Our Professional Staff
Hearing Health Services
Jennifer Petersen, Au.D., CCC-A
Clinical Audiologist
Program Director, Audiology
Dr. Jennifer Petersen comes to Hearing and Speech Institute with eleven years of diverse experience in the field of Audiology. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of California in Santa Barbara and her Masters of Science degree in Audiology at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Most recently, she has earned a Doctorate of Audiology from A.T. Still University/Arizona School of Health Sciences.
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After focusing for seven years on adult audiologic evaluation and rehabilitation, Dr. Petersen worked at the Oregon Hearing Research Center Tinnitus Clinic, specializing in the development and implementation of individualized tinnitus management strategies for patients with severe tinnitus. She then switched her focus to pediatric evaluation and rehabilitation within a multi-disciplinary model at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center at Oregon Health and Science University.
Elsa Nelson, Au.D., CCC-A
Audiologist
Elsa Lubisich Nelson is certified by the American Speech Language and Hearing Association, and is also a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. She received her BS in Chemistry and Communication Studies from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. Dr. Nelson received her Doctorate in Audiology from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. She then completed a year long externship at Oregon Health & Science University and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
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Dr. Nelson’s clinical focus involves diagnostic evaluations and rehabilitation within the pediatric and adult populations. She is particularly interested in the effects of amplification on an individual’s quality of life, including hearing aids and the use of FM technology. Dr. Nelson has published research on classroom acoustics and the detrimental effects of background noise and reverberation within the learning environment.
Children's Clinical Services
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Allyson Goodwyn-Craine, M.S. SLP-CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Director, Children's Clinical Services
Director, Speech Paths
Allyson Goodwyn-Craine began her clinical career in 1987. She holds a Master of Science degree in Education and Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Her practice involves a wide variety of clinical activities focusing on children with neuromotor and developmental speech disorders, pediatric dysphagia (feeding and swallowing), genetic syndromes/craniofacial disorders and autism. Allyson has a strong neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) orientation and is a Hanen ‘ certified parent trainer.
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Allyson co-authored the chapter “Assessment of the Speech Mechanism” in the Introduction to Clinical Methods in Communication Disorders text published by Brookes (2007). She served on the clinical faculty at Portland State University and was an adjunct clinical instructor at Western Oregon State College. High spirited and energetic, Allyson served as the Camp Director for Meadowood Springs Speech Camp and helped create an innovative program used to train graduate speech-language pathology students at the Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp. She is the past president of the Oregon Society of Augmentative Communication and a founding member of the Portland Pediatric Treatment Study Group. In 2003, following several years as an executive board member, Allyson served as the President of the Oregon Speech-Language Hearing Association. Last year Allyson was honored with the OSHA Presidential Award for her contributions to the state association.
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Janet Lambert, M.S., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Program Director, Speech-Language Pathology
Janet received both her B.S. and M.S. from Portland State University. She has been a practicing clinician for 13 years. She received training at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center for working with children with cleft palate, and taught a class on Normal Speech and Language Development at Portland State University.
Janet's specialties are working with children who stutter and who have cleft palate. She frequently makes presentations to parent groups and child care providers regarding speech and language development. She also provides supervision for practicum students at the Institute.
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Joyce Tamerlano M.S. CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Director, Autism Services
Joyce received her B.S. in speech-language pathology from Miami University in Oxford Ohio and received her M.A. in speech-language pathology from the University of Akron. While attending Miami University, Joyce completed an independent study and presented at the Annual ASHA conference in 1998.
After moving from Ohio in January of 2001, Joyce practiced in the Oregon public school system where she provided assessment, diagnosis, treatment and intervention for students with impairments in articulation and language, as well as worked with individuals with traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, Rett syndrome, and children with cochlear implants.
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Joyce's areas of special interest are working with children with hearing impairments (conventional hearing aids and cochlear implants) and working with children with autism. The past two years, Joyce has conducted three intensive literacy-based summer groups for children in need of social skill and language development at Hearing and Speech.
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Amanda Cornelius, M.S., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Amanda Cornelius comes to the Hearing & Speech Institute with a love of her work and an appreciation for the families of children with speech and language needs. Amanda has special training and interest in reading and language disorders, learning differences, phonological disorders, language delay, and autism.
