Group Leaders

Abbe Simon

Abbe Simon has been a speech-language pathologist for nearly 17 years. She recently moved from the NY/NJ area and was thrilled to know an aphasia program like TAP existed near her home in Chapel Hill. She has worked with adults and children in outpatient settings. Abbe continues to be devoted to serving adults with neurological impairments, and has worked in acute care, outpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and, most close to heart, a prestigious aphasia center in the tri-state area. Her passion for facilitating conversation groups for people with aphasia allows her to marvel at the way individuals succeed at communicating and interact with one another. Abbe integrates the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia into her clinical skills and believes creating a functional environment is key to achieving success. In her spare time, she can be found exercising, cooking, doing yoga, or watching her two sons play sports.

Candace Seibert

Candace Seibert retired from UNC Hospitals Acute Rehabilitation Unit in 2012, where she enjoyed eight years of working with individuals with aphasia, traumatic brain injury, and other neurological challenges in both inpatient and outpatient contexts. She came to UNC from the Brady Insititute for Traumatic Brain Injury at Jamaica Hospital in New York. Although Candace found great satisfaction working in a medical environment, she also relishes the opportunity to work with people as their recovery continues at home and in their community. Candace loved facilitating groups while at UNC. She learned there that everyone has a story to tell, and our role is to help them tell it. Candace lives in Cary with Ward, her husband of 42 years, and enjoys spending time with her adult children, playing golf, reading, and gardening.

Graciela Roberti

Graciela Roberti is a highly skilled bilingual therapist with over 20 years of experience in working with children with a variety of communication and speech disorders. Graciela is a native Spanish speaker and has expertise in working with children who have autism, cerebral palsy, language delays, phonological disorders, articulation impairments, and hearing impaired. She is also skilled in treating children with swallowing, oral/motor/feeding, and tracheostomies. Graciela works closely with her bilingual families to make sure needs are being met in both languages across environments.

Graciela earned her Bachelors of Science in Special education, specializing in mental retardation at Pedagogical University of Caracas in Venezuela. She then went on to earn her Master of Science in Speech and Language from NOVA Southeastern University in Florida. Graciela is also a certified Community Spanish Facilitator and Interpreter and earned her certificate from Durham Technical Community College in North Carolina.

Inma Martin

Inma Martin is a bilingual Speech Language Pathologist who specialized in treating adults with cognitive-linguistic and swallowing disorders. She is from the Canary Islands, Spain, where she developed a passion for music and helping others. She has a background in music therapy, which she uses to enhance her clients’ communication and quality of life. She is also a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, with extensive knowledge and experience in working with survivors of traumatic brain injury and stroke. While living in Spain, Inma worked in multidisciplinary clinics providing communication, swallowing, and voice rehabilitation to individuals who experienced brain injury, laryngeal cancer, and vocal fold pathologies.

Inma moved to the US in 2013. She graduated Suma Cum Laude from North Carolina Central University in 2021. Since then, she has been practicing as an SLP serving individuals with communication and swallowing needs while utilizing individualized and evidence-based assessment and intervention for adults with various neurological conditions. She is committed to continuing education and professional development, as well as advocating for her clients and their families.

In her spare time, Inma enjoys traveling with her husband and her two dogs, singing, and playing the flute.

Jordan Clapp

Jordan Clapp lives in Liberty, NC. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She volunteered with Triangle Aphasia Project throughout her undergraduate career and fell in love with the community. Following graduation, Jordan has worked with adults in outpatient and inpatient settings. Her passion is inpatient rehab, and she currently works on the UNC Acute Inpatient Rehab team at UNC Hillsborough. When she is not working, she is reading, running after her 4-legged babies, and helping her husband in their ever-expanding garden.

Julia Bryan Canavan

Julia has been working with individuals with aphasia for more than 35 years. She has worked as a speech-language pathologist in acute, rehab, and outpatient settings at WakeMed, Duke, Durham VA Hospital, Carolinas Rehab and Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte. She was previously a member of the TAP Board of Directors. Julia is currently facilitating TAP’s Bible Study group.

Kathryn Esposito

Kathryn Esposito has been a board-certified music therapist since 2018. She studied Music and Psychology during her undergraduate education at the University of Vermont (fun fact: she was originally a Communication Sciences Major her freshman year on track to be a SLP, but life had other plans!) and has a Master’s in Music Therapy from Appalachian State University. During her graduate clinical work, she had the privilege of working with many populations through music therapy, including individuals with autism, severe and persistent mental illness, dementia, medical needs, learning disorders, and more. Her internship was completed at a pediatric hospital in Texas and she currently works at a psychiatric hospital working with individuals of all ages to reach their recovery goals. She is thrilled to be working at TAP to continue working with individuals in a rehabilitative setting and remains endlessly fascinated by music’s potential to connect different parts of the brain and serve as a catalyst for learning, growth, connection and expression. You may see her two cats making an appearance in the background of her virtual Music Therapy groups, as they don’t like feeling left out of the party!

Kaylea Nicholson

Kaylea has been working as a speech-language pathologist since graduating from the University of Florida in 2012. She currently works with a variety of patient populations, from pediatrics to geriatrics at Duke University Hospital’s outpatient clinic.  She feels blessed to help patients of all ages communicate with their loved ones and is encouraged and inspired daily by the progress her patients make. She is extremely excited to join the TAP team as a group leader. Outside of work, Kaylea enjoys running, going to the beach, and cheering on the Central Florida Knights and Florida Gators.

