Our Team

Our People

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Our experienced speech pathologists are distinguished clinicians and clinical educators. Collaborating with our speech pathology students, they offer a wide spectrum of evidence-based services to both children and adults, including providing comprehensive assessment reports for external organizations, such as the NDIS.

Dr Olga Birchall

Clinic Director

Olga Birchall is a speech pathologist with a passion for innovation, informed decision making, and equity in healthcare service delivery. Her role as Clinic Director at MSPC is underpinned by Olga’s commitment to compassionate care, service, and life-long learning.

Olga graduated from La Trobe university with first class honours in 2000, and over the past 23 years has worked in clinical care, clinical education, and leadership across multiple healthcare settings, including acute teaching hospitals in Australia (Royal Melbourne Hospital, Western Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital, Monash Medical Centre) and the UK (National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, and others). Since 2004 she has concurrently run a successful mobile Speech Pathology practice servicing adults living in the community, residential aged care homes (RACHs), and acute hospitals. Olga has had extensive experience in leading teams through service development, delivery, and evaluation across acute, rehabilitation, palliative care, community, and outreach settings.

In 2022 Olga completed PhD research, supported by the University of Melbourne (and funded by the Australian Government Research Training Scholarship) to generate evidence about onsite mobile flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (mFEES). Olga was the first provider of mobile instrumental swallowing assessment in Australia. Olga is also working to raise community, government, and professional awareness of mobile FEES by lobbying government ministers, health departments, through social media and by initiating the first international mFEES special interest group and research database. Olga has published research in international peer reviewed journals, presented at numerous conferences, and media platforms – including an award-winning online Speech Pathology media campaign, and being guest speaker on 774 ABC Melbourne.

Beyond speech pathology, Olga is grateful for her husband and two vivacious children. She enjoys hiking, pottering in her garden, Latin dancing, and getting lost in books. She is mindful of her personal journey as a consumer of healthcare services, the power of hope, and the value of striving for humility in delivering person-centred and timely healthcare.

Charlie Fraser

Practice Administrative Manager (acting)

Charlie is our Practice Administrative Co-ordinator who has recently joined us from Wellington, New Zealand. She thrives in people-based roles and loves helping people from all walks of life. Charlie has administration experience in the tertiary education sector, where she worked as a Regional Coordinator in a non-profit organisation. This involved enrolling individuals into vocational education and maintaining excellent internal and external relations for company-client agreements.

Charlie also has a passion for working with individuals with additional needs and has experience as a support worker in the disability sector. It was in this role that Charlie realised how much she enjoys helping out other people and providing the best care and service to those who need it.

Charlie is hugely enjoying working here in Melbourne and meeting so many different people, with diverse backgrounds, needs and perspectives.

Katerina Karavias

Practice Administrative Coordinator

Katerina recently joined the speech team after nearly two years of experience at our Dental Clinic. Before transitioning to the teaching clinics, she worked in the aged care sector, where she was responsible for coordinating and managing home care packages to ensure clients received the necessary care tailored to their needs. Katerina also spent several years in the film and TV industry, managing client content. This dynamic role allowed her to work with and oversee both Australian and international film projects. Throughout her career, Katerina has consistently focused on service delivery and prioritizing client needs to achieve the best outcomes. She is passionate about supporting the community and thrives on embracing new challenges. Katerina is excited to deepen her knowledge of speech therapy and make a positive impact on those she serves.

Emma White

Speech Pathologist

Emma completed a B.A. in Linguistics before completing a Masters of Speech Pathology at La Trobe University. She has almost 20 years of experience working with adults who require support with communication and/or swallowing across the continuum of care.

Emma’s area of expertise is the assessment and management of communication and swallowing disorders resulting from acquired and/or progressive brain injury, particularly aphasia and cognitive communication disorders. She is also interested in adult stuttering; gender affirming voice therapy; and in the intersection between mental health and communication. Emma is a diversity-affirming practitioner.

Emma champions the idea that communication is a basic human right and that the world would be a better place if everyone was able to express their needs, wants, thoughts and ideas effectively and respectfully.

Aislinn Twomey

Speech Pathologist

Aislinn is a graduate of the esteemed University College Cork in Ireland in 2018 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Language Therapy.

Her extensive career spans diverse healthcare settings, including acute hospitals, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) sector, and the community. These experiences have equipped Aislinn to offer adult and paediatric clients transformative care by focusing on each client’s unique needs and evidenced-based ways to improve function and quality-of-life.

