Meet The Team
Emily Jordan, MA, CCC-SLP
Owner and Speech-Language Pathologist
Emily grew up in Connecticut, where a chance opportunity to volunteer in a classroom for children with special needs at the local elementary school inspired her passion for working with and helping children. A few years later, Emily attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004 with undergraduate degrees in Biology and Spanish. She received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Northwestern University in 2006, and subsequently began working as a Speech-Language Pathologist for Durham Public Schools. She founded Tarheel Speech and Language Services, PLLC in 2009, with a keen interest in providing quality speech and language services to children in the Triangle and surrounding areas.
Emily has extensive experience working with the pediatric population and with the following diagnoses: autism, childhood apraxia of speech, cleft palate, articulation delays/disorders, language delays/disorders, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, cognitive delays/impairments, sensory disorders, and developmental delays. She specializes in the provision of Spanish-English bilingual therapy services. Emily believes that a team approach is essential to the therapy process, and enjoys working with clients, their families, and other caregivers to facilitate improved communication and social interactions as well as to promote carryover and generalization of learned skills into all environments.
Emily lives in Durham with her husband, Nick, and 3 young boys. She enjoys spending time with her family in and around Durham and cheering on her alma mater.
Karrie Brown, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Karrie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. She received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Karrie then began working in the public school sector with preschool and school-age children with diverse needs. She now works in the private sector exclusively, serving children in their home, preschool/daycare, and school environments.
During her tenure as a speech-language pathologist, Karrie has worked with children in the birth to three, preschool, and school-age populations. She has worked with children with diverse needs, including the following: autism spectrum disorder, childhood apraxia of speech, articulation and phonological delays/disorders, developmental language delays/disorders, Down syndrome, genetic disorders, behavioral disorders, cognitive delays/disorders, sensory disorders, and fluency disorders.
Karrie mostly works with children ages 18 months to 5 years in the home and preschool/daycare settings, but also works with school-age children in elementary, middle, and high school. She believes that early intervention is essential to a child’s development of age-appropriate communication skills. Karrie also believes in educating parents so that they can be advocates for their children and help them to achieve maximal success with communication and social interactions. Karrie promotes identifying and treating school-age children in order to enhance their academic success.
Karrie lives in Cary, NC with her husband, son, and dog. She enjoys being in nature and doing various outdoor activities. Karrie loves spending time with her family and friends.
Katie King, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Katie King is a bilingual speech-language pathologist serving clients in Durham. She has worked at Tarheel Speech since 2010 after working for four years in Durham Public Schools. Katie holds both her North Carolina license and national ASHA certification for speech-language pathology. She works primarily with Spanish bilingual children and her professional areas of interest include bilingual language development, phonological disorders, early childhood communication disorders, and mentoring graduate students and new therapists. Katie is also an avid traveler, ceramic artist, and aerial dancer.
Carrie Lerch, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Carrie grew up in Maryland, not far from Washington DC. She moved to NC when she attended UNC-Wilmington and graduated with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. Following graduation, she worked as a lead teacher in a preschool for children with special needs. It was at this time when she realized she wanted to devote her career to helping young children communicate. The following year she attended East Carolina University and graduated in 2008 with a Master’s of Science degree in Communication Disorders- Speech Language Pathology.
Carrie has worked in a variety of settings, including homes, daycares, schools, offices, and outpatient rehab facilities. Although she has experience with all ages, working with young children is her “niche”. Carrie specializes in the evaluation and treatment of the following disorders/conditions: articulation/phonology, receptive and expressive language, fluency, and Childhood Apraxia of Speech. In addition, she has experience with communication delays secondary to Autism Spectrum Disorder, seizure disorders, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Hearing Impairment. Carrie enjoys making therapy fun for the child! She believes partnering with the family, caregiver, and other professionals is integral to the child’s ability to meet his/her goals.
In her free time, Carrie enjoys taking trips to the beach, walking her dog, and spending time with her husband and two young daughters.
Alyson Pereira, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Alyson graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2009 with an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in Human Development and Family Studies. She also attended UNCG for graduate school and received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 2011.
During her professional career, Alyson has worked with the birth to 3, preschool, and school-age populations. She has experience working with children with diverse needs, including: articulation and phonological delays/disorders, autism, cerebral palsy, childhood apraxia of speech, cognitive delays/impairments, genetic disorders, fluency disorders, and language delays/disorders. Alyson enjoys working with children and their families in order to help improve communication and promote carryover of new skills across all environments.
Alyson lives in Holly Springs with her husband Mike and their daughter Evelyn. She enjoys traveling, going to Carolina Hurricanes hockey games, and spending time with family and friends.
Whitney Gilmore, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Whitney graduated from Appalachian State University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. In May of 2016, she received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began working for Tarheel Speech and Language Services in August of 2016, PLLC providing services in Durham, NC.
Whitney has worked with children in a variety of settings, including the home environment, daycare, hospital/acute care, and a clinic dedicated to hearing loss. Whitney has worked with children with autism, articulation delays/disorders, hearing loss, language delays/disorders, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, feeding and swallowing disorders, and traumatic brain injury. Her particular areas of interest in the field are hearing loss, articulation and language delays/disorders, feeding and swallowing, and autism.
Before beginning her undergraduate studies, Whitney observed a few days in a pediatric speech-language pathology clinic and fell in love with the field. Whitney believes that because communication is an essential part of life, it is necessary for children and families to receive the assistance they need so that children of all abilities can communicate. She is passionate about working with families to enable effective communication for children with communication disorders.
AlIson Dey, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Alison graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015 with an undergraduate degree in Speech & Hearing Science and a minor in Spanish. She received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017. She completed her clinical fellowship year at St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf in Indianapolis, IN before relocating back to the Triangle to work for Tarheel Speech & Language Services.
Throughout graduate school and her clinical fellowship year, Alison has worked extensively with the pediatric population in a variety of settings. She has experience with the evaluation and treatment of language delays/disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, and communication delays secondary to autism, genetic syndromes, and developmental delays. She speaks Spanish and has experience serving children who are Spanish-English bilingual. In addition, Alison has specialized training in auditory-verbal therapy for children who are deaf/hard of hearing. Alison believes in making therapy engaging for children, and in the importance of partnering with families to promote improved communication and carryover of new skills across environments.