Amanda received her B.A. in Music Magna Cum Laude from Skidmore College and her M. S. in Speech-Language Pathology Summa Cum Laude from San Francisco State University. She has received training in the Slingerland Multisensory Approach, Lindmood-Bell reading programs, PROMPT, and LINKS to Language. Prior to joining the Hearing & Speech Institute, Amanda was a Speech-Language Therapist at the Child Development Center in San Francisco.
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Yael Garfinkle, M.S, CCC
Speech Language Pathology
Yael received a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and English from the University of Rochester. She completed her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology at Emerson College. While in graduate school, Yael participated in research on language use and social perceptions of people with cognitive impairments and was awarded the Graduate Departmental Award in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
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Prior to starting at the Hearing and Speech Institute, Yael worked for Easter Seals Massachusetts in a variety of settings, including Boston Public Schools, The May Center for Education and Neurorehabilitation, and Kennedy Day School at Franciscan Children’s Hospital. Yael’s clinical interests include working with children who have language delays, phonological disorders, and reading and language disabilities.
Katie Gray, M.S, CCC
Speech Language Pathology
Katie received her B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders Magna Cum Laude from Western Washington University. She received her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from Washington State University. Katie completed externships at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, the Hearing and Speech Institute, Holy Family Hospital and the Coeur d'Alene School District. Prior to starting at the Hearing and Speech Institute, she spent the summer in Seattle working with Rosemary White, OTR/L, gaining experience in the DIR/Floortime Model. Katie’s areas of interest include: autism, hearing loss, phonological disorders, language delay, and reading and language disorders.
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Hillary Koning, M.S, CCC
Speech Language Pathology
Hillary received her B.A. degree in Psychology and Spanish from Willamette University in 2002. She achieved her M.A. degree in Speech-Language Pathology Summa Cum Laude at Portland State University in 2006. While attending Portland State University, Hillary completed research on the identification and treatment of language disorders in bilingual children. She also completed several externships, including the Hearing and Speech Institute, Mt. Hood Head Start, and Tigard-Tualatin Public Schools.
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At the Hearing and Speech Institute, Hillary worked extensively with the language and literacy program. While working at Head Start, Hillary provided speech and language therapy for Spanish-speaking preschool children. In the schools, Hillary worked with middle school social skills groups, students with literacy needs, and academic strategies classrooms. Hillary has special interest in reading and language disorders, bilingual language development, family-based treatment, and social skills development.
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Jennifer Larsen, Ph.D., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Director, Language & Literacy Program
Dr Larsen received her undergraduate degree in psychology and linguistics from UC San Diego in 1990. She received her M.S. in speech-language pathology in 1993 from Purdue University. She completed her Ph.D. at University of Oregon in 2002.
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Jenny's specialty areas include literacy and language development and social communication. She is particularly interested in the link between reading and language disorders and is currently the principal investigator for a research project exploring this link. She has received the ACE award for continuing education from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. In 2000, she was awarded the Graduate Student Scholarship for academic excellence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation. Dr. Larsen is on the adjunct faculty of Portland State University and teaches a course in language development. She has authored a number of publications and presentations in her field.
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Andy McMillin, M.A., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Andy received a B.A. in Linguistics from Cornell University in 1992 and an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2000. During his time in Pittsburgh, he participated in several research studies involving children's language use, and he was awarded the Lisa Levy Memorial Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement for the class of 2000.
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Since arriving in Portland in 2000, Andy has specialized in working with children with language and reading disabilities, and working with people who stutter. He has also actively collaborated with researchers from the Oregon Graduate Institute on a research project involving children who stutter. Andy is an adjunct faculty member at Portland State University and has taught courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of von Cramm, Inc., a residential cooperative and not-for-profit corporation, and he had an active career as a bread baker before entering Speech Pathology. He maintains this craft as an avid avocation.
Lisa Young Melady, M.S., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Lisa has spent her career as a pediatric speech-language pathologist specializing in working with the medically fragile child and children presenting with cleft lip/palate or craniofacial disorders. She received a B.S. (1996) and M.S. (1998) in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Medicine. During graduate school, she received the Robert Peters Scholarship for Research for her work at the UNC-Chapel Hill Craniofacial Center resulting in her graduate thesis. Since graduate school, Lisa has trained with the top craniofacial speech pathologists in the nation and served at some of the prestigious craniofacial centers in the nation. She has worked at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, IN.