Kimberly Baradei

Kimberly Baradei is a Speech-Language Pathologist living and working in Wake Forest, NC.  Over her 17 year career, she has specialized in providing therapy for the adult population in a variety of settings including; home care, long term care, outpatient, acute inpatient and telehealth. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist and is passionate about providing personalized, dynamic, evidence-based intervention to the clients in her private practice.  She is excited to be a part of the TAP family, providing a safe space for group social interactions within the aphasia community.  In her free time Kim enjoys baking treats for friends and family, volunteering for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop and taking care of her orchid plants.

Kristine Strobbia

Kristine Strobbia is a speech-language pathologist who lives in Durham, NC. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, MD. Kristine has worked with adults in skilled nursing, inpatient, and outpatient settings. She has worked with children in public and non-public school settings. Kristine is passionate about the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia and honored to be a part of the TAP team. When she is not working, she and her husband are traveling, watching sports, or out on the water.

Laurie Rose Engbring

Laurie has been a speech-language pathologist for 25 years, providing services to both children and adults in a variety of clinical settings, including hospitals, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, assisted and independent living communities, schools, and two self-owned private practices. Laurie originally received her Masters Degree in Speech Language Pathology at Loyola College in Baltimore Maryland, and has also lived and worked many years in Alexandria, Virginia and Savannah, Georgia. Since moving to Cary in 2015 with her husband and three children (now tweens and teens), she has focused on building her current pediatric private practice, Rose Speech Therapy, but really missed her work helping adults improve their ability to communicate. She has been thrilled to discover TAP, and is grateful to have the opportunity to work with adults with Aphasia once again. In her free time, Laurie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling in their motorhome, watching sports, reading, playing Scrabble, and seeking out new adventures.

Mallory Ford

Mallory Ford has been a Speech-Language pathologist since 2013 where she graduated from the University of Utah. Since then she has worked in many clinical settings including: Skilled Nursing Facility, Inpatient Rehab, Acute Hospital, Outpatient, Home health, and previously led a Communication Recovery Group in Southern California. She also has a diverse background, with a bachelor’s in international business and has lived in 6 different states as an adult. She is now settled in Holly Springs, North Carolina with her husband and two young children. She has a passion working with the adult age population and with persons with Aphasia. She is excited and humbled to be able to work with TAP and aid in the continued rehabilitation of communication.

Megan Wardlow

Megan Wardlow is a speech language pathologist who graduated with her BA and MA in Communication Disorders from Truman State University in Kirksville, MO.  She is a Missouri native who has worked in both Illinois and Missouri prior to moving to North Carolina with her family in the summer of 2020.

Megan had the unique opportunity to work for a family owned rehabilitation company.  There she served all populations (birth through geriatric) in outpatient, home health, and skilled nursing settings.  In addition to her job as a speech language pathologist, Megan also served as a compliance auditor for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, helped implement and train all disciplines on her company’s electronic medical record system, and was on a marketing and development team for a therapy auditing product.

In her free time Megan enjoys reading, learning, and exercising (she is also a certified personal trainer) and exploring her new “home” with her family.

Upon moving to North Carolina, Megan was fortunate enough to stumble upon a new friend who knew about TAP.  Megan’s passion for philanthropy and her love of aphasia therapy made this a perfect fit.  She is honored to join the ranks of so many highly qualified professionals in providing high quality, functional programming for those with aphasia.

Morgan Hansen

Morgan Hansen graduated with her Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology in 2020. During her career, Morgan has worked in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient neurorehabilitation. Morgan enjoys providing education to families, friends and caregivers of loved ones with Aphasia. She is passionate about ensuring persons with Aphasia have the appropriate strategies to communicate their thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Morgan is a proud alumna of the University of Utah – Go Utes! In her free time, she can be found spending time with her husband, their son and Golden Retriever. She enjoys reading, baking and hiking. Morgan is a North Carolina transplant and is excited to explore NC and the surrounding states.

Sara Summers

Sara has been working as a speech language pathologist for 25 years. She graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in Psychology and Art History and received her M.A. in Education from the University of Georgia. Sara has enjoyed working with a range of clients from pediatrics with speech/language delays to adults with neurological deficits including stroke, head trauma, dysphagia and voice disorders. She feels it is important to work closely with clients and their family members in a functional and personal way which encourages and enables better overall improvement in their communication skills. Sara and her husband have three beautiful daughters who enjoy cooking, being outside, and playing tennis together. Since Covid-19, they have embraced the challenge of learning bridge and sourdough baking both of which are coming along nicely!

Sowmya Shanker

Sowmya Shanker has worked as a speech pathologist for over 15 years in this country. Originally from India, Sowmya worked at a prestigious rehab hospital in Boston before relocating to North Carolina in 2008 and now works at Duke Regional Hospital. She loves working with adults who have cognitive and communicative disorders and is constantly looking for ways to make therapy meaningful and functional. She believes that recovery is a life long process and cannot stress enough the role of family, friends, and the community in facilitating this process. If she is not spending time with her son and husband, Sowmya is probably reading, socializing or watching her beloved Red Sox and Patriots play!

Sevanne Epperson

Sevanne is a speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience. She has lived in Ohio, Michigan, and Northern California. Twelve years ago, she and her family moved to Cary. Sevanne has worked in acute care, inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, a rehab hospital, and skilled nursing facilities. Sevanne received her BA from Michigan State University and her MA from Ohio State University.

Sevanne embraces the supportive environment that TAP provides for the client and the caregiver and is thrilled to be a part of the TAP family as a group leader. Sevanne is married and has two boys. When she is not working, she enjoys watching her sons play sports, traveling with her family, playing with her beagle, and all things outdoors.