Clinician. Consultant. Educator. Entrepreneur.
Reimagining what’s possible in healthcare, rehabilitation, and speech-language pathology.
Hi! I’m Dr. Rinki Varindani Desai
I am a medical speech-language pathologist, dysphagia specialist, digital health consultant, educator, entrepreneur, and full-time mom to a toddler who keeps my days and heart full.
Over the past 15 years, I have cared for patients across healthcare settings, led multidisciplinary teams, trained clinicians, taught students, created apps, contributed to research, advised healthtech companies, and built two businesses of my own.
At first glance, those experiences may seem unrelated. But they've always been connected by one purpose: expanding what's possible in speech-language pathology.
What connects all of my work is the core belief that our clinical expertise has value far beyond one role or setting. Every step in my career has been driven by a problem I cared about deeply, a desire to create meaningful change, and the courage to ask, “What else is possible?”
That curiosity has led me to mission-aligned work and has helped me design a portfolio career that allows me to fulfill my purpose in so many different ways, for which I am so grateful.
Today, I use my experience to help SLPs expand their career possibilities with confidence and partner with organizations building clinically meaningful digital health solutions.
From Bombay to Boston
I grew up in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and moved to the United States in 2009 — alone, ambitious, and determined to build a meaningful career as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), far away from home and family. At the time, becoming a medical SLP and dysphagia specialist was my only professional dream.
I earned a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas and later completed a Clinical Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. I also became a Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing Disorders and a Certified Dementia Practitioner, honing my expertise across hospitals, rehabilitation settings, outpatient clinics, and other complex medical environments.
For 15 years, I have had the privilege of serving thousands of patients and families impacted by communication, cognitive, and swallowing challenges. Along the way, I stepped into leadership, co-founded a global dysphagia education platform (STEP), founded a digital health consulting company, contributed to clinical research, mentored and trained hundreds of clinicians, and became an educator at the MGH Institute of Health Professions.
Career paths are rarely linear. Each chapter of my journey began with solving problems I cared about deeply and a question I kept returning to ask: How can I scale my impact as an SLP?
My Core Belief:
Everything I do today is grounded in real-world clinical experience. As a medical SLP, I have sat beside patients and families during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. I understand what it means to provide care with limited resources, within complicated systems, with competing priorities, and in environments that do not always make it easy to achieve the outcomes patients deserve.
That empathy and experience is what shapes how I approach consulting, education, coaching, mentorship, and entrepreneurship. My mission is empower clinicians, contribute to healthcare innovation, and help improve patient outcomes. Whatever the medium might be, my approach works because my many identities stay connected — and because I've spent years learning how to build and serve at the intersection of them all.
Clinicians do not just belong in therapy clinics or at the bedside. We also belong in boardrooms and on innovation teams, in leadership and policy, and everywhere healthcare and education are being shaped and reimagined.
Awards & Recognitions
A career shaped by curiosity, clinical rigor, lifelong learning, and a deep commitment to advancing the field of speech-language pathology.
CONTINUING EDUCATION AWARDS
Recipient of 10 ASHA ACE Awards for ongoing commitment to continuing education and professional development in speech-language pathology.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
Selected for the ASHA Leadership and Faculty Development Programs — two nationally competitive programs supporting the next generation of leaders and educators in communication sciences and disorders.
ASHA INNOVATOR RECOGNITION
Recognized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as an innovator for developing forward-thinking solutions that expand access to education, improve practice, and advance the role of SLPs in healthcare.
BOARD AND COMMITTEE SERVICE
Served in various national and international leadership roles including ASHA's Scientific and Professional Education Board, Scientific Peer Review Training Committee, and as a Career Transitions Mentor — while also co-chairing an international COVID-19 task force for the Dysphagia Research Society.
COMMITMENT TO ADVANCED TRAINING
Completed advanced training and certifications in dysphagia management, dementia care, business strategy, healthcare leadership, and digital health through institutions including Harvard Business School and Johns Hopkins University — bridging clinical expertise with business and innovation.
SPEECH THERAPIST OF THE YEAR
Awarded SLP of the Year at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for exceptional clinical service and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ASHA MEDIA CHAMPION
Recognized twice by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for outstanding contributions to healthcare media and public communication in speech-language pathology and swallowing disorders.
BOARD CERTIFIED SPECIALIST
Recognized as one of the few hundred board-certified specialists in swallowing and swallowing disorders around the world.
trusted by
favorite drink
Chai
favorite CUISINE
Indian food
favorite book
Designing
Your Life
ORIGINALLY FROM
Mumbai
Favorite PLACE
Hawaii
Here are some of my fondest memories in my SLP career journey…
2009 - Packed my bags in Mumbai and moved to the United States to pursue a career in speech-language pathology.
2011 - Graduated from UT Dallas, stepping into my first role as a medical SLP in the ICU and long-term acute care setting.
2012 - Earned my MS.,CCC-SLP degree. Created the Medical SLP Forum - the largest online community for medical SLPs (50,000 members and counting).
2015 - Gave a talk at my first national ASHA Convention — and realized how sharing knowledge is an important part of clinical service.
2016 - Created my first mobile app and discovered the impact of combining our clinical expertise with tech teams and innovation.
2018 - Co-founded the Swallowing Training and Education Portal (STEP), a global online dysphagia education platform, and stepped into entrepreneurship.
2020 - Founded Theratactix, a digital health consulting firm, to bring clinical strategy and insights into healthtech innovation.
2023 - Embraced the most important role of all. Became a mom to a beautiful baby boy — and began designing my career around this new season of my life.
2025-Present
Toddler mom by day. Entrepreneur and educator by night. I spend most days being present with my son, while designing a fulfilling portfolio career that holds space for clinical care, consulting, education, and entrepreneurship —
all at once, and on my own terms.