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Her work at the children’s hospitals has given her invaluable experience in working with medically fragile children presenting with traumatic brain injury, feeding/swallowing disorders, alternate means of nutrition (G-tubes), craniofacial syndromes and patients that have tracheotomies and/or are ventilator dependent. Her current passion is to educate other in identifying hypernasality and how to provide appropriate treatment to these individuals. She thrives on seeing her patients progress and strives to keep therapy fun, energetic and invigorating!!!!
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Deanne Nelson, M.S., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Deanne graduated with a B.S. (1986) and M.S. (1990) degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the University of Oregon. She conducted her Clinical Fellowship year at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center (CDRC) and Scottish Rite Clinic. While at CDRC, she gained experience in a variety of evaluation processes involving neonatal follow-up clinics, cleft palate/orofacial disorders clinics and genetic disorders. Deanne provided direct therapy to children who qualified for services through the Scottish Rite Clinic.
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Deanne has been with the Hearing & Speech Institute since 1991, during which time she has worked both in the Intensive Language Preschool Program and in providing one-on-one direct speech therapy. Her caseload consists of children with developmental delays, Down Syndrome, dyspraxia, phonological processing disorders, autism and language disorders. Deanne has been involved in school contracts providing services for early intervention and hearing-impaired children.
Deanne maintains state licensure as
well as membership in the local and national
speech and language associations, Certificate
of Clinical Competence, Hanen, and EI/ECSE
through the Oregon Department of Education.
Robin Shobe, M.S., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
Robin completed her undergraduate degree in Speech and Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Oregon in 1993. She continued her studies at San Francisco State University and received a Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences in June of 1997. Robin spent the next ten years working with both adults and children with communicative disorders in the public school, clinic and hospital settings.
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In 2005, Robin and her family located to the Portland area and enjoy many outdoor activities. Robin has since specialized in pediatric populations with complex communication needs including Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Assistive Technology (AT) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Julie Webster, M.S., CCC
Speech-Language Pathology
“To love what you do and know that it matters, how could anything be more fun!!”
Juli received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders from University of Cincinnati in 1995. She completed her Master’s degree in Speech Pathology at Miami University of Ohio. Juli has significant experience in providing medically based clinical services for speech, language, and feeding disorders. Prior to coming to the Institute, Juli worked at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio, which has the largest speech-pathology program in the nation, and Drake Center, Inc., a nationally recognized rehabilitation hospital for brain injury. Over the past several years, Juli has also been very active in advocating for improved reimbursement for speech and language services to third party payors, employers, and fellow colleagues. She has directly counseled over 200 families on how to understand their insurance polices for speech pathology services and how to appeal insurance denials.
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Juli holds specialized training and certification as an oro-facial myologist with the International Association of Oro-Facial Myology (IAOM). She enjoys educating other colleagues about the relationships between oral facial myofunctional disorders and other types of articulation and oral motor disorders, as well as collaborating with pediatricians, dentists and orthodontists. Juli serves on the “Ask an Expert” panel for this specialty area with SpeechPathology.com.
Other clinical interests lie in oral motor/feeding disorders, early language development, high level language disorders, and cognitive-communicative disorders in children thru young adults (including autism and brain injury). Juli is an active presenter and has presented to community groups, families, and fellow professionals on a variety of topics including oral-facial myofunctional disorders, reimbursement advocacy, brain injury, and general speech and language development.
She firmly believes the every human being should have the right to communicate. Her greatest reward is teaching and empowering families and their children to find that “voice”.
Occupational Therapy Services
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Kim Rathbun, OTR/L
Occupational Therapy
Program Director, Occupational Therapy
Feeding Program Coordinator
Kim received her degree in Occupational Therapy in 1988 from the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kim is licensed in the state of Oregon and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy. She is a visiting lecturer for the Master's of Occupational Therapy program at Pacific University and is a member of the Academic Board for the program. Kim's clinical and management experience comes from her work in private clinic, school, and hospital environments where she has come to value and pursue a multidisciplinary/team approach with the specialized care of the children and families she works with. She frequently teaches/presents to parents, professionals, or for University courses on topics including progression of skills for successful feeding and sensory processing/regulation. Over the years, she has also had extensive additional professional training in the areas of sensory processing disorders, the therapeutic listening program, Autism Spectrum disorders, Floortime/DIR, and feeding.
