Audrey Pannier knew she wanted to be a speech therapist when she, herself, received speech therapy at age twelve for stuttering. She received her B.A. in Communication Disorders in 1969 from Wisconsin State University - Eau Claire. She earned her M.A. in Speech Communication from California State University - Stanislaus in 1983, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She and her husband live in Turlock, CA and have two sons and six granddaughters.