Our staff includes speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists who are experienced in serving diverse populations including clients with Autism, Apraxia, Aphasia, Down syndrome, cognitive deficits, Cerebral Palsy, hearing impairment, Cleft Palate, neurological impairments, fine motor delays, Parkinson's, Selective Mutism and sensory processing deficits.
Elizabeth Riser Parker, M.A., CCC-SLP
Elizabeth grew up in Southwest Virginia and then attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where she received her bachelor’s and masters in Communicative Disorders. She moved to Kingwood to begin her career in public schools and nursing homes and working part-time at Kingwood Speech. In 2001, Elizabeth had the opportunity to purchase Kingwood Speech with a friend. Elizabeth enjoys working with unintelligible and pre-verbal children and helping them make their first steps toward being understood. Elizabeth’s favorite part of her job is mentoring clinicians and students to further the profession of speech pathology.
Elizabeth has been married for over 20 years and has 3 teenage children. When not at Kingwood Speech, she can be found cheering on one of her kids in their many extracurriculars or leading Bible study at her church. Elizabeth considers owning and operating Kingwood Speech her life’s work and is honored to have served many families in our community.
Meredith James, M.A., CCC-SLP
Meredith grew up in Colorado and completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Northern Colorado. She graduated with her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology in 2017 and completed her Clinical Fellowship Year at Kingwood Speech. Meredith holds a license in Speech-Language Pathology from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Meredith’s interest in speech-language pathology began at a young age as she received speech therapy for several years to treat a speech sound disorder. In graduate school, she developed a passion for working with language skills and literacy when she had the opportunity to conduct a research study and present her research at the national ASHA Convention. Meredith enjoys working with individuals of all ages but primarily works in pediatrics. She has expertise in early intervention, autism spectrum disorder, speech sound disorders, language disorders, social communication disorder, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She continues to enjoy incorporating literacy in sessions and has a specific interest in treating severe speech sound disorders.
Outside of the clinic, Meredith enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, going to museums, and going to musical/theater productions. She loves music and grew up playing the piano and singing with her family. She enjoys studying the relationship between music and communication and incorporating music into therapy sessions whenever possible.
Lisa Van Hofwegen, M.A., CCC-SLP
Lisa completed her master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders at the University of Houston in 2008. She has worked in pediatric clinics and schools for children with neurological differences. She has also been in private practice since 2012.
Lisa uses the science of developmental language acquisition to guide her evaluation of and intervention with children. She has experience working with a variety of communication challenges but specializes in serving children on the autism spectrum and children with attention deficits. Lisa incorporates play and physical activity into nearly all her sessions to help children sustain their interactions. Her approach is designed to support regulation, attention, engagement, social-emotional growth, and language development. She believes in working with the family to achieve the best outcomes. She has completed PhD level classes through the ICDL Graduate School in the areas of: mental health, motor and sensory processing development, language development, neuroscience, social-emotional development, human development, cognitive development, and research methods.
Lisa has attended training courses on many topics including DIR/Floortime, sensory integration, motor planning, childhood apraxia of speech, literacy, ADHD, autism, mental health, joint attention, theory of mind, augmentative communication, pragmatic language, and early intervention. She has completed level 2 of “Self-Reg” coursework through the Mehrit Centre.
Prior to becoming a speech-language pathologist, Lisa taught piano lessons to children and adults. When not working directly with children, Lisa enjoys listening to neuroscience podcasts and taking road trips to geological points of interest with her husband, Dixon.
Kristi Lanier, M.S., CCC-SLP
Kristi has focused her speech pathology career in the treatment of adult acquired speech, language, voice, swallowing and cognitive deficits. Kristi received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from University of Texas--Austin and her Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology from Baylor University. Kristi has spent her entire career in the Houston area, initially practicing over a decade in the Medical Center in inpatient rehabilitation focusing on initial phase of recovery from brain and spinal cord injury. Kristi then transitioned to outpatient therapy settings working with multi-disciplinary teams re-integrating adults to their previous community, home and work roles. Kristi has enjoyed bringing that experience and passion for individualizing treatment plans for optimal recovery to the Kingwood area. Kristi has a special interest in focusing on functional activities, fostering healthy coping and adjustment to previous and/or new roles, integrating interests and strengths to treatment plans, and addressing support system (professional, allied specialists, home/social network) in the process of recovery. Kristi's philosophy of treatment is to establish rapport, foster awareness and understanding of injury, empower clients to utilize their strengths, identify challenges and generate/implement strategies that optimize function and independence.
Karina Soria M.S., CCC-SLP
Karina is a California native. As a military spouse, she enjoyed living in different states, including Virginia and New York, and is now happy to call Texas her home. She earned her bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology with a minor in special education from Old Dominion University. She then obtained her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from The College of Saint Rose in 2016. Her interest in speech therapy began with her father, who stutters. She has experience in outpatient clinics, inpatient rehabilitation, and acute hospital settings. As a native Spanish speaker, her bilingual skills enable her to offer a more personalized therapy approach to a broader range of clients.
Karina treasures her time spent with her two young boys and husband. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, nature walks, trying new foods, and being involved in her church. She takes pride in her work and hopes to make a positive, lasting impact on those she treats.
Cathy Richard, MOT, OTR
Cathy has been the Lead Occupational Therapist with Kingwood Speech since 2021, bringing a fun, creative, and motivating atmosphere to both the therapy team and her clients alike. Cathy has been working in the field of Occupational Therapy since 2008, first as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant for 10 years, mainly in the adult and geriatric population. Cathy transitioned into an Occupational Therapist role when she obtained her Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman's University in 2018 and has been since focused her passion around helping children and their families grow, learn, and adapt to be able to participate in their daily life activities. Cathy's passion for helping others has led her to obtain a Certification in Ayres Sensory Integration and also has completed a mentorship course in Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding so that she can better serve the community.
Cathy was born and raised in Spring, Texas where she grew up with a passion for playing soccer for Challenge Soccer Club, eventually gaining a soccer scholarship for college. After college, Cathy returned to Texas to start her career in Occupational Therapy. Cathy currently lives with her husband and one dog in Humble, Texas. As a family, they love to go to sporting events, comedy shows, festivals, and anything else you can name where people come together to have a good time, especially Halloween.
Alexa Grasty, COTA
Alexa has been a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) at Kingwood Speech for nearly three years. She is passionate about helping families and bringing a hands-on, compassionate approach to therapy. With two energetic kids, Eleanor and Zephyr, and a playful dog named Bean, Alexa embraces the joy of outdoor adventures and isn’t afraid to get a little messy. Her love for working with children and families shines through in her dedication to creating a supportive and engaging environment at the clinic.