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Kim is committed to and loves her work as a therapist, presentor, and mentor. She is passionate about her treatment with children with developmental delays, genetic, neuromotor, sensory motor, or Autism Spectrum disorders.
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Donna Hamilton, MOT OTR/L
Occupational Therapy
Donna graduated from Pacific University with a Masters degree in occupational therapy. She has experience working with children in their homes, in educational settings, and within clinic-based practice. Special areas of interest and expertise include, working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, dysfunction in Sensory Integration, motor delays, and feeding challenges. Donna believes strongly in collaborating with professional colleagues in order to create positive outcomes with children and families. She frequently presents on topics such as sensory processing and regulation, increasing engagement and social relatedness through play, and strategies to increase success with feeding "when eating is not fun." Donna is licensed in the state of Oregon and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy.
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Sage Fuller, MOT OTR/L
Occupational Therapy
Sage graduated from the University of Utah in 1996 with a degree in Psychology and worked with young children at a preschool specializing in emotional and behavioral difficulties. She graduated from Pacific University with a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy in 2002 and has worked in pediatrics since that time. Sage has experience working with children in the home, school, and clinic environments. She is licensed in the State of Oregon and is certified by the National board of Occupational Therapy.
Sage was a practicum therapist at Camp Avanti, a summer camp in Wisconsin for children with sensory processing and modulation differences, as well as a participant in numerous professional development courses in the areas of sensory processing and modulation, the vestibular-auditory-visual connection, Brain Gym®, HANDLE®, and Handwriting Without Tears®. She is also Advanced Therapeutic Listening® certified.
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Sage loves working with children of all ages and abilities and has particular interest in sensory processing and modulation difficulties, motor delays, visual motor and perceptual difficulties and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
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Melissa Goodwin, MOT OTR/L
Occupational Therapy
Melissa received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Lewis & Clark College. After her undergraduate education, she served as an Americorps volunteer, working to bridge connections between at-risk youth and older adults. She also reveled in her work with children as an educator in a Montessori preschool.
Melissa earned her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from Pacific University. She is licensed in the state of Oregon and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy. During her graduate studies, she was chosen to participate in CPEP (Collaborative Professional Education Project), a federally funded grant project serving children with disabilities and their families. Through CPEP, Melissa was delighted with the opportunity to collaborate with graduate students in Speech- Language Pathology, Physical Therapy and Secondary Special Education to create and implement a multidisciplinary, research-based home program.
Melissa specializes in the treatment of children with delays in sensorimotor development. She also has interest in visual motor and perceptual difficulties as well as play development.
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Mikki Kistler, M.S., OTR/L
Occupational Therapy
Mikki graduated from Pacific University with a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy. Before becoming an occupational therapist Mikki gained experience in treating children with mental health and behavioral challenges through her work as a treatment counselor. As an occupational therapist MikkiÕs areas of expertise include working with children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Motor Delay. Mikki believes in empowering children to achieve greater independence through sensory exploration and play. Mikki has training and certification in the Therapeutic Listening Program and the How Does your Engine Run program. Mikki is licensed in the state of Oregon and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy.
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Jessie Sharlow, M.S., OTR/L
Occupational Therapy
Jessie received her degree in occupational therapy in 2000 from the University of New Hampshire. She is licensed in the State of Oregon and is certified by the National Board of Occupational Therapy.
Shebegan her career as a school based occupational therapist for the Nantucket Public School system in Massachusetts working with children pre-K through 12th grade. Though she loved collaborating with the teachers and being in a child’s natural setting, she felt she could better serve her families and children if she pursued additional education on how to address the underlying sensory processing problems rather than the symptoms. This lead Jessica to Philadelphia, where she worked at the Jeannetta D. Burpee Institute and received extensive training in sensory processing and the DIR/Floortime model. A love of the outdoors and a desire for adventure lead Jessie and her husband to Portland. Prior to joining the team at Hearing and Speech, Jessie worked for two years in a clinic based setting in the Portland Metro region.
