SLP Private Practice in Color

"Let's Grow Together"

About

SLP Private Practice in Color began as a Facebook Group to create a safe space for clinicians of color to connect, network, and mentor as practitioners who have or are seeking to establish his or her own Private Practice. The data shows that only 7.9% of ASHA Certified Speech-Language Pathologist constituents identify as a minority. Our journey has quickly expanded to include actively advocating for increased diversity and dismantling of racial inequities that allow for disparities within our field. Please embark with us upon this journey towards Equity for all. Let's Grow Together.

"The Work"

Equity for All

Legal Talk

Esquire Candice Haley, Keynote Speaker
Legal Rights and Risk Management as a Private Practice Owner including malpractice lawsuits, contracts, etc..

Call to  Action

SLP Private Practice in Color hosted a Virtual Town Hall with Dr. Valerie Johnson, SLPs of Color, SISTAs INC., SLPs for Juvenile Justice, and Black Speech Pathologist Group to discuss racial disparities and plan for racial equity in relation to Black SLPs and the Black Communities we service.

Thursday Night Live

SLP Private Practice in Color monthly game night with fellow SLPs to network, mingle, and have fun.

Race & The Workplace

SLP Private Practice in Color had an open discussion with Carrie "The SLP Solution" Clark, Owner/ Founder of The SLP Solution, regarding whether or not racial issues had a place in the workplace and business practices.

Meet the Members

Alex Smith

Meet the Founder & Administrators

The Faces of Our Organization

Tamala H. Close MS, CCC-SLP

SLP Private Practice in Color, Founder

Tamala H. Close is the founder of SLP Private Practice in Color. She is a Dallas Texas native who received her undergraduate degree in CSD from the University of Houston, and a graduate degree from the illustrious Southern University A & M's Speech-Language Pathology Program. Upon graduation, she moved to Tallahassee Florida where she worked at a skilled nursing facility, and it was at the end of my SNF tenure that I decided to go PRN to launch her own Private Practice. She then formed her private practice Close to Perfection Speech Therapy Services, LLC in May 2018. It was because of the mentorship of two African American SLP PP owner’s willingness to disseminate their knowledge that gave her the idea to found SLP Private Practice in Color Facebook Group to provide a safe space for resources, networking, and mentorship for clinicians of color who decided to step out on faith and form their own practice. She has recently relocated back to Dallas, Texas, formed Close to Perfection Therapy Services, PLLC, and am contracted with a charter her locally. She urges us all to utilize this platform and be a stepping stone and constant resource for each other. She believes there is undoubtedly enough space for us all to grow and flourish as independent contractors and PP owners. Let's grow together.

Tailyr McAlpin, MS CCC-SLP

SLP Private Practice in Color, Administrator

Tailyr McAlpin is an administrator of SLP Private Practice in Color; and the owner of Tailored Speech & Feeding Therapy LLC in Baton Rouge, LA. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, La. and then completed her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Southern University. Tailyr is an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) certified speech-language pathologist. She has specialized training in working with children with developmental disabilities, swallowing/feeding disorders, and autism spectrum disorders including Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) and Hanen: It Takes Two to Talk. She previously worked in the  school system, where she served students of all ages and served alongside a team of specialists that were put together to revamp the structure of services offered for students with autism within the parish. Tailyr provides specialized therapy and evaluation services for children with all developmental backgrounds and communicative deficits and is very passionate and committed to working with her families of children with communicative and feeding disorders. Tailyr believes that networking and mentorship positively impacts the growth of an SLP.

Britney Desir, MS, CCC-SLP

SLP Private Practice in Color, Administrator

Britney Desir is an SLP Private Practice in Color Administrator. She is the Owner of Therapeutic Endeavors, LLC in Tallahassee, Fl. Britney started her career at the age of 21 practicing speech therapy in the school system for 5 years. She moved on from the school system to provide skilled speech-language service in a skilled nursing/rehabilitation facility, private practice, and home health.
She graduated from Florida State University Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Masters in Communication Sciences and Disorders shortly thereafter.
Britney Desir is married with two amazing little boys, one who inspired her interest in early intervention due to his premature birth. She has personal and work experience overcoming challenges caused by developmental delays. Not only does Britney have a special interest in early intervention, but she also has a passion for geriatrics and adults that may suffer from consequences of strokes, traumatic brain injuries, dysphagia, or other debilitating disorders. She has mentored SLPs on their journey to becoming private practice owners including the SLP PPIC Founder, Tamala H. Close. She feels that it is imperative that we all reach back and bring others with us on our journey towards sucess in the field.

