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.

Alie Chandler has a Master of Music degree in Music Therapy from Western Michigan University and has been a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) since 2002. She has worked with clients of all ages in NY, CT, and NC, including the American Institute for Neuro-Integrative Development, the Music Conservatory of Westchester, and Westchester Medical Center.  She also worked as part of a research team at Duke University Hospital for a study on resilience in adolescents with cancer. Alie has published research on music therapy and autism, presented nationally, and is a certified provider through the National Parkinson Foundation. She is trained in Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT), improvisational music therapy methods, and completed the Allied Team Training for Parkinson’s. She has also been involved with Virtual Connections.

Alie sings plays the flute, piano, ukulele, and various percussion instruments, and lives in North Carolina with her two children and husband.

Amanda works full-time in the adult Outpatient Rehabilitation department at WakeMed.  She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, her master’s degree in speech-language pathology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and a clinical fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Amanda leads TAP’s monthly Learning to Speak Aphasia (LTSA) trainings. She enjoys the outdoors, going on walks and hikes with her two hound dog, drawing, and trying new restaurants with friends and family.

Bonnie received her Master’s in speech-language pathology from North Carolina Central University (NCCU).  She works as an outpatient SLP within the WakeMed system, specializing in aphasia, dysarthria, apraxia, cognitive communication disorders, traumatic brain injury, stroke, dysphagia, concussion and Parkinson’s disease. She is passionate about helping people with aphasia work toward their communication goals. In her spare time, Bonnie enjoys reading, playing cards, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

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.

Christine Cook is a Speech Therapist and National Aphasia Association Certified Aphasia Ambassador with over 20 years of experience working alongside people with aphasia. She began her career at Christiana Care Health System in Delaware, where she worked with people with aphasia across rehabilitation settings, before going on to serve as Director of Clinical Research and Services of the Speech Pathology graduate program at the University of Delaware. There, her commitment to the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia took center stage — she collaborated with SLPs, students, faculty, and community members to develop a series of Life Participation Groups, including a coffee and conversation group, a movie discussion group, and a games group.

Christine now calls Charlotte, NC home, where she is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Northeastern University teaching Neurology for Communication and Language Disorders in Adults, and leads her own practice, The Communication Collaboratory. She is passionate about aphasia awareness and making sure people who are often overlooked get the care and support they deserve. When she is not in the clinic or the classroom, Christine can be found goofing around in the garden with her husband and kids.

Elsbeth received her bachelor’s degree at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then attended East Carolina University, where she obtained her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Elsbeth enjoys working with adults and children of all ages at Capitol City Speech Therapy in Fuquay Varina. In addition to working at CCST, she has experience in acute care, outpatient and home health hospital settings. Elsbeth is married and has two children. When not working, she enjoys being with her family, traveling, watching sports and baking.

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.

Haley, a native of North Carolina, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she completed both her Master of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences and Bachelor of Arts.

Haley works with adults and children at an outpatient clinic in Fuquay-Varina, NC. She has special interest in receptive and expressive language disorders, cognitive communication disorders, dysphagia, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for all populations. Haley views her job as a privilege to help people gain or improve participation in their diverse life roles and activities. She views TAP as an exciting way for people to connect with their community. Haley loves to spend time with her family, make art and music, try local restaurants and spend time outside. She is always taking recommendations for new foods to try.

Jackie earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders from East Carolina University.  Since graduating in 2019, she has worked as a speech therapist with adults.  Jackie currently works in inpatient rehabilitation at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC. She enjoys spending time at the beach and with friends and family. 

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 groups.