We are excited to offer services in two locations (Fremont and North Queen Anne) and hope that our experience, training and education can help serve your child. This is a field where experience and training make all the difference in success. The more experienced and well-trained the clinician, the more quickly the disorder is diagnosed and the more efficiently treatment techniques are synthesized to best suit your child. The result is a more productive therapy plan and quicker success for your child. This field is both an art and a science--working with kids, making therapy fun, helping kids feel successful, and weaving in a research-based treatment plan.
About the Owner
Jen Wagner, M.A., CCC-SLP Jen is a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist with over 28 years' experience and is the owner of Wagner Pediatric Speech and Language (WPSL). She started her career after graduating from Western Washington University where she earned a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology. Jen has gained knowledge over the years, working in children's hospitals, in the schools, and most recently at private practices. She is skilled in providing exceptional services and has worked with children with childhood onset fluency disorder, cleft palate, tongue thrust, childhood apraxia of speech, autism spectrum disorder, feeding, higher-level language disorders (often seen in children with ADHD), and articulation disorders. She is PROMPT Level I trained (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) and has been putting that technique into practice for over a decade. Jen enjoys the great outdoors, traveling, playing in a tennis league, and spending time with her husband and 3 children. In undergrad, at Santa Clara University, she was named the student-Athlete of the year and went on to coach Western Washington University's women's soccer team and later the FC Royals and Eastside FC. She also spent a year as a team member, and coach, on the Seattle Sounders Women's soccer team. In addition to the years of coaching she has under her belt, Jen has supervised graduate student interns and clinical fellows in this field, making her a great leader for this practice!
Meet Our Therapists
Melissa Stark, M.A., CCC-SLP Melissa graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology. Melissa has experience working with children of all ages, with a variety of communication disorders including receptive and expressive language disorders, motor speech disorders, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, and is extremely passionate about working with those with complex communication needs. She is trained in the Speech-EZ Apraxia Program (a multi-sensory approach that incorporates visual, auditory, proprioceptive, gestural and tactile input in order to teach children the correct movement sequences for speech). She has taken several other courses related to motor speech disorders including the Kaufman Approach, she is PROMPT Level II trained, and she attended the CASANA (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of America) conference. Melissa is also a certified instructor in Hanen "It Takes Two to Talk" and is trained in the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding. She loves working closely with families during their child’s feeding journey. Melissa is passionate about supervision of graduate interns and Clinical Fellows and currently serves as WPSL’s Clinical Services Director, handling the onboarding for interested observers and graduate interns. Melissa has supervised over 500+ direct therapy hours for University of Washington interns, as well as interns attending other universities, including distance-education programs. When not at the clinic, Melissa stays busy exploring the PNW with her two young children, and spending time with family and friends!
Ginny (Virginia) Shayne, M.S., CCC-SLP Ginny has worked in a variety of pediatric settings since graduating in 1989 from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Science - Communication Disorders in Speech-Language Pathology. She has extensive experience working in multiple settings, and across the United States. She worked in the schools in North Carolina, was at a nonprofit center in Kansas City, and was the clinical director and mentor at Speech, Language and Learning Services in Bellevue Washington. Ginny ran a valley-wide program in Montana serving students with autism spectrum disorders and then went on to lead a district-wide program providing services in communication, life skills, and academic skills for K-8th grade students with ASD. In that setting, she served as the SLP developing and adapting academic instructional materials and training and supervising paraprofessionals. Ginny returned to Seattle in 2015, where she worked at Pediatric Speech and Language Therapy, now Wagner Pediatric Speech and Language. She is especially interested in providing therapy for articulation disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, alternative/augmentative communication (AAC), challenges with spoken language comprehension and oral expression, learning disabilities in reading (phonological awareness, decoding, reading comprehension) and writing (spelling and written language). In her free time, Ginny enjoys cooking, reading, hiking and kayaking in the beautiful PNW.
