Hi there, I’m Karen Dudek-Brannan!

I’m a Professional Development Specialist, SLP, and founder/owner/operate of Dr. Karen, LLC, a company focused on empowering therapists and educators to design interventions that support language, literacy, and executive functioning. In my current role, I develop engaging professional development and products that help school teams work together to get better results.

On the De Facto Leaders Podcast, I share up-to-date evidence-based practices, my own experience, and guest interviews designed to help pediatric therapists, educators, and aspiring school leaders design services that support social, emotional, and academic growth and set kids up for success in adulthood. Whether you want to learn effective strategies for your therapy session or classroom, be an influential leader on your team, or find creative ways to use your skills to advance in your career, I’ve got you covered. You can listen to the De Facto Leaders podcast on most popular podcast directories, and can scroll through past episodes on this page here.

Latest Episodes

From Plateau to Progress: Language Therapy Case Studies (with Connie Hurley-Pronley)

In this episode, I  interview Connie, a student from the Language Therapy Advance Foundations program. She shares her practical experiences and results achieved with h...

Clinical Leadership Series Part 3: Asset Stacking: Building Your Path to Systemic Impact

Many clinicians, educators, and school leaders know they should be working collaboratively, but don’t know how to find time to do it. If you have a friend or colleague...

Clinical Leadership Series Part 2: Scaling Your Expertise Beyond the Therapy Room

In this second episode in the 3-part clinical leadership series, I explore the 'lesson planning trap'—a common situation where clinicians focus so much on perfecting i...

Clinical Leadership Series Part 1: Claiming Your Seat at the Table

In this episode, we address the common experience of being overlooked in crucial conversations about the students we serve. Whether you're a clinician or educator who ...

Embracing Cross-Pollination, High-Quality Tutoring, and Agile Leadership for Student Success (with Dr. Kate Anderson Foley)

In this episode, we dive deep with educational consultant and innovator Dr. Kate Anderson Foley, who challenges conventional wisdom about student support systems and o...

More Episodes »