A small collective of speech and feeding therapists, serving Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods
Lera Yavich is a multilingual (English, Spanish, Russian) speech-language pathologist (SLP) and founder of Speech in Bloom. Her path to becoming an SLP began as a child, observing her brother with Down Syndrome receive speech therapy and the transformative impact of a caring, passionate SLP. She credits her brother as her inspiration for pursuing a career as an SLP with a whole-family focus.
Today, Lera is deeply passionate about helping your child learn to communicate and express themselves authentically. She has experience working in schools, homes, clinics, and private practices focused on a variety of speech and feeding delays, disorders, and diagnoses. Before becoming an SLP, Lera was a preschool teacher in both Denver, Colorado, and Israel.
Lera holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After completing her graduate studies, Lera pursued Early Intervention with Spanish-speaking families in North Carolina before relocating to Brooklyn.
As a speech-language pathologist, Lera believes in continuing education and professional development to best serve patients. Lera holds certifications in PROMPT Level I, Feed the Peds, Pediatric Feeding coursework with Melanie Potock, Pediatric Feeding training with Krisi Brackett of the UNC Feeding Team, and Social Thinking Coursework with Michelle Garcia Winner for children on the Autism Spectrum. Lera is also certified by the Institute of Language and Phonology in accent reduction.
She is certified to teach yoga to children with special needs, and has begun coursework to become an orofacial myologist.
Gina Mortensen is a bilingual speech-language pathologist passionate about supporting children and families. Her specialties include augmentative and alternative communication, pediatric feeding disorders, and bilingual language acquisition.
Gina is a graduate of George Washington University and has received specialized training in the SOS Approach to Feeding, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP), Beckman Oral Motor Assessment & Intervention, and Hanen More Than Words. She also received a Certificate in Early Intervention through Georgetown University. Gina is also currently pursuing her Certificate in Lactation Counseling.
Julia Cohen is a speech-language pathologist with experience working with preschool and school-aged children with a variety of communication needs, including articulation, expressive/receptive language, social skills, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and feeding. She currently works for the New York City Public Schools.
Julia strives to provide each client with the tools and strategies they need to be successful communicators across settings. She believes in collaborating with families, school staff, and other professionals to help clients achieve their individualized goals.
Julia graduated from William Paterson University with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD) certificate. Furthermore, Julia has received specialized training in PROMPT, DTTC, Natural Language Acquisition for Gestalt Language Processors, AAC, and social thinking.
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Haley-Jo Kenny is a speech-language pathologist with extensive experience working with preschool, elementary, and middle school students. She specializes in treating articulation and phonological disorders, phonics and phonemic awareness, expressive and receptive language delays, and social communication skills. She worked in New York City Public Schools for five years before pursuing private practice.
Passionate about creating lasting impacts, Haley-Jo is committed to evidence-based, family-centered therapy. She embraces a neurodiversity-affirming, culturally responsive approach, focusing on each child's inherent strengths to support their growth and communication.
Haley-Jo earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from CUNY Brooklyn College. A lifelong learner, she actively pursues continuing education in various specialized areas. She has completed training in Social Development Intervention (SDI) through New York University to support children with autism. Additionally, she has received certification in the Orton-Gillingham Approach to phonics instruction and has trained in Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) for children with apraxia of speech.
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Macie Wasserberger is a bilingual speech-language pathologist fluent in English and Spanish, with experience working with children ages 3 to 21. She has provided therapy in private and public schools, as well as home-based settings. Currently, Macie works in a specialized public school, supporting children with diverse communication needs, including expressive and receptive language disorders, pragmatic language challenges, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
She has received specialized training in Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) to support children with apraxia of speech (AOS) and has completed Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) training through Meaningful Speech to better serve gestalt language processors (GLPs).
Macie earned her Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Teachers College, Columbia University.
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Sarah X. Rojas-Rogalewicz is a multilingual pediatric speech-language pathologist fluent in Spanish, French, and English. Born in Colombia and raised in Miami, Florida, she now calls Brooklyn home. Sarah has extensive experience in outpatient rehabilitation, working with multicultural children with a wide range of needs, including language delays, speech sound disorders, and cognitive-linguistic challenges.
Driven by a passion for advocacy in public health and speech-language pathology, Sarah is committed to cultural humility, equitable access to care, and early intervention. Her expertise extends to bilingualism, feeding, and lactation. She is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist (CBS) and is currently pursuing PROMPT training to better support children with speech sound disorders.
Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Penn State University, with minors in Arabic Language and Psychology. She holds a Master of Science in Neuroscience and Education from Columbia University and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Boston University.
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