Hayley Nystrom, M.S., CCC-SLP Hayley hails from both undergraduate and graduate school at Washington State University where she earned her Master of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She joined our team at WPSL in early fall 2023 after previously working as an SLP in a speech and hearing clinic setting (Evergreen Speech and Hearing Clinic) where she served all ages with a broad range of communication-related challenges. Hayley has experience working with patients who have hearing loss, auditory processing disorders, and executive functioning deficits. Her love for pediatrics guided her to our clinic, and she comes with special interests and skills treating speech sound/articulation disorders, fluency, social communication/pragmatics, autism spectrum disorder, and early and school-aged language. Hayley's undergraduate degree in psychology, combined with strong interpersonal skills make counseling aspects of speech and language interventions and family collaboration an area of expertise. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and spending quality time with loved ones (especially her kitty cat Junie).
Kourtney Soderholm, M.S., CCC-SLP Kourtney earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Vermont with a minor in Art & Art History. She then went on to receive her Masters in Speech Language Pathology at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. After graduating, Kourtney moved from New England to Seattle, where she completed her clinical fellowship at Evergreen Speech & Hearing Clinic and continued in that setting for several years. Kourtney has experience working with a wide population across all ages and specifically in providing support to patients with auditory processing disorder and autism. Kourtney's passion for neurodiverse affirming care was originally fueled by her father, brother, and best friend, who are all neurodivergent, so she has always been dedicated to learning more in this area. In her last clinical setting, she saw a great need for providing support to those who had difficulties with social communication, so she started a social group which focused on that. She is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and proficient with a variety of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) programs/devices. In her free time, she loves watching any movie (& loves recommendations!), reading with her book club, and creating mixed media art. Brianna Mtuke, M.S., CCC-SLP Bri earned her Bachelor of Science in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Boston University with a minor in Deaf Studies. She then went on to receive a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Teachers College, Columbia University. She completed her clinical fellowship at Lexington School for the Deaf in Queens, NY, where she gained valuable experience providing services in both English and American Sign Language. Bri has experience working in the schools, early intervention, and long-term acute care hospitals. In private practice, she enjoys working with children of all ages and abilities. Bri has special interests in supporting early language development, addressing articulation challenges, and providing comprehensive services to children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Outside of the office, she enjoys traveling, reading, and a good cup of tea.
Joanna Valencia, M.S., CFY-SLP Joanna received her graduate certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders and her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. She has worked in pediatric settings for several years, including graduate externships in a variety of private practices and schools, and most recently, as a clinical fellow with a different Seattle-based therapy center. She has experience working with kids of all ages and who have a variety of needs including children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), articulation disorders, receptive and expressive language difficulties, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and childhood onset fluency disorders. Joanna played Division I softball at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she reached a career low ERA of 2.97 (lowest ERA on the Maverick's pitching staff), her final year on the team. In her free time, she loves reading, music, movies, exercise, and traveling to Texas to see family and friends, with her dog Calluna in tow.
Meet our Office Manager
Robin Rineman, B.S. Sociology The first of her family to receive a bachelor's degree, Robin graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. She's been in the service industry since her first job at 16 years of age. Determined to find a daytime, Monday through Friday job, she transitioned from a GM position at an upscale, boutique movie theater and event venue, into the position she has now, with Pediatric Speech and Language Therapy in 2017. Her roles with us include, but are not limited to, scheduling/managing calendars, providing support to our therapists and making sure day to day operations run smoothly. Robin is passionate about helping others while providing the best customer service possible, and loves being in an atmosphere with children and families. Learning how impactful speech therapy can be and working with all the diverse populations we see, are two things that make her adore this role! Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her wife, Wendy and their two dogs, Wiley the westie (whom you may spot in her office from time to time), and Kona the border collie. Her favorite past-times are tending to her 45+ house plants, creating art, downhill skiing, hiking, kayaking and spending time with her family in Southern Oregon as much as possible.
