About Willow Tree Speech Therapy
Who We Are
Willow Tree Therapy was created to ensure that all families have access to services that not only support their child’s communication needs but also celebrate their strengths.
The willow tree symbolizes resilience, growth, and flexibility—qualities we strive to foster in every child we support. Just like the willow, children bend and adapt, overcoming challenges in their own unique ways. At Willow Tree Therapy, we create a supportive environment where children’s strengths are nurtured, and their communication skills can grow and flourish naturally.
Desiree Misrachi, M.S., CCC-SLP
Founder and Clinical Director
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Desiree provides services in our office in Woodland Hills, in-home/in-school throughout the San Fernando Valley, and via telehealth.
Desiree Misrachi (formerly Sasunian) is a licensed pediatric speech and language pathologist who is passionate about providing neurodiversity-affirming, play-based, and child-led therapy services. After many years of providing services in various settings, Desiree founded Willow Tree Therapy to ensure that all families have access to high-quality, individualized therapy services. Desiree believes that every child deserves supports that are tailored to their unique strengths and needs. Her goal is to partner with families to develop meaningful, regulation-focused supports. .
Desiree is highly trained in multiple evidence-based techniques, including:
Natural Language Acquisition/Gestalt Language Processing
DIRFloortime
Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC)
PROMPT
SOS Approach to Feeding
Safe and Sound Protocol
Dori Nichols, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Dori provides services in your home or at your child’s school in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and surrounding areas, as well as via telehealth.
Dori Nichols (formerly Wooton) M.S., CCC-SLP is is originally from Los Angeles, but spent several years studying and teaching English in Spain. Her passions for learning language and working with kids led her to specializing in bilingual early intervention speech and language therapies. She has also worked in elementary schools, private clinics and provided tele-therapy services.
She strives to empower parents and caregivers to be active participants in their child’s development. Together, we can create a nurturing and engaging environment, in which all languages and communication styles are validated.
Outside of work, she enjoys going to weekly trivia nights with friends and eagerly looks forward to adopting a dog soon!
Milene Ghazarians, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Milene provides services in your home or in your child’s school in Glendale, La Canada, La Crescenta, Montrose, Pasadena, Burbank, and surrounding areas.
Milene Ghazarians M.S., CCC-SLP is a dedicated speech-language pathologist with a with a passion for empowering families and enhancing children's communication skills. She believes in an approach that creates nurturing environment where children can thrive, enabling them to develop effective communication skills. She works closely with families to provide the tools and strategies needed to reinforce their child’s progress at home and beyond. She believes in the power of play-based therapy to foster natural communication skills and create a joyful learning environment.
Cassandra Kaveh, M.A., M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Cassandra provides in-clinic sessions in Woodland Hills, as well as in-home sessions in West Hills, Calabasas, and surrounding areas.
Cassandra is a Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellow who is passionate about providing care that is grounded in evidence-based practices and is culturally responsive and personalized for each individual and their family.
With hands-on experience in a variety of clinical settings, she has developed a strong background in supporting individuals on the autism spectrum and has a special interest in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Collaboration is at the heart of her work and believes that the best outcomes come from working closely with families and interdisciplinary teams to create care plans that are both supportive and empowering.
Beyond her clinical work, Cassandra enjoys staying active through yoga, pilates, and spin classes. She welcomes the opportunity to consult with families and individuals embarking on their communication journey, offering personalized support and guidance.
Liana Sargsyan, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Liana provides services in-home and in-school throughout the San Fernando Valley, as well as via telehealth.
Liana Sargsyan, M.S., CCC-SLP is a licensed pediatric speech-language pathologist who is passionate about providing individualized, neurodiversity-affirming, play-based, and family-centered therapy services. She believes every child learns and communicates differently, and strives to create supportive and engaging environments that help children build meaningful communication skills.
Liana has experience providing speech and language services across clinic-based, in-home, and school settings. She works closely with families, caregivers, and interdisciplinary teams to support communication development within everyday routines and natural interactions. Her clinical experience includes comprehensive speech and language evaluation and intervention for pediatric clients presenting with a range of communication needs, including expressive and receptive language disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, early language delays, and social communication differences. She utilizes evidence-based, individualized approaches to support functional communication and meaningful participation across environments.
Liana speaks English, Armenian, Spanish, and Russian.
Lucy Heldridge, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Lucy provides in-home, school-based, and clinic-based sessions throughout the San Fernando Valley and Conejo Valley.
Lucy is a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in medically complex pediatric care. With three years of experience at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, she brings expert clinical support to families navigating infant and pediatric feeding disorders.
Her work focuses on helping children reach critical milestones, from post-NICU feeding and managing dysphagia and aspiration to supporting children with NG/G-tube feeding. By incorporating sensory feeding techniques, she strives to make mealtime routines fun and less stressful for both children and their caregivers. Lucy is also dedicated to early intervention speech therapy, providing personalized care for children with language disorders. Her approach emphasizes child-led therapy and total communication, ensuring every child has a path toward safe feeding and effective communication.
Sydney Nygaard, M.A., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Sydney provides services in-home and in-school in West LA, including Culver City, Beverly Hills, Venice, Santa Monica, and surrounding areas.
Sydney Nygaard, M.A., CCC-SLP, is passionate about helping children and teens develop meaningful communication skills and greater confidence in their ability to express themselves. Her approach is individualized, play-based, and family-centered, with therapy that is engaging, functional, and supportive of each individual’s unique strengths and needs.
Originally from Minnesota, Sydney was inspired to become a speech-language pathologist after watching her little sister participate in years of speech therapy following an undetected profound hearing loss. Seeing the impact speech therapy had on her sister and family motivated Sydney to help others find their voice, communicate with confidence, and become strong self-advocates.
Sydney’s primary areas of expertise include early language development, fluency disorders such as stuttering and cluttering, receptive-expressive language disorder, and social-pragmatic communication. She also has experience supporting children and teens with articulation and phonological disorders and other communication needs across public school, private clinical, early intervention, in-home, and telehealth settings.
Leanne Mangilit, M.S., CF-SLP
Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellow
Licensed in California and ASHA Member
Leanne provides in-clinic sessions in Arcadia, and in-home sessions in the San Gabriel Valley.
Leanne Mangilit, M.S., CF-SLP, is passionate about creating a speech room that is a place of acceptance, joy, and lifelong learning. With a focus on child-led therapy, she believes that the most meaningful communication growth happens when the child feels safe to lead the way. At every stage of the communication journey, her focus is on empowering children, not just with words and sounds, but with the confidence to use their voice. She is dedicated to fostering an environment grounded in respect, trust, and where every child can reach their communicative goals.
Areas We Serve
We provide in-clinic services in our private office in Woodland Hills, California.
We conveniently provide in-home and school-based pediatric speech therapy services throughout Los Angeles and surrounding communities, including the following areas. Contact us today to learn more about availability in your neighborhood.
San Fernando Valley Speech Therapy
Woodland Hills • West Hills • Calabasas • Northridge • Porter Ranch • Tarzana • Encino
San Gabriel Valley/Northeast LA Speech Therapy
Pasadena • Glendale • Burbank • Alhambra
Conejo Valley Speech Therapy
Thousand Oaks • Westlake Village • Agoura Hills • Oak Park
West Los Angeles Speech Therapy
Santa Monica • Beverly Hills • Culver City • Pacific Palisades • Venice