Aislinn’s experience extends to clients with a variety of complex needs relating to ageing, acquired brain injuries (including stroke and traumatic brain injury), progressive neurological conditions (including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, motor neuron disease, and multiple sclerosis), head and neck cancer, and developmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disability. Her special interest lies in acquired brain injuries and progressive neurological conditions. Aislinn has advanced skills in the assessment and management oswallowing disorders, including instrumental swallowing assessment.

Aislinn also brings extensive knowledge to paediatric clients with developmental disabilities, such as autism, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. She embraces neurodiversity-affirming practices when collaborating with neurodivergent clients, creating a supportive and inclusive environment.

Aislinn has an interest in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), in low and high-tech forms. She understands the pivotal role that AAC plays in enabling clients with communication difficulties to express themselves effectively.

Her special interest lies in acquired brain injuries, progressive neurological conditions, late and young onset dementias and rare dementias.

With a heart dedicated to healing and a spirit dedicated to empowerment, Aislinn welcomes clients to experience the transformative impact of her care.

Rosie Zocco

Speech Pathologist

Rosie is experienced in providing articulation, phonology, language, voice, and social skills therapy for children with a range of complex needs, with a passion for treating stuttering. Rosie has worked extensively with both children and adults who stutter in her career, both in private practice and through the NDIS. She is an active member of the Stuttering Therapy Interest Group.

Rosie is also an experienced clinical educator, having coordinated both the adult and pediatric fluency programs at La Trobe University. She has a passion for clinical education and training the next generation of speech pathologists.

Outside of work Rosie loves spending time with her daughter, husband, and dog, drinking too much coffee, and singing.

Joanna Rassias

Speech Pathologist

Joanna is dedicated Paediatric Speech Pathologist and Clinical Educator with experience providing assessment and intervention to children across a variety of settings including schools, kindergartens, the NDIS sector, private practice and community environments.

Joanna completed her Masters of Speech Pathology at La Trobe University and also holds a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the University of Melbourne. Joanna has a passion for working across early intervention and school readiness. She has a wealth of experience in supporting children and teens with developmental delays and other complex care needs, who experience speech, language, fluency and literacy difficulties.

Joanna believes in holistic family centred care and works closely with children and their families to establish neuro-affirming, functional goals that make a meaningful difference in a child’s life. Joanna strongly values collaborating with care teams, teachers and educators to create inclusive and accesible learning environments. She has also completed additional training in evidence-based approaches such as the Lidcombe Program, DIR Floor Time (101), and the Family Partnership Model.

Joanna strives to provide a supportive and inclusive environment so that all children are empowered to communicate and participate in their community.

Ellie Woodruff

Speech Pathologist

Ellie is a speech pathologist from Wales with a warm and compassionate approach to care. She holds a Master of Speech Pathology from the University of Melbourne and began her career in the NDIS-sector before joining the team at MSPC. She was inspired to become a speech pathologist after learning about communication disorders as part of her undergraduate studies and developing a deep desire to help those who face challenges in expressing themselves.

Ellie is passionate about neurodiversity-affirming practice and has experience supporting neurodivergent individuals of all ages, including those with autism, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and bipolar disorder. She has also worked with individuals with physical conditions such as cerebral palsy and progressive neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease, helping them achieve their unique communication goals.

Ellie believes that building relationships and engagement are crucial for achieving the best outcomes. She strives to ensure that all individuals and families she supports feel valued, safe, and included in their care. Ellie prioritises helping her clients continue practising in the home environment to support ongoing progress and assists families in overcoming practical barriers they may face. Her clients have shared that they enjoy coming to speech therapy, appreciating the fun and meaningful sessions, as well as Ellie’s ability to build strong connections and make them feel at ease.

Outside of work, you will find Ellie running one of Melbourne’s many trails, swimming in the ocean, enjoying a long bike ride or enjoying a well-deserved pastry and a coffee afterwards.

BJ Shaw

Speech Pathologist

Originally from Adelaide, BJ is a 2024 graduate of the Master of Speech Pathology program at the University of Melbourne. Prior to commencing his studies, he worked as a sessional lecturer at the University of South Australia, in primary and secondary education settings, disability, and the arts as a singer, actor, composer and arts facilitator.

His previous experience has equipped him to providing compassionate, collaborative, meaningful and empowering care by understanding the needs and fostering positive connections with clients and their loved ones.

Outside of speech pathology BJ loves cooking and baking, playing piano and singing, and exploring new nature walks and all the experiences Melbourne has to offer.