Our Team (Copy)

Kristen joined Desert Voices in 2009 as the Executive Director's assistant and quickly became committed to the mission. Her 16 years with Desert Voices working behind the scenes to keep the organization operating—from development work to accounting and everything in between—led her to becoming the Executive Director in 2022. Kristen holds a deep passion for creating a positive and collaborative atmosphere for the entire team at Desert Voices, fostering community partnerships and supporting our families while continuing to develop Desert Voices to a new level while maintaining our mission at the heart of providing the best Listening and Spoken Language services in Arizona. When there is a free moment from Desert Voices, you will find Kristen enjoying time with her family traveling around the world, hopping over to Disneyland, or out at the ranch watching her daughters ride and show their family horse.

Speech Language Pathologist, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVEd
2003 – Present

As the longest-tenured employee at Desert Voices (no one can beat her record!), Tracie has worn many hats over the years – she began as a Speech Language Pathologist providing support to families and students from Little Listeners through Kindergarten, before ultimately moving into her current role as Director of Educational Programs. Her professional journey started with a Bachelor's Degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Arizona and a Master's Degree in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University. As her passion for working with deaf and hard of hearing children continued to grow, she committed herself to earning her Listening and Spoken Language certification in 2008. Tracie strives to find a balance between meaningful work and family fun – these days, she and her husband Dale keep busy coaching their daughter Charlotte in softball while their son Zachary has flown the nest to attend Tracie's alma mater, the University of Arizona (clearly, he inherited excellent taste in schools!). When she's not at work, you might find Tracie and her gang cheering on the local sports teams (Go Cardinals and DBacks!), nurturing her growing collection of plant "babies" (they're less needy than her teenagers!), and tackling home improvements that would make HGTV proud!

Dani Merri l Community Engagement Manager 

B.S. in Communications and Public Relations - Arizona State University

M.S. Leadership - Grand Canyon University

Dani's path to Desert Voices began as a parent seeking support for her deaf daughter. While navigating her family's hearing loss journey, she discovered essential resources and connected with remarkable families and organizations throughout the community. These experiences ignited her passion for helping other families, ultimately leading her to join Desert Voices professionally as Community Engagement Manager in 2022. When she's not collaborating with families and community partners or coordinating fundraising events, Dani enjoys spontaneous dance parties in her living room with her husband and two daughters, cozy moments with her border collie, or satisfying her sweet tooth at local ice cream shops. 

Caroline Sabatino, AuD, CCC-A graduated from Arizona State University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She then went on to work as a Speech-Language Pathologist assistant at a developmental preschool in the Washington Elementary School District. Caroline returned to school and in 2016 she graduated from A.T. Still University with her Doctorate in Audiology degree. She completed her clinical training at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island where she worked with children and adults. Upon graduation from her doctoral program, Dr. Sabatino worked at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, an OPTION school in San Antonio, Texas known for their Listening and Spoken Language program and the CASLLS. In 2018, Dr. Sabatino returned to her hometown of Phoenix Arizona and joined the Audiology team at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In 2021, Caroline was contracted through her position at Phoenix Children’s Hospital to visit Desert Voices Oral Learning Preschool once a week and assist with any Audiology needs and manage the teacher’s hearing assistive technologies. In 2025, Caroline joined the Desert Voices team full time to help achieve their dream of opening a full time Audiology clinic to serve the Desert Voices family and local pediatric community. She is a member of and certified through the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association. 

Audiology Services Coordinator 

BS Secondary Education, Spanish

After a rewarding career as a Spanish teacher, Teri is thrilled to be working at Desert Voices as the Audiology Services Coordinator! As a mom of an alumni student, she knows the importance of quality audiological care and its impact on learning listening and spoken language. Though her career path has evolved, Teri’s commitment to serving those on educational journeys to acquire language remains at the heart of everything she does. 

When Teri is not working, she loves to spend time with her husband and two children, both of whom are now in college! Teri enjoys working out at Pure Barre, has a passion for travel, and delights in a good book.

Lead Speech Language Pathologist, M.S., CCC-SLP

2022 - Present

Olga is a speech language pathologist who works with the preschool students and provides parent coaching sessions at Desert Voices. Prior to coming to Desert Voices, Olga worked in an outpatient rehabilitation facility where she conducted pre-cochlear implant evaluations and reported candidacy criteria to other professionals. She worked alongside families on their hearing journey from identification of hearing loss to amplification to ongoing treatment. Olga completed her undergraduate degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences from Arizona State University and obtained her teaching certification to become a bilingual teacher in Da las, Texas. While in Da las, Olga obtained her master’s degree in Bilingual Education from Southern Methodist University. While teaching, Olga discovered that her passion was truly in speech and language development and went back to school to get her master’s degree in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University. Today, she finds excitement in early childhood language development and bilingualism. When not at Desert Voices, Olga spends time with her husband, Sergio, and their two daughters, Elena and Elisa. They enjoy walking their dog, Lady, eating chocolate sprinkled donuts, and traveling to Mexico and Nicaragua to visit family and friends. 

