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

Defining educational technology and considering homework equity issues

In this interview, I revisit conversations surrounding the use of the term “dyslexia” in the schools, the use of technology, and equitable access to books. I share my ...

Morphology hierarchies, etymology, and reframing the “joy” of reading.

How much do we need to know about morphology and etymology to effectively help students? Is etymology an essential component to spelling and reading instruction?Will p...

Leveraging read-alouds to build language and getting started with advocacy work (with Dr. Molly Ness)

Many skeptics of the science of reading are concerned that structured approaches will bore kids and make it less likely they’ll enjoy reading. These concerns are unfou...

Developmental language disorder: Impacts on literacy and life beyond school (with Dr. Karla McGregor)

Students who meet the criteria for developmental language disorder (DLD) are often categorized as “speech only” in the school systems. In many cases, these students qu...

The relationship of literacy and language skills and involvement with the justice system (with Dr. Shameka Stewart)

There is a disproportionate number of individuals with communication disorders and reading disabilities involved with the justice system for both children and adults.P...

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