Rachel Kraftsmith, M.A. CCC-SLP
Rachel is a graduate of San Diego State University, which has consistently ranked as the #1 Speech-Language & Hearing Sciences Masters program in the state of California. In addition to her clinical training and rigorous coursework as a graduate student, she was accepted into a 2-year federal training program where she worked in collaboration with school psychology graduate students to research and develop interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders across various settings in the San Diego Unified School District. She also earned a Bilingual Certificate in Spanish-English Speech-Language Pathology as well as a concentration in French-English Bilingualism upon completion of her Master’s degree.
She earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Speech Language Pathology and Bachelor of Art’s in French Language and Literature from The University of the Pacific. In addition to achieving Magna Cum Laude on both Bachelor’s degrees, Rachel provided speech-language therapy to local children through the Scottish Rite Speech-Language Clinic and offered mentorship to junior undergraduate students in the program during her time at The University of the Pacific. She is a proud member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honors society and Pi Delta Phi French honors society.
Rachel has over a decade supporting children and young adults on their communication journey as part of public school districts of all sizes, charter schools, Montessori schools, international organizations and in private speech therapy clinics. She has supervised student clinicians in their development and implementation of therapy techniques, and offered training for parents seeking to better support their child’s communication skills at home. She is committed to continued education, and has completed hundreds of hours of trainings in the areas of bilingualism, universal design, educational law, IEP compliance, critical thinking and literacy, executive functioning, dyslexia, oral-motor speech disorders, best practices in assessment, collaborative therapy models, stuttering and cluttering disorders, word-finding disorders, specific language impairment, AAC systems and auditory processing.
Rachel is based out of Oakland, CA where she lives with her husband, dog and community of friends. She has been serving communities in the Bay Area since 2014. She loves to spend time running around Lake Merritt and in the many parks and trails in the East Bay Hills.