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Jessie has specialized training and certification in sensory integration through USC/WPS and is certified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT). She is also certified in Advanced Therapeutic Listening, Level 1 SAMONAS, Cranial Electrical Stimulation (CES) and is working to obtain her DIR certification. She has attended extensive professional developmental courses in the areas of sensory processing and modulation, vestibular rehabilitation, visual processing/oculomotor deficits, vestibular/visual/auditory connection, DIR/Floortime, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Brain Gym.
Jessie loves working with children of all ages with various neurological challenges. She feels that each child is unique and treatment should be tailored to the individual needs of each child and the family.
Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
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David W. Willis, M.D.
Medical Director,
Behavioral/Developmental Pediatrics
David W. Willis, M.D. is the Medical Director of Northwest Early Childhood Institute. He is Developmental-Behavioral pediatrician with a special emphasis on infants and young children’s emotional, behavioral and developmental difficulties. He is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia and received his pediatric residency and child development fellowship training at Oregon Health Science University, in Portland. After 5 years in general pediatric practice, he focused his career on the management of developmental-behavioral challenges of young children, from both a medical, developmental and mental health perspective, a unique practice model. As Co-Founder and current Director of the Institute, Dr. Willis has led the development of our unique regional multidisciplinary organization that focuses not only on a new clinical services model - our Developmental Home, but also focuses on community collaborations for prevention and science-to-practice innovations for infants, young children and their families.
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Dr. Willis is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at OHSU, Vice-President of the Oregon Pediatric Society and an Allocation Committee member of Portland’s Children’s Initiative Fund. Nationally, he is a Harris Mid-Career Fellow with ZERO TO THREE, of Washington DC for which he brings recognition to our NWECI’s innovative early childhood screening and monitoring tool, the Behavioral Health Screen. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Margy and they have two grown sons, Adam, a M.D.-Ph.D. student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Drew, a computer engineer living in Vancouver, WA.
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Michael Chewning, CPNP,
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Mike Chewning is a Portland native who completed his training as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner through the OHSU School of Nursing in 1978. He started his general pediatric practice at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma Washington in 1978. He returned to Portland to continue his practice of general pediatrics at the Emanuel Pediatric Clinic in 1980. For the next 26 years he delivered care to children and their families at the clinic while pursuing his interest in developmental and behavioral pediatrics. During these three decades he consulted on an ongoing basis with Dr David Willis, founder and director of the Northwest Early Childhood Institute. In June of 2006 Mike was invited to join the clinical staff at NWECI where he is currently providing behavioral and developmental pediatric consultation and ongoing case management. He is also helping to develop a video based parent training program and working with NWECI staff to develop community based programs for developmental screening and intervention.
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Suzanne Fullar, RN, MS, MPH, CPN
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Suzanne Fullar joined in the Institute in January 2008 and brings many years experience working with infants and toddlers and their families. The earliest years are critical in determining how children do later in life with genetic, medical, and environmental factors all playing a part in long term outcomes. Suzanne is passionate about intervening as early as possible in order to achieve optimal outcomes for babies and families. She is also committed to helping to bring about systems change so that all young children have the best possible start in life.
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Suzanne received her Bachelors degree in Nursing from the University of Rochester in 1976 and her Masters degree from the same Institution in 1980. She then worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner in community settings in both upstate New York and rural North Carolina. In 1990 Suzanne received her Masters in Public Health with a specialization in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As community transition coordinator for the University’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), she gained an appreciation of the complex needs of medically fragile infants during and after their hospitalization. For the last 11 years Suzanne worked for North Carolina’s Part C program which provides comprehensive developmental assessment and intervention services for infants and toddlers. As part of a multidisciplinary team she provided medical and neuro-developmental assessments for infants born prematurely, those with complex medical and genetic problems, and those with feeding and behavioral difficulties.
In 2005 Suzanne was chosen as a Zero to Three Harris Fellow based on her innovative work regarding medically fragile infants in socially high risk families. She moved to Portland in December 2007 to join the Institute. Suzanne is looking forward to exploring the Northwest and being able to visit her older son, Eric, and three grandchildren who live in Eugene. Her younger son, Michael, lives in New York City where he is a forensic psychiatrist.
