Meet Our Founder
Emily MACKIE
Founder, Director and Speech Pathologist
For over a decade, Emily has continuously worked within the public and private sectors with children ranging from birth up to 18 years of age and adults in hospital. Emily graduated from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) in 2009.
Emily has always had a passion for helping children reach their communication goals and academic potential. Emily also has a passion for teaching and mentoring new graduate speech pathologists. She has developed within Speak About a thorough training program for new team members and enjoys sharing her expertise with the next generation of speech therapists.
Emily has experience with working with children who have receptive and expressive language difficulties, speech sound disorders, stuttering, voice, feeding and literacy difficulties. Emily has also worked with children who present with a variety of diagnoses and conditions (e.g. Autism Spectrum Disorder and Dyslexia).
Emily is also trained in a number of literacy and reading comprehension programs, including The Spalding Method. Emily is a Member of Speech Pathology Australia, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP), a Medicare and NDIS Provider.
When Emily is not in at Speak About, she loves getting outdoors, travelling, spending time with her husband and family and trying new foods!
Meet The Sydney Team – Speech Pathologists
Brianna Simmons
Senior Speech Pathologist
Brianna (aka Bree) joined the Speak About team in January 2016. She completed a Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Macquarie University in 2013 and then completed a Master of Speech and Language Pathology in 2015.
Brianna has grown up in the Hawkesbury region and has a passion for supporting families in the local community. Brianna has worked with a range of preschool and school age children with various communication difficulties including speech, language, literacy, stuttering and voice disorders. Brianna also has experience working with children with various diagnoses such as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), Down Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Global Developmental Delay (GDD). She has also completed The Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme- 3rd Edition course, developed for children with CAS.
Brianna also enjoys supporting students and new graduate speech pathologists as they enter the workplace. Brianna is a Member of Speech Pathology Australia, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP), a Medicare and NDIS provider.
When she is not helping children at Speak About, Brianna loves spending time with her two dogs (Sunny and Cooly), horse riding and shopping.
Salome Ratnarajah
Speech Pathologist
Salome completed a Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Macquarie University in 2016 and then completed a Master of Speech and Language Pathology in 2018.
Salome loves working with all children and their families. She has a passion for helping children achieve their potential, through improving their communication.
Salome has experience in working with a range of communication difficulties, including speech sound disorders, language stuttering and literacy disorders.
Salome also has experience working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.
Salome is a Member of Speech Pathology Australia, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP), a Medicare and NDIS provider.
When she’s not helping children at Speak About, Salome likes playing the piano, reading, travelling and spending time with her friends and family.
Chloe Neilly
Speech Pathologist
Chloe completed a Bachelor of Health Science (Speech and Hearing) at The University of Sydney in 2018 and then completed a Master of Speech and language Pathology in 2020.
Chloe has a passion for working with children and their families to achieve their communication goals and reach their full potential. Chloe has worked with children and adults with a range of communication difficulties including speech sound disorders, language delays, stuttering, and literacy difficulties.
Chloe also has experience working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.
Chloe is a Member of Speech Pathology Australia, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP), a Medicare and NDIS provider.
When she is not helping children at Speak About, Chloe enjoys going to the gym, spending time with her friends/family, bushwalking and going to the beach.
Monique Souma
Speech Pathologist
Monique Souma is a Speech Pathologist who is fully qualified with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) (Honours) and is registered with Speech Pathology Australia (SPA).
Monique has worked with children diagnosed with a range of communication disorders such as speech sound disorders, language disorders, stuttering, voice, and literacy difficulties.
Monique enjoys sparking growth and progress in a child’s communication skills by conducting personalised and engaging therapy sessions.
When Monique is not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing with her pet bird and shopping.
Cindy He
Speech Pathologist
Cindy is a Member of Speech Pathology Australia, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP), a Medicare and NDIS provider.
Cindy is a speech pathologist who enjoys working with children and their families to reach their communication potential.
Cindy has worked with a range of children on their language, speech sounds, fluency, literacy and social communication skills.
She also has had experience working with children using alternative and augmentative communication devices such as LAMP words for life, Proloquo2go and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
When she is not helping children at Speak About, Cindy likes baking, reading and spending time with her friends and family.
Meet The Central Coast Team – Speech Pathologists
Holly Graham-Hayes
Speech Pathologist
Holly Graham-Hayes is a Speech Pathologist and loves working with children alongside their parents to help improve communication goals.
Holly has worked with children that have a variety of communication difficulties including early language delay, speech sound disorders, stuttering, literacy and social communication.
Holly is based on the Central Coast at Little Miracles Preschool. In her spare time, Holly enjoys going to the gym, spending time with her friends/family and going to the beach.
Meet The Team – Administration
Janneene – Hobartville
Janneene joined our administration team back in October 2019.
She came to us from a management background in the field of Retail, completing a Certificate1 though to Certificate 3 in retail, then continuing to complete her certificate 4 in Retail Management. Janneene has also continued here to complete her certificate 3 in Medical Administration.
Janneene has a passion for being around and helping people in the community and their families.
Janneene has grown up and lived most of her life here in the Hawkesbury area alongside her family. And for a few years had moved away with her husband and child to be apart of the Mudgee community, returning home to the Hawkesbury now for the past 10 years.
Janneene is happy to help with any enquires you may have and happy to pass on any concerns to your speech pathologist when needed. Being a family person, Janneene loves being with the children and the families, watching them grow and learn each day. When not being here to help answer your questions she is spending time with her husband, going on picnics and long Coastal Drives or spending time with her son and family.
Connie – Tuggerah
Connie joined our administration team in March 2022.
Connie has worked in the health industry for several years and enjoys helping people however she can, she has since completed her Certificate 3 in Health Administration. Connie has grown up in the central west town of Dubbo most of her life and has recently made the move to the central coast.
In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach and spending time with her friends, family & pets.