thinking® conference in 2012 and was hooked! Caitlin was excited to join the team at Social Thinking-Stevens Creek where she could focus on helping individuals and their families integrate the Social Thinking® tools and strategies into their everyday lives. After moving back to Chicago, Caitlin continues to serve clients remotely in her dynamic online sessions.

Shannon Oakes

MS CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Farah Syed

OTR/L

Pronouns: she/her

Kari Zweber Palmer

MA CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Shannon received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree at UC Berkeley and a Masters of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She has clinical experience working in the hospital setting at a comprehensive AAC clinic, at a specialized school for students aged 5-22 with emotional and behavioral challenges, and in public preschool, elementary and middle school settings. She has consulted with the Autism Center of Northern California and leads Hanen training programs to parents of children with language delays. She currently owns a small private practice and works part-time in San Francisco providing play-based speech and language therapy. Shannon jumped at the chance to join the Social Thinking-Stevens Creek team in 2019. She loves helping her Social Thinking® students to tune into the thoughts and feelings of their peers, cooperate as members of a group and build their social smarts to have meaningful friendships. Outside of work, Shannon enjoys traveling, practicing Pilates and seeing live music in the city.

Farah received her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Houston and a Master’s in Occupational Therapy from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Farah has previous work experience in outpatient pediatrics, early intervention, and in a school setting. She was born in Pakistan and has lived in various parts of the US, including Massachusetts, Texas, and the District of Columbia. She has experience abroad in her hometown, where she pursued a bachelor’s in Occupational Therapy and interned in various clinical settings. She developed a passion for working with the Autism community in 2017 when she worked for Social Motion Skills as a teacher aide. During OT school, she researched and presented a scoping review on “Developmental Trends of Postural Control with Autism Spectrum Disorder” at the Texas Occupational Therapy Conference of 2019. Her desire to work at Social Thinking-Stevens Creek came from her experience in schools where she saw the need and benefits of using the Social Thinking Methodology in classrooms. Outside of work, she is a cat mom to two vivacious Tuxie sisters. She also enjoys hiking and nature to ground herself.

Kari Zweber Palmer is a speech-language pathologist in Excelsior, MN. She has co-authored, with Michelle Garcia Winner, Ryan Hendrix, and Nancy Tarshis, We Thinkers! Volume 1 Social Explorers and We Thinkers! Volume 2 Social Problem Solvers. Additionally, Kari consults with school districts on implementing Social Thinking into their programming.

Kari's interest in communication and related disorders began long before she studied it formally. Her mom, Jane, is a speech-language pathologist and Kari grew up in the field. Kari received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and master’s from the University of Kansas. Following her formal training, she started her career as a speech-language pathologist in the public schools in Minnetonka, MN, working predominately in the early childhood and elementary levels.

Kari's interest in Social Thinking® was first ignited in graduate school when she was encouraged to facilitate a "social skills" group for teens. As she attempted to pull together a lesson plan for the group, she quickly realized she had no idea how to truly teach social thinking. Discovering Michelle's work made all the difference, as she found information that concretely explained what to do and more importantly, why. Finding herself increasingly fascinated with Social Thinking, Kari researched and wrote "The Double Interview: Assessing the Social Communication of Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome" for her master’s thesis. Department faculty at the University of Kansas awarded her the Margaret C. Byrne Saricks Graduate Research Award for demonstrating excellence in master’s thesis research.

Kari worked as a full-time therapist at Social Thinking Stevens Creek prior to returning home to Minnesota. She is excited to return to the team to share her knowledge and expertise through online sessions.

Kari can usually be found chasing after her kids, thinking about training for another triathlon with her husband, and enjoying the lakes of Minnesota. She loves to travel and considers her experiences with an infant on an airplane the most interesting social experiment.

Laura Buescher

MS CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Laura is originally from Lewes, DE but comes to us from Baltimore, MD. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Speech-Language Pathology at Loyola University Maryland. Growing up with a brother with autism, Laura’s interest in communication began at a young age. As a child, Laura spent hours playing “school-house” with her little brother, which inspired her to pursue a career in speech-language pathology. Because of her brother, Laura knew early on that her passion within the scope of speech-language pathology was in helping people with social communication differences. After graduating, Laura began her Clinical Fellowship at a school for students with disabilities where she was introduced to the Social Thinking® Methodology. Laura saw great progress in her students' social emotional learning and quickly realized that she wanted to specialize in social cognition. When an opportunity arose to join the Social Thinking Stevens Creek team, Laura moved from Baltimore to the Bay Area. Recently, her husband’s career in the military necessitated a move to Texas. Laura continues to share her fun and engaging sessions with her clients online. During her free time, Laura enjoys hiking, traveling, going to the beach, and spending time with her husband, family, and friends.

