About Us

Word Works is dedicated to helping clients enhance their communication skills. Our staff brings enthusiasm, cultural sensitivity, and creativity to a diverse population of clients. We enjoy watching clients make continued progress and value our relationships with families as we work together to enhance quality of life through improved communication skills.

Tamara Muhler MS, CCC-SLP

Director/Supervisor

Tamara was raised in Oakland, California and developed Word Works to better service a broad range of individuals throughout the Bay Area. Tamara earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from University of the Pacific, and a Master of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University. She has also attained the Certification of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and is licensed by the California Speech-Language Hearing Association.

Tamara has experience working with both pediatric and adult populations in clinic and home-based programs. She has extensive clinical experience with early intervention, articulation and phonological disorders, language delays and disorders, auditory processing deficits, verbal apraxia, and oral/aural rehabilitation for children and adults with cochlear implants. Tamara also enjoys teaching classes part time at San Francisco State University to speech pathology students.

Tamara is proficient in American Sign Language and Spanish. She has specialized training in providing services for communication disorders associated with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, and hearing loss. She also enjoys teaching baby sign-language classes, and providing workshops for teachers and parents on identifying and preventing speech and language delays. She is happy to supervise new speech pathologists in the field. When she is not working, Tamara enjoys traveling with her husband and two children, taking pictures, playing the clarinet, and reading.

Sarah Thompson MS, CCC-SLP

Associate Director/Supervisor

Sarah Thompson is a licensed speech-language pathologist with experience providing intervention services to children with a wide variety of communication disorders. Sarah was raised in the East Bay and has lived in Oakland for the past 10 years. She received her Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees with honors from San Francisco State University in Communication Disorders. Sarah has attained the Certification of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and is licensed by the California Speech-Language Hearing Association.

Sarah has worked with pediatric clients in private practice, preschools, and elementary school settings. She has extensive clinical experience with early intervention, articulation and phonological disorders, language delays and disorders, auditory processing deficits, childhood apraxia of speech, and autism spectrum disorders. She joined Word Works in June, 2006 as the Associate Clinic Director. She enjoys supervising clinicians, providing therapy in the clinic, co-teaching Word-Play speech and language preschool playgroups with Tamara, and participating in home-based programs. In her free time, she enjoys walks with her dog, going to the beach, camping, reading, cooking, and relaxing with her family.

Alicia Teeter MS, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Alicia was raised in the South Bay Area, and currently resides in San Francisco. She received a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Spanish and International Relations from the University of California, Davis, and a Master of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University. Alicia joined the Word Works team in July of 2008. She provides early intervention for young children and their families, as well as articulation and language therapy services for school age children. When not working, Alicia enjoys traveling with her husband, singing, hiking, and speaking Spanish.

Mary Gage Herman MA,CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Gage attended the University of Oregon where she received a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Speech and a Minor in Speech Pathology and Psychology. She obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Special Education with emphasis on Speech Pathology and Audiology from San Francisco State University. Gage has worked for over thirty years as a speech pathologist , most recently at Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland. She specializes in the pediatric population with emphasis on the 0-5 year-old range. She has provided both diagnostic and therapeutic expertise encompassing a wide range of communicative disorders. She has served on multidiciplinary teams for Craniofacial and Cleft Palate, Neurofibromotisis, Fragile X, and most recently, on Katie's Clinic for Rett Syndrome. Gage has enjoyed serving as a supervisor for graduate and post graduate students in Speech and Language Pathology. She served as an instructor at Cal State East Bay during the summer sessions of 1994,1996,and 1998. She received the Outstanding Acheivement Award for District Three of the California Speech and Language Association in 2000, and Employee of the Month Award at Children's Hospital Oakland in May of 2005. Gage has four grown children and two grandchildren. In her free time Gage enjoys playing tennis, fly fishing, traveling, and visiting with family.

Sara Toogood MA, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Sara Toogood, or “Sara TG” as they call her at the office, was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Cognitive Science and Linguistics from the University of Pennylvania in Philadelphia, PA, where she also did research on language acquisition in infants and social language variation across the globe. She received her Master of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, where she also did research on Childhood Apraxia of Speech. She presented this research at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s (ASHA) annual convention in 2008. Sara worked as a full-time pediatric speech-language pathologist for Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital (University Hospitals) for one year before leaving Cleveland, OH. She has attained the Certification of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the ASHA and is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in the states of Ohio and California.

Sara enjoys living in San Francisco with her husband. She currently holds two part-time speech-language pathology jobs: one at Word Works and one at Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland. Sara’s clinical experiences have primarily been with pediatric clients in the private practice, hospital, and school settings. She has treated children with a range of diagnoses, including articulation/phonological disorders, language impairment, developmental delay, hearing loss, dysfluency (stuttering), motor speech disorders (such as Childhood Apraxia of Speech), Autism Spectrum Disorders, and acquired cognitive-communication impairments (ie: from traumatic brain injury, stroke, or brain tumor). In her free time, Sara enjoys coaching cheerleading, practicing gymnastics, traveling, visiting with family, and exploring San Francisco.

Kristian Reyes, MBA

Business Manager

Kristian has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. He has experience managing businesses of various sizes. He manages the bookkeeping and invoicing for Word Works.