Katherine Henderson, PA-C
Physician Assistant
Katie is a Certified Physician Assistant who joined the clinical team at the Hearing and Speech institute the fall 2007. She received her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from Pacific University in Hillsboro, Oregon and is a new transplant to Portland the area. Her graduate research project focused on Childhood Obesity and how familial choices possibly affected their child’s BMI. She is a member of the AAPA and CMDA and is licensed and credentialed in the state of Oregon.
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She is a native of Woodland California and was beckoned by the beauty of the Northwest to complete her undergraduate degree at Seattle Pacific University. While in Seattle she studied Biology, Psychology and Nutrition and spent several years in campus leadership and rowed for the SPU Crew team. Following undergraduate school she spent 3 years as an Intern at Westminster Chapel, focusing on High School women’s ministry where she spent time mentoring girls, leading international service teams and counseling youth dealing with eating disorders and other life challenges. She also spent 3 years providing patient care in general Pediatrics before entering Physician Assistant training.
Katie has a passion to connect with people of all ages and has specific interest in researching and cultivating resiliency in our families and helping young people discover their incredible potential. She plans to use her social and clinical experience with pediatrics and the Institute to create a unique treatment link to bring Developmental and Behavioral resources to the Pediatric Primary Care setting.
Katie lives in Tigard with her extraordinary husband, several outdoor squirrels and their garden gnome who keeps an eye on things. She enjoys running (even completing several marathons), hiking, camping, gardening and anything outdoors. She and her husband love to travel, welcome people into their home, and spend time with their church congregation of all ages in Lake Oswego.
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Lawrence T. Krupa, M.D.,
Behavioral Developmental Pediatrics
Before his association with the Hearing and Speech Institute Dr Krupa was a practicing Pediatrician at the Hillsboro Pediatric Clinic for almost 30 years. He has always had an interest in Developmental and Behavioral problems in children. He has been fortunate to have known and worked with Dr Willis for a long time, since their residency training at OHSU in Portland.
After Medical school at OHSU, Dr Krupa received Pediatric training at the US Army Hospital at The Presidio in San Francisco, California. He then spent three years in Stuttgart W Germany before returning to Portland. Having lived in Europe and traveled to many other places Dr Krupa and his wife, Lynn, feel the NorthWest is the best place to live anywhere.
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Dr Krupa and Lynn have three grown children and just this year, 2006, have been blessed with their first grandchild. They are looking forward to sharing many activities with him: boating, fishing, bird watching and hiking and biking to name a few.
Donna Spence-Kirchoff, M.D.,
Behavioral Developmental Pediatrics |
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Psychological Services
Charla Cunningham, LMFT, RDT
Family Therapist
Charla Cunningham is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist and Registered Drama Therapist new to the Portland area and to the Institute. Ms. Cunningham is nationally recognized for her work creating interventions that integrate child psychotherapy, drama therapy, and DIR/floor time, and is being added to our team by a generous grant from The Standard Charitable Foundation. Charla comes to us from the San Francisco bay area where she worked along side her nationally renowned mentor Dr. Barbara Kalmanson, developing DIR based drama programs to increase the social emotional-relationship capacities of children with special needs and their families. Charla was a founding faculty member and has been a senior therapist at the Oak Hill School in Marin City, CA for the past six years.
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Charla holds a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In addition, she has developed curriculum for adolescent offenders at MOVE (Men Overcoming Violence), has served as an adjunct faculty member of the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA, supervises graduate interns, and is a National Conference presenter.
Charla brings her passion for psychology, theater, and people to the Institute by creating new educational and play-based programs for families, and staff. She specializes in teaching children and adults how to play, and has an interest in expanding our services to include: "Time for Me" groups for siblings; "Re-charging your play muscle" for adults, and integrated community theater projects. When not at the Institute she spends time playing with her husband, two children and two dogs.
Sydney Ey, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Ey is a licensed clinical psychologist who provides individual and family therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Yale University and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont in 1993. While on internship at Judge Baker Childrenês Center and Boston Childrenês Hospital, Dr. Ey worked with children and families dealing with illness, injury, emotional or behavioral problems.
Prior to joining the Hearing and Speech Institute and Northwest Early Childhood Institute, Dr. Ey taught and supervised doctoral psychology students and interns as an associate professor at Pacific UniversityÕs School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Ey currently is also an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and provides educational workshops and counseling services to medical residents through OHSU's Resident Wellness Program. |
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Throughout her clinical work and research, Dr. Ey focuses upon understanding and promoting resilience in youth and adults especially when they are dealing with a significant stressful event or setback. Her research has included studying the development and importance of optimism and pessimism in youth, perfectionism and psychological distress in health professionals, and evaluation of client improvement in therapy.
