Sarah Penzell, M.A., CCC-SLP

Facilitator

 

Sarah is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University. Before joining Northwestern in 2014, she worked as a speech-language pathologist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan AbilityLab). Sarah’s primary clinical interests are in the areas of stuttering and cluttering, acquired neurogenic communication disorders, and gender-affirming voice and communication. She presents at professional conferences internationally, nationally, and locally on topics related to her practice areas. In her work with clients who stutter and clutter at the Northwestern, she focuses on meeting all communication needs of clients through highly individualized treatment. Teaching and training graduate students in current best practices and methods and inspiring them to pursue work in this area is one of her greatest professional passions. Currently, Sarah is pursuing a clinical doctorate degree at Northwestern, which she expects to finish in 2023. Sarah’s educational work related to stuttering extends beyond the clinic through hosting, presenting, teaching, and participating in a wide variety of educational workshops and events, bringing important training and information to speech-language pathologists, graduate students, clients, and the community. She is a founding member of the Chicago Fluency Interest Group, in collaboration with Chmela Communication Center. Sarah has been a proud member of the Camp Shout Out family since 2019. She views her work at Camp Shout Out as an integral and essential element of her learning, teaching and clinical practice journey, enabling her to learn from and collaborate with top experts in stuttering, to extend advanced training to speech-language pathologists and graduate students, and to work with remarkable campers from all over the country. The energy and inspiration that she derives from working with Camp Shout Out campers powers her dedicated work in stuttering practice and education throughout the year. Sarah has two young adult daughters and lives in Evanston, Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys walking by the lake, exploring new restaurants, and appreciating pets and other animals.