MEET OUR TEAM
The Eats + Speaks team is made up of compassionate, energetic, and experienced speech therapists. We meet weekly to collaborate, share ideas, and learn together so that we can improve our patients' feeding, speech, and overall wellness. We have advanced training in the following specialties, approaches, and programs:
IAOM Understanding the Orofacial Complex • TOTS • Plot the Tot • The Myo Method • Go MAPS • Feed the Peds • Talk Tools • When Babies Can't Suck • Lactation Counseling • & more!
EMILY HUSSEY, M.S., CCC-SLP/L, CLC
Founder, Speech-Language Pathologist, Certified Lactation Counselor, Certified Epidemic Answers Health Coach
Emily knew at a very young age that she was made to serve others. Her first opportunity to do this was with a young boy with Autism. She served a special education classroom as part of her weekly experience in middle and high school. This loving boy opened her eyes to this special population and forever exposed her passion to help others communicate and thrive.
After becoming a certified speech language pathologist (M.S., CCC-SLP/L), Emily began her career as a school-based speech language pathologist. She was able to gain experience serving students of all ages and abilities, while collaborating and serving on many multidisciplinary teams of professionals.
Emily’s world changed for the better after the birth of her two daughters. This started her on a journey to empower herself to be the best Mom, learning how to appropriately fuel her children for optimal health and happiness. Throughout this process, she had no idea the impact it would make on the children and young adults she would serve in the future.
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As her research continued in the area of nutrition, feeding, and development, she was in awe of the power of a solid foundation and became a Certified Epidemic Answers Health Coach and began partnering with the JuicePlus+ Company, which is a nutraceutical company that has a mission to Inspire Healthy Living Around the World through whole food nutrition and aeroponic growing systems. Her trainings solidified and continued to strengthen her thoughts and previous research regarding our children’s health and development. This is when her passion to “Empower the Whole Child” spurred her into bringing Eats + Speaks to life!
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Emily has a passion and mission to help educate and empower parents, caregivers, educators, and children in the areas of speech and feeding development, low-tox living, and wellness and prevention. Emily is a steward to learning and has over 100 postgraduate study hours in the areas of feeding, speech, and myofunctional therapy. She has specifically completed the IAOM intro myofunctional course, several Talk Tools courses, Feed the Peds, and is a current member of the Myo Membership.
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Emily is blessed with her supportive, and loving husband, Matt, two daughters, and a mini-dachshund, Duke. She enjoys exercising, reading/listening (Podcast and Audible junkie over here), learning (forever learning), traveling (take me away), and being with family and friends!
MAGGIE WILMARTH, M.S., CCC-SLP/L
Speech-Language Pathologist
From a very young age, Maggie has always loved working with children regardless of their background or abilities. She first became interested in being a speech-language pathologist after her mother required therapy following an atypical migraine with stroke-like symptoms. Maggie shadowed several speech pathologists in both the medical and school settings as a high school student, decided that’s what she wanted to go to college for, and never looked back!
Maggie received her undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and her clinical master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Western Illinois University. She began her career as a school-based SLP treating students ages PreK-High School with varying speech and language needs. Maggie has a passion for treating articulation and phonological disorders, co-treating sessions with Occupational Therapists and Social Workers, and Early Childhood language groups.
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When she is not working, Maggie enjoys both watching and performing in musical theatre productions, dancing/choreography, and playing with her two sons, Charlie and Cain, alongside her husband, Chad and their three horses (Moose, Chance, and Sugar).
MEGAN HOWARD, M.A., CCC-SLP/L
Speech-Language Pathologist
Megan always knew that she was made to help and serve others for as long as she can remember. After job shadowing a speech-language pathologist during her second year of college, she instantly fell in love with the field. The following fall, she continued her education at Northern Illinois University to complete her undergraduate and graduate degrees in speech-language pathology.
Her favorite experiences during her clinicals were learning about myofunctional therapy and feeding with Emily at Eats + Speaks, collaborating with other professionals, and interacting with a wide variety of ages and populations (from adults with strokes to children with Down Syndrome). She is so excited to start her career off by joining the amazing team at Eats + Speaks.
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In Megan’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and dog, being outdoors when it’s warm outside, traveling, and taking care of her “funny farm”!
JULIETTE KOEPP, M.S., CCC-SLP/L
Speech-Language Pathologist
Juliette received her bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduating, she spent two years as a bilingual history teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. Though she loved teaching, she knew she was passionate about strengthening the foundational language skills needed to be a lifelong learner. Therefore, she decided to pursue an advanced clinical degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
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Juliette earned her master’s degree from Elmhurst College. During her graduate training, she gained experience working with children in medical, private, and public school settings, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, GiGi’s Playhouse, and Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding. She has spent the last five years working in an outpatient pediatric clinic in Wisconsin.
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Juliette is passionate about childhood apraxia of speech, pediatric feeding and swallowing, as well as early language development. In her free time, you will find Juliette spending time outside with her husband and two children, creating art, and cooking new food.
MACKENZIE TURCATO, M.S., CCC-SLP/L
Speech-Language Pathologist
Mackenzie received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Illinois University. She is passionate about being a life-long learner and helping her clients reach their full potential. Between undergraduate and graduate programs, Mackenzie had a profound experience serving others as an AmeriCorps member at a public charter school in Newark, New Jersey, working with middle school students on their academic and personal growth.
She then completed a second AmeriCorps service year at Rockford University to assist students in achieving academic success in higher education and provide them with public service opportunities. Through these experiences, Mackenzie became inspired to better her community through the field of speech-language pathology.
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Mackenzie worked as a speech-language pathologist in the Belvidere public school district for 2 years where she delivered customized treatment to those with expressive and receptive language delay, articulation disorder, phonological disorder, and childhood-onset fluency disorder. She is excited to add myofunctional therapy and pediatric feeding and swallowing therapy to her repertoire.
Outside of work, Mackenzie enjoys going for a run, traveling to national parks with her husband, reading, spending time with friends and family, and being home with her two dogs. A recent personal accomplishment of hers was running the 2021 New York City Marathon.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING...
We have had a wonderful experience at Eats + Speaks. Emily helped get to the root causes of some of our 4-year-old’s feeding and speech problems. He continues to progress every day and his confidence has grown so much. He has now worked with both Emily and Maggie. They both do such a great job of making sessions fun and helping him grow!
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~ Amber, Eats + Speaks Parent
Megan always has a smile on her face and really knows how to patiently engage with our son when he gets distracted or doesn’t want to try something new. She always finds a way to get through to him, and has taken special care to find his strengths, which we appreciate so much!
~ Tara S., Eats + Speaks Parent