Lauren Ruffrage, MS, CCC, SLP, has been a speech-language pathologist since 2009 when she completed her Master of Science degree at Ithaca College. She is the founder of Thrive SPOT, a home-health speech and feeding practice in Syracuse, NY that supports families navigating their children's feeding and airway challenges. Lauren has worked with children with pediatric feeding disorders for 12 years. Her experience includes working in a Level III NICU as well as working with children with medically complex needs at Blythedale Children's Hospital. She runs a free parent support group to bring parents together to connect and learn from local professionals and regularly educates on introducing solids. She created and presented the course "Airway for the Early Interventionist: Beyond Aspiration" in 2022. Lauren is committed to life-long learning and was awarded the ACE (Award for Continuing Education) by ASHA in June 2023. She is a volunteer with Feeding Matters, an organization that focuses on uniting families, healthcare professionals, and the broader community to improve the system of care for children with pediatric feeding disorders through advocacy, education, support, and research.