Dr. Ey is committed to providing psychotherapy that empowers children and parents and promotes an optimistic attitude, healthy coping skills, and good relationships among family and friends. She has a particular interest in working with elementary school aged children who struggle with anxiety, sadness, or behavior problems. Her orientation is cognitive-behavioral³meaning she looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected with each other and how by changing oneês negative thoughts and behaviors, one can feel better and be more successful.
Dr. Ey is married and has two children. She loves reading, hiking, and traveling with her family. When she was growing up, some of her favorite books were Anne of Green Gables , Harriet the Spy, and Tintin.
Kris Hoeveler Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist
Dr. Hoeveler completed an undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, a Masters in Business Degree at New Hampshire College, and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Antioch New England Graduate School. She completed her clinical internship specializing in neuropsychology in Minnesota followed by a two-year postodoctoral fellowship in pediatric Neuropsychology at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, Illinois. Previous experience includes working as the program director for an early intervention (0-3) program in New Hampshire, assisting the State of New Hampshire in the implementation of PL 99-457 (later IDEA), and serving as the hearing officer for the state of New Hampshire for early intervention services.
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For the past 41/2 years Dr. Hoeveler worked as part of the Pediatric Development and Rehabilitation Program of Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital providing neuropsychological assessments for children with a variety of challenges including developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury, chronic illness, and cancer. She is a member of the medical staff of Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Dr. Hoeveler joined the staff of NWECI in April, 2006 and is now there full time. She provides neuropsychological assessments within the Developmental Home model.
Dr. Hoeveler lives with her husband and two cats in Northeast Portland. They have three adult children, and four grandchildren (none of whom live here). Aside from work she enjoys her husband’s cooking and attempts to stay in shape by speed walking. She takes oboe and voice lessons and enjoys time in the garden.
Jo Hussey, LCSW
Child and Family Therapist
Jo comes to her work as a play therapist from many years as an3 early childhood educator and preschool teacher. As a Montessori preschool and infant school teacher, she spent much time observing children and her work with parents led her to her passion to understand how we get to be who we are. Completing her Masters degree in Social Work at Portland State University in 1993, she has been working with children and families in a variety of settings since, including Parry Center s School Based services, Clackamas ESD Early Childhood Services, and private practice. A strong focus of her work has been studying attachment and how our earliest experiences shape who we are.
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Jo uses play therapy as a way to learn more about what a child’s internal world is and to give the child a place to understand themselves and their experience. “I often can be a bridge for parents to understand their children in new ways and love to work with parents closely.” She has worked with a broad spectrum of issues in children and families’ lives.
Jo is often assisted in her work by Ruby the wonder therapy dog.
Nancy Loss Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist
Dr. Loss has twenty-five years of experience working with people of all ages as a mental health counselor, family therapist, and psychologist. She earned a Masters degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of South Florida and worked in the mental health and addiction fields with adults, children, and families. She returned to school to pursue her doctorate in Clinical Child Psychology, earning degrees from The Ohio State University. After a clinical internship in Pediatric Psychology and a two-year post doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Neuropsychology at The Ohio State Medical School/Columbus Children’s Hospital, she and her family moved to Portland, Oregon.
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Dr. Loss was most recently at Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital, performing neuropsychological evaluations with children facing challenges due to developmental difference or medical issues like traumatic brain injury, cancer, or neurological illness.
Dr. Loss loves being a neuropsychologist and sees her role as both detective and translator. She works to uncover a child’s unique style of thinking and problem solving and translates these patterns to promote learning and growth. She enjoys working with parents, educators, physicians and other care providers in a “team” fashion. Areas of research include mother/child perceptions of life events and the cognitive challenges of children with spina bifida.
As a mother of three sons she is a true ‘soccer mom’ and you can find her more weekends than not on the sidelines of a game. She also enjoys gardening, swimming, hiking, and cheering for The Ohio State Buckeyes – Go Bucks! She and her husband claim the rare distinction of having lived in all three “O” states: Having done so, they intend to keep Portland their home.
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