About Vanessa’s Work

Vanessa Galeano is a licensed speech-language pathologist, certified brain injury specialist, and founder of Sips to Spoonfuls. She was raised in New York and made it out to the west coast in 2016. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Through Sips to Spoonfuls, she provides comprehensive evaluations and therapy services to the pediatric population with a wide variety of disorders including dysphagia, food or sensory aversion, picky eating, g-tube dependence, oral motor impairment, reduced cognitive flexibility and severe picky eating. Her extensive medical training qualifies her to treat children with complex medical and neurological issues.

She utilizes evidence-based strategies and a family-centered approach to assure kids are getting the nutrients they need while they learn how fun eating can be. She loves what she does and looks forward to being a part of your child’s feeding journey!

About Vanessa’s Calling

Her passion is helping kids with feeding difficulties. From a very young age, she knew wanted to work with children and initially pursued a degree in psychology. One of her first jobs was as a ResHab worker, where she provided in-home care to children with special needs. She was paired with a young boy and given a list of his limitations and all of the things he couldn’t do. Over time, she found that this boy with so many limitations had a HUGE personality and to her surprise at the time had every intention of being independent. She discovered that although he could not communicate in the way she always knew or eat in the way she’s always eaten, he was incredibly capable of expressing his wants, needs, and feelings, and he was able to eat almost everything under the sun as long as it was pureed. She learned that we do not always need to have children do what “normal” is, but instead if we are creative, we can modify the world to meet their needs. After a short while of working with him, she changed her career focus and knew she was meant to be a speech-language pathologist with specialty in feeding and swallowing. What could be more significant than helping someone find their voice and also learn to have fun eating?

About Vanessa’s Education

She received her bachelor’s and master’s degree from St. John’s University in New York and has over six years of clinical experience. She has worked across all ages and several diagnoses at an intensive day-patient feeding program and across inpatient and outpatient settings at one of the top children’s hospitals in the country.

Jill Madison

About Jill’s Work

Jill Madison is a registered dietitian/nutritionist, certified lactation counselor, intuitive eating counselor, reiki level 2 practitioner, yoga teacher and culinary herbalist. She was raised on Bainbridge Island, Washington and arrived in LA seven years ago for a pediatric dietetic internship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Her training and academic interests are specific to pediatrics yet broad in scope, including food allergies and sensitivities, gastrointestinal issues and intolerances, maternal or child elimination diets, picky eating, blenderized tube feeding, g or j tube feeding, lactation and breastfeeding, cultural food practices and culinary applications.

Jill received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in Seattle and master’s degree from Bastyr University, also in the NW. When not working at a top 5 children’s hospital, she can be found hiking with her dog, making something out of clay or fabric in her studio, or perhaps in the kitchen/around a table with her family.