Profectum Senior Faculty Sima Gerber is a professor of speech-language pathology in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders of Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Gerber has over 40 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Gerber is on the faculty of Profectum and the Advisory Board of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Dr. Gerber has presented nationally and abroad on the topics of language acquisition and developmental approaches to intervention for children with challenges in language development. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Service to the field of speech-language pathology given by the New York City Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Louis DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award from the New York State Association. Dr. Gerber has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Gilbert M. Foley, Ed.D., IMH-E serves as Consulting Clinical Psychologist at the New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) in New York City and Clinical Co- Director of the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC). He is Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health/ Clinical Mentor, Level IV and is a founding board member of the New York and Pennsylvania State Associations of Infant Mental Health. He is a senior faculty member of the DIR® Profectum Academy and core faculty member of the Psychodynamic Institute for Clinical Social work (Chicago). Dr Foley is a retired Associate Professor (tenured) of the School-Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Practice at Adelphi University. He served as Visiting Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center and was Director of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Foley is the co-author of four books and has written over 50 scholarly articles and chapters. Linking Sensory Integration and Mental Health: Nurturing Self-Regulation in Infants and Young Children has just been published by National Zero to Three. Dr. Foley lectures widely nationally and internationally.

Sherri Cawn, M.A., CCC-SLP, Principal Speech Language Pathologist and Senior Clinical Adviser( formerly owner/clinical director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates) of The Positive Development Company is a leading practitioner of the DIRFloortime® model and trains clinicians in the US and overseas. Sherri is the author of two ASHA self-study DVD's as well as senior faculty/trainer of the Profectum Online Academy. She co-authored The Profectum Parent Tool Kit, that provides free web-based seminars to guiding families  in learning Floortime in the comfort of their home.

Dr. Carol Westby, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a consultant for Bilingual Multicultural Services in Albuquerque, NM and holds an affiliated appointment in Communication Disorders at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. She is a fellow of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), has received the Honors of ASHA and the Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Achievement Award, and holds Board Certification in Child Language and Language Disorders. Dr. Westby has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Geneva College and the University of Iowa's Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology and the ASHA Award for Contributions to Multicultural Affairs. She is widely recognized for her development of the Westby Playscale, an assessment tool for young children. She had published and presented nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics including screen time and learning in the 21st century, assessing and facilitating play in children, theory of mind, narrative development, adverse childhood experiences, and issues in assessment and intervention with culturally/linguistically diverse populations. Dr. Westby has a BA in English from Geneva College and an MA and PhD in Speech Pathology from the University of Iowa.

Mary Ann O’Connell is a dedicated speech-language pathologist with over 25 years of experience as a pediatric clinician. Mary Ann’s area of expertise and interest is working with clients and families who present with a breadth and depth of individual differences. In addition to clinical work, Mary Ann has widespread experience as a supervisor and mentor with fellow speech-language pathologists and additional experience as a DIR® tutor and instructor with Profectum Academy and in private practice.

Mary Ann is on the faculty with Profectum Academy. In addition to DIR® training & teaching, she has taken several of Marge Blanc’s Natural Language Acquisition courses. She is trained in the PROMPT technique, and Oral-Motor training by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson MS, CCC-SLP. Mary Ann has presented at conferences, school in-services, and workplace training. 

Mary Ann’s leadership experience extends beyond clinical work. Mary Ann served as the chairperson for Profectum’s 2023 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Conference. She has also been a member of committees with Profectum Academy and Fielding Graduate School. 

Mary Ann is a doctoral student in the Infant and Early Childhood (IECD) program with an emphasis in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities at Fielding Graduate University. Her area of interest is studying gestures of autistic children.

Kristy is a licensed speech-language pathologist who has been working in a school setting since 2017. She received her master’s degree from Saint Xavier University and specializes in working with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder. Kristy is currently enrolled in Profectum's Level 2 Certificate Course and is anticipated to complete the training in August of 2024. 

Speech Language Pathologist working at Soaring Eagle Academy with students who have autism.

Amanda graduated from Saint Louis University in 2020 and went on to pursue a Master of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elmhurst University in 2022. She has been supporting the Intermediate Pod at Soaring Eagle Academic servicing adolescent aged children for the past two years. During her time at Soaring Eagle she has gained experience using the DIR Model and ways to integrate developmental thinking in a dynamic clinical environment. 