Let's Talk Dialect Speakers

Dr. D. Latimer-Hearn

PH.D. CCC-SLP
"Respect the Dialect"

 It is our pleasure to introduce one of our expert panelists for the Let's Talk Dialect discussion, Dr. Latimer Hearn. Dionna Latimer-Hearn completed her Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership for
Changing Populations at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, MD.  Her research focuses on African American English, service delivery for culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and race and class inequities in education. In addition to leading the Respect The Dialect Facebook group, Dr. Latimer-Hearn is co-founder and director of REACT Initiative, a Christian nonprofit organization that advocates for equity in education. She has served as a multilingual speech-language pathologist and international educational consultant since 2002, holding positions in France, Illinois, Japan, Maryland, and Texas.

Dr. J Berry, PH.D. CCC-SLP

Author of, "The Little Gullah Geeche Book"

 It is our pleasure to introduce one of our our expert panelist for the Let's Talk Dialect discussion, Dr. J. Berry. Dr. Jessica Berry is a Gullah Geechee native of Huger, South Carolina.  She is a wife, mother, scholar, and passionate advocate for the recognition, celebration, and inclusion of Gullah Geechee in mainstream culture. Dr. Berry is a nationally certified speech-language pathologist who received her Bachelor's degree from Winthrop, Master's degree from South Carolina State and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. She is the acting chairperson and assistant professor in the department of speech pathology and audiology at South Carolina State University. Her research focuses on child language disorders in the context of regional dialect variation. Dr. Berry is the recipient of the 2019 ASHA Language Journal Editor's award. She. enjoys educating others about modern Gullah Geechee culture and  language and her favorite saying is, “Gullah Geechee bin ya, een gwine nowhere!”

Jordyn Carroll, MS, CCC-SLP

IG "Jrc_theslp"

 It is our pleasure to introduce one of our expert panelists for the Let's Talk Dialect discussion, Jordyn Carrol. Jordyn is a school-based speech-language pathologist in Washington, D.C. She specializes in culturally responsive therapy and child language development. Jordyn emphasizes the importance of being the person you needed when you were younger. She creates products and materials with the intention of serving as representation both in and outside the field of speech-language pathology.

Dr. J. Jackson, PH.D. CCC-SLP

"Speaking Strategies, Inc."

 It is our pleasure to introduce one of our expert panelists for the Let's Talk Dialect discussion, Dr. J. Jackson. Dr. Jackson is a native of San Diego, California. She received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where she contributed to the development of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation (DELV) tests, non-biased language assessments, published by Ventris Publishing. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Jackson is president of Speaking Strategies Inc. and a clinical service provider for Dekalb County School District in Georgia. She has served as a faculty member at various universities including the University of Texas-Austin and the University of South Carolina. She has also taught internationally at the Graduate School of Linguistics, in Liden, Netherlands. For close to 30 years, Dr. Jackson has presented research on African American English at national and international conferences including the International Workshop on SLI Research in Groningen, Netherlands, The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, The National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing, and the Society for Research in Child Development. Dr. Jackson has authored book chapters and her work has been published in a variety of journals including The Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,  Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, Developmental Psychology, Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistic, and Topics in Language Disorders. Dr. Jackson’s greatest accomplishment is being a single adoptive parent. She is the proud mother of her 11-year-old daughter, Bria.

Price List

Our Offers

PPIC Membership

Basic

This is a Free Membership that grants access to the PPIC community, forums, shared resources, and receive email updates for upcoming products, webinars, and events.

PPIC Premium Membership

Premium

The PPIC Premium Membership plan specially features ***FREE*** Access to The 5- Part Cultural Humility Series, product discounts, discounts on upcoming webinars., and receive email updates for upcoming products, webinars, and events. Each member also has access to the PPIC Online Community, Forums, and shared resources.

Contact SLP Private Practice in Color

1000 Cottonwood Dr. DeSoto, Tx 75115

214-336-3123