Meet Our Experts

Dr. Edythe Strand, CCC-SLP

Dr. Edythe Strand is an emeritus Professor in the Mayo College of Medicine and
former Head of the Division of Speech Pathology, Department of Neurology at the
Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, and internationally recognized for her
expertise in childhood apraxia of speech. Dr. Strand’s research has focused on
developmental, acquired and progressive apraxia of speech, and issues related to
intelligibility and comprehensibility in degenerative dysarthria.

Dr. Julie Case, CCC-SLP

Dr. Julie Case is the director of the Case Speech Production Lab. Dr. Case is an Assistant Professor in the Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Department. Dr. Case holds a Ph.D. in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from New York University. Her work has incorporated transcription, acoustic and kinematic analyses to examine changes in speech performance with intensive practice and the impact of stimulus complexity on speech production.

Dr. Maria Grigos, CCC-SLP

Dr. Maria Grigos is an Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of
Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University. Dr. Grigos also
directs the Motor Speech Lab at NYU. Her scholarly work combines the use of
perceptual, acoustic and kinematic methods to pursue two lines of research. The
first centers on the study of speech motor control and motor learning across the
lifespan in both impaired and non-impaired speakers.

Kathy Thomas, M.S. CCC-SLP

Kathy serves as a Senior Program Director for Child Apraxia Treatment at the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Kathy joined the Foundation in 2015. Kathy is a certified speech-language pathologist with over 30 years of experience treating adults and children with complex communication needs. In her role at the Foundation, Kathy oversees all Child Apraxia Treatment programming.

Kathy holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech Language Hearing Association and is licensed to practice speech-language pathology in Texas. Kathy graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor’s in Education and a minor in Speech Pathology and Audiology. She holds a Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology with a minor in Aging Studies from the University of North Texas.

Bethany Cale

Bethany serves as a Senior Program Director and Director of Grant Operations for the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Bethany joined the Foundation in 2018 as an Associate Program Director. In her time at the Foundation, Bethany has worked as the Program Director for the Philanthropy Lab and coordinated our research efforts in Electronic Data & Mental Health and Child Apraxia of Speech. As Senior Program Director, Bethany oversees all programming and grant activity.

Bethany graduated magna cum laude from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Fellows and Public Relations. During undergrad, Bethany took the Philanthropy Lab Class at Baylor in Fall 2014.

Lauryn Lents

Lauryn serves as an Associate Program Director of the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Lauryn joined the Foundation in June 2024. Lauryn’s areas of focus at the Foundation is the Raynor Cerebellum Project and Childhood Apraxia of Speech grants.

Lauryn graduated cum laude from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education.

Lexi Peterson

Lexi serves as an Associate Program Director of the Once Upon a Time Foundation. Lexi joined the Foundation in August 2024. Lexi’s areas of focus at the Foundation are The Philanthropy Lab and Electronic Data & Mental Health Research grants.

Lexi graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minors in History and Child Development. Lexi took the Philanthropy Lab Class at TCU in Spring 2014.