Kelsi graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor's in Linguistics and Psychology, then went on to complete a Master's in Speech, Language, and Learning at Northwestern University. She has experience as an SLP in school, private clinic, and Early Intervention settings. Kelsi joined Soaring Eagle Academy in 2023, serving students in their Early Learning and Transition programs.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. Michele is one of three founders of Soaring Eagle Academy, a school for children with special needs that utilizes developmental language intervention and the DIR® model. In addition, she has a private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago. Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University (1995).

I have been employed at Soaring Eagle Academy since May of 2019. Here I realized my love for speech and decided to go back to school in order to pursue a career in the field. Unfortunately, Covid hit and delayed my plans, so I opted for an SLPA course during this time. Thankfully, Soaring Eagle has allowed me to continue developing my love for speech and language and everything within the field.

Courtney Sullivan is a licensed speech and language pathologist who has been working with children in clinical and school settings since 2012. She received her undergraduate degree from Augustana College and her masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Courtney has experience working with children birth to 22 who present with a variety of speech and language disorders including: language disorders, speech-sound disorders, social-pragmatic disorders, and feeding disorders. She is passionate about her work with children on the autism spectrum and currently works with the high school population at Soaring Eagle Academy. Courtney has completed the DIR® Certificate Level 1 and DIR® Certificate Level 2 courses through Profectum.

Kalina Waszak has worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Soaring Eagle Academy for 9 years. She works with students ranging in age from 3-22 years. Kalina is the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Coordinator for Soaring Eagle Academy providing evaluations, implementation plans, and trainings on AAC usage within Developmental Language and DIR® models throughout the school. She has a passion for providing students, staff, and families with the skills to implement AAC with students in a way that is positive, encouraging, and appropriate for the student's individual language profile.

Liesl is a Neurodiversity affirming SLP and Clinical Leader with 25 years of experience supporting autistic children, their families and their care providers. She is the Regional Clinical Director for Positive Development of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Positive Development is a multi-disciplinary clinic with a mission to provide high quality and affordable developmental services to families of autistic children as well as high quality training and support to the professionals who serve them. She is the proud mom of two children - one of whom is neurodivergent - and lives with her sweet and silly family in Washington DC.

Jordan Sadler, MS CCC-SLP, works as a Lead Speech-Language Pathologist for Positive Development in Chicago. With more than 25 years of experience with developmental, relationship-based practices, Jordan has worked in public and private schools, ran a private practice in San Francisco and Chicago, and was a member of Northwestern University's pediatric clinical faculty before moving to Positive Development in 2022.

Dr. Carol Westby, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a consultant for Bilingual Multicultural Services in Albuquerque, NM and holds an affiliated appointment in Communication Disorders at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. She is a fellow of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), has received the Honors of ASHA and the Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Achievement Award, and holds Board Certification in Child Language and Language Disorders. Dr. Westby has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Geneva College and the University of Iowa's Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology and the ASHA Award for Contributions to Multicultural Affairs. She is widely recognized for her development of the Westby Playscale, an assessment tool for young children. She had published and presented nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics including screen time and learning in the 21st century, assessing and facilitating play in children, theory of mind, narrative development, adverse childhood experiences, and issues in assessment and intervention with culturally/linguistically diverse populations. Dr. Westby has a BA in English from Geneva College and an MA and PhD in Speech Pathology from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Carol Westby, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a consultant for Bilingual Multicultural Services in Albuquerque, NM and holds an affiliated appointment in Communication Disorders at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. She is a fellow of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), has received the Honors of ASHA and the Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Achievement Award, and holds Board Certification in Child Language and Language Disorders. Dr. Westby has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Geneva College and the University of Iowa's Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology and the ASHA Award for Contributions to Multicultural Affairs. She is widely recognized for her development of the Westby Playscale, an assessment tool for young children. She had published and presented nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics including screen time and learning in the 21st century, assessing and facilitating play in children, theory of mind, narrative development, adverse childhood experiences, and issues in assessment and intervention with culturally/linguistically diverse populations. Dr. Westby has a BA in English from Geneva College and an MA and PhD in Speech Pathology from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Profectum Senior Faculty Sima Gerber is a professor of speech-language pathology in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders of Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Gerber has over 40 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Gerber is on the faculty of Profectum and the Advisory Board of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Dr. Gerber has presented nationally and abroad on the topics of language acquisition and developmental approaches to intervention for children with challenges in language development. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Service to the field of speech-language pathology given by the New York City Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Louis DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award from the New York State Association. Dr. Gerber has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. Michele is one of three founders of Soaring Eagle Academy, a school for children with special needs that utilizes developmental language intervention and the DIR® model. In addition, she has a private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago. Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University (1995).