Maddie Lopez

MS CCC-SLP

Pronouns: she/her

Maddie received her Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science with minors in Psychology and Disabilities Studies from the University of Delaware. She received her Master of Science in Communication Sciences from Hunter College in New York City. After completing graduate school, Maddie worked as a speech-language pathologist in a special education private school and then at a charter school, both in New York City. Maddie also has several years of experience working in New York Public Schools as a paraprofessional and substitute teacher. Currently, Maddie owns a small private practice, Maddie Lopez Speech Therapy. Along with working with individuals with social learning differences (both in private practice and in school-based settings), Maddie also has extensive background working with students with dyslexia, as well as those with expressive and receptive language delays. She employs evidence-based approaches, innovative techniques, and personalized interventions to create a supportive environment that fosters growth and empowers individuals to reach their full potential. In her free time, Maddie enjoys spending time with her large family - including her husband, parents, five sisters, one brother, two sisters-in-law and nine nieces and nephews. Maddie also enjoys spending time outdoors - hiking, biking, and attending community events focused on environmental sustainability. Maddie is excited to join the Social Thinking team and share her extensive experience through online sessions from New York.

Ellissa Wood

BA C-SLPA

Pronouns: she/her

Ellissa Otani Wood is a Bay Area native. At age 14 she started teaching dance and swim lessons to students ages 2 through adulthood. It was then that she knew she wanted to work with children and adolescents in her future career. Ellissa is neurodivergent herself and understands what it is like to navigate the world with social-learning differences. She brings this experience into her therapy sessions. Ellissa also has a brother with Autism Spectrum Disorder, who benefited from the Social Thinking Methodology growing up. Ellissa graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Disorders and Sciences and a minor in Child and Adolescent Development. She then went on to complete her Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program through Cal State East Bay Hayward and is now a licensed SLP-A. When it came time for her to participate in her clinical experience internship Ellissa knew exactly where she wanted to start her SLP-A journey. It was during her internship that she truly fell in love with working with individuals with social learning differences and helping them to strive for their own social goals. She also loves to utilize her training as a dance and gymnastics teacher to incorporate dance movement into her therapy, especially with her early learners. In her free time, she likes to brush up on her dance and gymnastics skills, coach gymnastics, and garden!

Patty Garza

office Manager

Pronouns: she/her

Patty graduated as a Massage Therapist from Everest College and was Valedictorian of her class. Although she loved what she did, over the years, she gravitated towards administrative roles and grew a passion for customer service and relations. In 2018, she joined the Social Thinking-Stevens Creek team and has grown an immense respect for Social Thinking®'s teaching strategies. Growing up, Patty always loved to care for kids and is excited to be able to interact with children and families today. Outside of the office, Patty loves photography, traveling, spending time with friends and family, and enjoying great music.

May Chen

Chief Accountant

Pronouns: she/her

May (Maofen) received her Master of Science in Accountancy from Cal State University, San Bernardino, and passed her CPA exams. She and her family moved to the bay area in 2016. She worked in the accounting department of a large construction company in San Jose. She also has working experience from a non-for-profit organization. Recently, she joined the Social Thinking Stevens Creek as Chief Accountant. She loves the working environment at STSC, everyone feels like family. She takes care of STSC’s billing, AP, GL and Payroll and resolves payment issues with vendors and customers. When not working, May enjoys reading, watching movies, hiking, and traveling.

Chris Brown

Records Manager

Pronouns: she/her

Chris was born and raised in the Bay Area. Her career started by working in accounting and general administrative positions. She married into the military and had the opportunity to travel the world. She has lived in several different states and spent a four year tour in Sicily. In 2010, Chris’s daughter was working at Social Thinking-Stevens Creek as a therapist and they needed admin help for the summer. While working in the temporary position Chris started reading the Social Thinking® books and watched how the therapists applied the concepts. She knew this was something she wanted to be part of and was lucky enough to be hired on as a permanent employee. In her spare time, Chris enjoys hiking and going to the beach with her dog, painting and working as a Senior Care provider.