Ginger M. Noschka 

Teacher of the Deaf Bachelor of Science in the Education of Deaf Children 

University of North Carolina at Greensboro 

Southwest Human Development - Harris Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Certification 

LSLS Certified AVEd

Ginger is celebrating her learning and the support that she has been given as a teacher over the past 17 years and in completing her LSLS certification.  She previously found her niche as a Toddler Room teacher, during our COVID challenges, she helped us launch our P1 classroom where she worked closely with families and outside providers to determine how we could further the skills of children who might be older, newer listeners or have met additional hurdles in their learning.  Today, she is supporting some of our Little Listener Families as they continue to learn more about supporting listening and spoken language in their children.  She is also supporting our teaching staff as they continue to develop their teaching skills.  Ginger cherishes open dialogue with families so that, together, we can build a team and community where everyone feels safe, ready and excited to learn.  Watching tiny children grow and develop relationships and a vocabulary so they can express themselves continues to be as rewarding as it is educational to her; she is passionate about building a strong foundation to support a child's overall future development in cognition, social and emotional skills, as well as physical and behavioral growth!  

Ginger earned her Bachelor's Degree in Deaf Education, Birth to Grade 12 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  After college, she taught in Durham Public Schools in North Carolina for two years at an auditory-oral site-based program within an elementary school and as an itinerant teacher.  She moved to Arizona in the fall of 2009 and joined the Desert Voices team in the preschool program.   

She and her husband, Michael, live in Phoenix with their daughter, Penelope and two quirky, fun-loving cats.  When Ginger is not doing "school", she enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, here, and in North Carolina.  She also loves reading, gardening, dancing, taking care of her home, and escaping for a day trip or camping adventure.  

Lisa joined the Desert Voices team in August 2022, after moving from San Diego to Chandler to be closer to her daughter’s family. For over 25  years, she has taught deaf and hard-of-hearing students from preschool to middle school. Her passion is working with preschoolers and their families. Lisa is hard-of- hearing and was raised oral and understands firsthand the benefits of early intervention and strong family support to generate an atmosphere of success.

Lisa has been married for almost thirty four years and has two grown daughters, who are both married. She also has three grandchildren that live nearby and provide lots of entertainment!  In her free time, she loves attending church events, going for walks with her husband and little dog, Lucy and trying out different Mexican restaurants. 

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Samantha graduated from Utah State University in May 2020 with a Master of Science in Listening and Spoken Language. She is dual certified as both a Teacher of the Deaf and an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher.  As a published scholar in the Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (JEHDI) with experience in the public and private sector, she believes the best professional development comes from working with families. She specializes in educational advocacy and virtual services. When she is not working, you can find her embracing the outdoors, where she recharges her creativity and passion

Maggie is a Speech Language Pathologist who has worked across all programs at Desert Voices. She pursued her initial certification in communication sciences in Argentina and then earned her master’s degree in Speech Pathology from the University of Houston, Tx.

She joined the DV family in 2003 and volunteered in many capacities. After completing her Clinical Fellowship Year at Desert Voices, she began providing individual speech and language therapy and parent coaching guidance. She has since enjoyed being a part of the Desert Voices’ mission. While pursuing her master’s degree in Houston, TX, she started working with hearing impaired children at The Center for Hearing and Speech and volunteered as an interpreter in the audiologist department at the Houston Children’s Hospital. This experience made her fall in love with helping children and their families in their listening and spoken language journey. She has a passion for helping and supporting bilingual families. Maggie is originally from Argentina where she travels every year to visit her family. Maggie and her husband have fallen in love with Arizona, where they chose to raise their three children. They enjoy everything outdoors, from camping to skiing. Maggie also holds a bachelor’s degree in music education, and her passions include playing the piano, singing, running, and baking.

Lauren is a Speech Language Pathologist - Clinical Fellow with an M.A. and SLP-CF credentials. Graduated from Utah State University in May of 2023 with my Bachelor's of Science in Communication Disorders and Deaf Education, and completed my Master's of Arts in Communication Disorders and Deaf Education with a Post-Master's Certificate in Listening and Spoken Language in May of 2025. Born and raised in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where she developed a deep love for outdoor adventures, including hiking (especially in Grand Teton National Park), running, coaching gymnastics, and baking.

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