Cindy is a Speech Language Pathologist and President and CEO of ACT Learning Centre. Cindy's area of clinical focus is the provision of assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder, disorders of relating and communicating, intellectual disabilities, global developmental delays. 
Cindy is also Senior Faculty for Profectum and has taught in Profectum’s Training Program educating occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, psychologists, educators and physicians in the use of the DIR model in their practice settings. Cindy is a well-known public speaker who trains and educates clinicians and parents in North America and abroad.
Cindy believes that it is essential to make parents an integral part of intervention and that together with the therapists, parents should be seen as “co-quarterbacks” in the treatment process.
Cindy holds Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Vermont. She is very active in her community and serves on a number of Boards and community associations. 

Linda Cervenka is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescents with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® and development language models. She has a private practice in Riverside, Illinois providing mentoring, teaching, case management/guidance and direct service.   Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders.  She serves as an Expert Clinician/Trainer at the Academy.   Linda received her Bachelor's Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master's Degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for over 35 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.  Additionally, within the Academy and through private consultations, Linda helps parents/caregivers and school programs understand a developmental approach to dysregulation seeing the child’s actions as a stress response versus “behaviors” that are intentional and to avoid/escape learning.  The primary areas of support include training all stakeholders in the child’s developmental process including but not limited to the child’s language comprehension profile, recognizing and reading their subtle communicative intentions and understanding their individual sensory, affective and motor systems during a stress response. 

I am a speech-language pathologist who has done clinical work for over 24 years. I have worked in private schools that support children with disabilities, I have worked in early intervention, and I continue to do private work in people's homes. I have been privileged to head the speech department at Celebrate The Children for over 10 years. I am a strong advocate for children having access to language.I continue to challenge myself to keep current with new treatment paradigms to increase the tools I may use to help children reach their maximum potential.

Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.

Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.

She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment  Project and  the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.

Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three,  Girl Scouts of America  Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.

At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.

Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information

https://www.rubymoyesalazar.com/

Lynn Abelson is a speech-language pathologist at Therapy Associates, and early intervention system comprehensive agency. She provides speech-language intervention to neurodiverse toddlers in their home and daycare settings and partners with their caregivers. Lynn also provides private DIR®-based speech-language intervention to children with developmental differences and works closely with their families. She has extensive experience in DIR® program development, leadership, and staff training at The Phoenix Center, a special education school that serves students ages 5-21. She was a speech language specialist and DIR® program manager at this school for 19 years. Additionally, Lynn is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and a member of its Faculty Promotion Committee.

Marilee Burgeson, M.A. CCC-SLP, Developmental Speech Therapist and Clinical Consultant. Marilee has 30 years of experience in early intervention with the San Diego County Office of Education. She was the team leader of the Autism Services Team for 15 years, which was recognized for outstanding service by the San Diego North County Consortium for Special Education. Marilee has been a part of DIR® training and supervision since 1996. She is a faculty member with Profectum Foundation and teaches online classes and individual mentoring.

Currently, she is Clinical Lead for Positive Development, a nationwide organization providing developmental intervention in a transdisciplinary format. Marilee is in private practice serving families and young Autistic children in their homes. She has been a part of the San Diego BRIDGE Collaborative, which is a community collaborative group that has brought together researchers, practitioners and stakeholders to provide Project Impact for Toddlers as a community-based option for our young children at risk for disorders of communicating and relating.

This collaborative effort has been funded for numerous research grants and has resulted in number of published papers highlighting the effectiveness of this model from a number of perspectives. Marilee is also a founding member of the California Association for Infant Mental Health and is a member of the Early Childhood Mental Health Leaders Collaborative in San Diego. She is passionate about transforming the practice of professionals in the DIR® model and coaching parents connecting with their child through meaningful shared experiences.

Mari is a retired speech and language pathologist who has worked for 45 years in Ireland in areas of speech, language and communication pediatric practice. Mari has also followed further specialized training, which includes Montessori, Integrated Psychotherapy, Sensory Integration, MBSR Mindfulness Training, and SCERTS. She has completed the certification process in the DIRFloortime® Relationship-based Model of intervention in the USA, under the direction of Dr. Serena Wieder and Dr. Stanley Greenspan, between 2002 and 2007. 

She is a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists and has offered international training, mentoring and university lecturing throughout her career.

