Tamiko, who goes by Tami (pronounced “Tommy”), is a former teacher turned speech-language pathologist. She received a Master of Arts in Education, Speech-Language Pathology from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Grand Valley State University. Tami opened Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC in May 2019 after working as a school-based speech-language pathologist. Her vision was to provide client-centered and collaborative speech-language services to her community while focusing on the values of diversity, inclusion, representation, and cultural competency/humility.

Tami’s areas of speech interest include articulation and phonological disorders, Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), expressive/receptive language delays, and gender affirming voice modification. Tami has obtained certification through Simon Says Speech in orofacial myology, and completed the 28 hour introductory course through International Association of Orofacial Mylogy . She also has participated in advanced training in gender-affirming voice modification through Mantra Voice.

In addition to client-centered work, Tami also is a current member of the Grand Rapids LGBTQ Health Consortium where she sits on the Advocacy Committee. In addition, she is a board member of Our Mental Health Collective (formerly Mental Health Clinicians of Color) where she co-chairs the Community Engagement Committee. Tami is also a board member for the non-profit, Building Blocks Foundation, Inc. Throughout 2022 and 2023, Tami participated in and graduated from Cohort 9 of the Urban Core Collective’s Transformational Leadership Program. Tami became an approved raiser for  Paws With a Cause , and housed Ace, a golden retriever/yellow Labrador mix, from April 2023-April 2024 and Magee, a black lab, from August 2024-November 2024.

When she is not working, Tamiko spends time with her friends and family. She enjoys traveling, bird watching, hiking, and water activities such as kayaking. She can often be found reading a book, quilting, or sharing some couch space with her spouse, Matt, and their two cats, Winnifred Sanderson and Kimchi.

Tami holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as well as a Speech-Language Pathology license from the state of Michigan.