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
Orthographic Mapping & Effective Spelling Instruction (with Dr. Molly Ness)
In this episode, we’re joined by literacy expert Dr. Molly Ness, author of Making Words Stick, to unpack the science behind orthographic mapping and what truly effecti...
How to Create a Research-Based Executive Functioning Implementation Plan for Your School Team
Ever feel like your school is trying all the “right” strategies—social skills groups, planners, behavior charts—but students still struggle with time management, motiv...
Executive functioning assessment, late ADHD diagnosis, and proactive support (with Dr. A. Jordan Wright)
In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Dr. A. Jordan Wright, psychologist who brings both professional insight and lived experience to the conversation—having be...
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...