Linda Cervenka is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescents with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® and development language models. She has a private practice in Riverside, Illinois providing mentoring, teaching, case management/guidance and direct service.   Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders.  She serves as an Expert Clinician/Trainer at the Academy.   Linda received her Bachelor's Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master's Degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for over 35 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.  Additionally, within the Academy and through private consultations, Linda helps parents/caregivers and school programs understand a developmental approach to dysregulation seeing the child’s actions as a stress response versus “behaviors” that are intentional and to avoid/escape learning.  The primary areas of support include training all stakeholders in the child’s developmental process including but not limited to the child’s language comprehension profile, recognizing and reading their subtle communicative intentions and understanding their individual sensory, affective and motor systems during a stress response. 

Tyler P. Choate is a Speech-Language Pathologist, Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, and developmental science doctoral student and researcher at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Across domains, Tyler's work is developmental, relationship-centered, trauma- informed, and justice oriented. As an SLP, Tyler serves children and families navigating difficulties with meaning-making. As an I/ECMH consultant, Tyler provides reflective supervision for clinicians, educators, and other professionals who care for children and families. As a researcher, he studies early adversity born out of systems-level oppression like racism, violence, and poverty. Additionally, he studies autobiographical memory and how individuals, families, and communicates can harness the power of reminiscing.. His work is focused on resilience and how we can use storytelling to buffer the effects of early stress and adversity.

Socorro Cornejo  has a degree in Speech Therapy (Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina). She has +25 years of experience in evaluation and intervention of people with challenges in the development of communication, language and/or speech using therapeutic approaches from a relational and evolutionary perspective.

She is certified in the DIRFloortime® therapeutic model at ICDL (International Council on Development and Learning) and at the Profectum Foundation, United States. She is also a teacher (Faculty Assistant) at the Profectum foundation.

She is a trainer of the FAN approach (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) at the Erikson Institute in Chicago, a resource that facilitates accompaniment to families in an empathetic and collaborative way.

She has been a volunteer at the Institute on Disabilities and Human Development, at the University of Chicago (United States).

At the same time, she has training in other resources mediated through parents such as the PACT approach (Pre-School Autism Communication Trial) from the University of Manchester in England and the IMPACT approach, a support program for families with children with disabilities. autism and other challenges in the development of social communication.

She also has experience and Postgraduate studies in Augmentative and Alternative Communication in AEDIN and the Prompt approach (Points for the Restructuring of Oral and Phonetic Muscular Objectives).

She is the mother of 3 young people; She's argentine; She resides in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Nora D’Angiola is a speech-language pathologist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has specialized in psycholinsguitiscs, in language development and language disorders, in programs of transdisciplinary Assessment and Intervention in early childhood and in particular, in working with infants and children with pervasive developmental disorders. She has experience as a clinician as well as a university professor and researcher, both in Argentina as in the USA, where she has resided for more than 15 years. Nora has been an attending clinician at Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires and has been on the staff at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, CA, and at the Pasadena Unified School District, CA. She has been a professor at UMSA (Universidad del Museo Social Argentino) in Buenos Aires, at CSUN (California State University, Northridge, CA ) and has been a research assistant at NPI, UCLA.

Nora is a member of ASHA (American Speech and hearing Association). She holds a DIR® Certificate and served as a Training Leader at ICDL. She has co-coordinated numerous trainings in the DIRFloortime® in Argentina, both at FLENI and at UAI (Universidad Abierta Interamericana), in Buenos Aires and across the country. She provides DIR® model-based interventions to children and their families and supervises and consults with professional teams working with children with special needs. She is a visiting professor at UMSA.

Caroline Ferguson-Walsh is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of BEAR Pediatric Speech & Language Therapy, based in Chicago, Illinois. Caroline is a member of the American Speech & Hearing Association (ASHA) and Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC). She holds a position as a Faculty Member of Profectum Foundation and is a DIR-FCD™ Expert Clinician, Tutor and Trainer. Caroline is a presenter for the Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois (2020- 2023) and is a credentialed instructor for conferences, trainings and professional certification courses through Profectum (2015-2023). She is committed to community outreach and provides local and regional trainings on supporting families of children with communication disorders. 

Caroline has worked in a multitude of settings including pediatric hospitals, early childhood facilities, schools, homes and private practice in the United States, Canada and Ireland. Her clinical focus includes providing assessments and treatment to children with developmental delays, autism and disorders of relating and communicating. Her work is supported by her training in DIR-FCD™, Hanen® and the Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S) Approach to Feeding. She is dedicated to coaching and supporting families to be an integral part of the clinical team.

