Her Story
About Nicole
Nicole Pappo serves as the director and owner of Little Voices, the clinic she established in 2004. With a focus on early intervention, she specializes in supporting children with disabilities, particularly those experiencing language developmental delays, language delays, or autism. After initially considering a career in social work, she pursued and completed her master's degree in speech pathology or communication disorders in 2006, supplemented by ongoing continuing education credits in autism and language development. She holds professional memberships in ASHA and CSHA. In her role, Nicole oversees clinic operations, conducts assessments, provides some therapy, and focuses on mentoring and supervising staff while writing and reviewing reports. She attributes much of her professional approach to a commitment to ethical practices, including transparent billing and ensuring accessibility for families across socioeconomic backgrounds through services in Spanish and Tagalog as well as community support initiatives.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nicole
01What do you attribute your success to?
First and foremost my mom who emphasized education and came from a long line of strong women. Credit also to my husband for being supportive at home so I can focus on work, making it a team effort where we tag team responsibilities.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Everything's doable so just do it and make it happen. When working with my husband, stay in our own lanes - I'm the therapy expert and he's the business expert. Balance by not talking about work at home, setting boundaries like no work calls after 6 or during lunch, and take vacations.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If doing your BA and want to do master's, don't take time off, do it straight through. If I had known about this field during BA I would have majored in it and gone straight to master's. It's doable even if hard. Before career, live on your own, travel, go to grad school without distractions then start your life.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Rise in autism makes it hard to meet needs with a 6-month waitlist. Price of grad school is now almost $100k. But opportunities with retiring SLPs creating demand for new ones, and technology allowing premature babies to survive but needing more services, plus better autism identification increasing demand.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being ethical at work, following rules with billing insurance and families, meeting needs of all families including lower socioeconomic ones with food pantry, donation bin, adopting families at Christmas, accessible office near bus line, offering Spanish and Tagalog services. Personally, family time where work is separate and kids get dedicated time.
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