Cortney is a speech-language pathologist and infant/early childhood mental health consultant with a special interest in illuminating the connection between communication and other developmental domains, especially in the context of relationships. She earned her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine in 2003 and MA in Communication Disorders from Northwestern University in 2008.

Cortney owns a private practice in Chicago, Grove Communication Therapy, which operates in collaboration with a transdisciplinary team providing therapy and in-depth evaluations using the DIRFloortime® model. In 2019, Cortney qualified as a trainer and expert clinician in DIR-FCD™ through Profectum Foundation and later went on to be named Assistant Faculty at Profectum. Cortney completed the Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health program at Erikson Institute in 2021 and is a credentialed I/ECMH consultant through the Illinois Association of Infant Mental Health. 

Cortney presents and mentors on various topics related to development, communication, and relationship-based work. One-on-one and small group mentoring is one of her favorite ways to support other clinicians in their use of integrated, transdisciplinary work that centers relationships. She is honored to be a member of Profectum’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion conference committee which puts together rich programming around DEI in relationship-based work each year. Cortney has an incredibly supportive partner and three young children at home who are her favorite instructors in all it means to be human, along with a rambunctious newfypoo who reminds her every day about the importance of remaining joyfully in the present moment.

Liesl is a Neurodiversity affirming SLP and Clinical Leader with 25 years of experience supporting autistic children, their families and their care providers. She is the Regional Clinical Director for Positive Development of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Positive Development is a multi-disciplinary clinic with a mission to provide high quality and affordable developmental services to families of autistic children as well as high quality training and support to the professionals who serve them. She is the proud mom of two children - one of whom is neurodivergent - and lives with her sweet and silly family in Washington DC.

Chithra has been practicing as a Speech Language therapist in Singapore for more than 26 years. She has worked in adult rehab, the children’s hospital and private practice. Her experience includes adult & geriatric neurology, neonatal care, congenital and developmental disorders. She is passionate about social pragmatic approaches and a developmental model to engaging and shaping the individual from within. This passion lead her to find ‘Connect and Communicate’ in 2013, a center dedicated to social communication.

She is Hanen™ certified in It Takes Two to Talk™ (1997), More Than Words™ (2003) and Talkability™ (2010) programs. She presented the inaugural More Than Words™ program in Singapore in 2003 and has conducted regular Hanen® parent training programs since. Chithra was introduced to Social Thinking® in 2005 and attended mentorship and training with the founder Michelle Garcia Winner in 2006 and 2008. She was invited to be a member of the Social Thinking® Training and Speakers Collaborative in 2012, and is their trainer for the region. She has presented on Social Thinking in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.

In 2003, Chithra was introduced to DIR® Floortime™ and has pursued it since. She sought intensive mentoring in the model from senior faculty. She has presented to senior faculty at DIR® Institutes in the US. In 2012, she qualified as a DIR® Floortime™ Expert with ICDL. In 2013, she was in the inaugural DIR® Trainer program with Dr. Serena Wieder. Chithra is associate Profectum Faculty and has taught on their online professional certification program, as well as tutored professionals world-wide. She co-presented a DIR® workshop in Australia with Senior DIR® Faculty.  She has also presented several DIR-Floortime® trainings in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and India.

In her practice, Chithra works with kids as young as infants all the way to young adults and older. She works with a broad spectrum of functioning, from significantly challenged non-verbal to twice exceptional gifted individuals. Her diverse caseload has helped her appreciate development in all its colours and explore the application of DIR® across the lifespan. Chithra firmly believes our intervention will only be as effective as our understanding of the individual and his or her family support system. DIR® has helped inform, define and integrate all other approaches within her practice.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. Michele is one of three founders of Soaring Eagle Academy, a school for children with special needs that utilizes developmental language intervention and the DIR® model. In addition, she has a private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago. Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University (1995).

Jehan is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has collaborated with and supported children and their families for over thirty-five years. Jehan is the Founder, Director, and Senior Clinician with Clinical Communication Consultants for over twenty years. A family-focused private practice of developmental Speech-Language and Social Communication services overseeing since 1996 over 600 Families. Families with preschoolers and school aged children described as Autistic or with oral-motor speech and language delays/disorders, and social interaction and communication differences.

Jehan Shehata Aboubakr graduated with Honours in 1972 from the American University in Cairo; Faculty of Arts, Sociology, Anthropology & Psychology Department, with a Major in Psychology followed by post graduate Anthropological studies in Culture and Personality, and in Medical Anthropology. She worked and practiced as well as received didactic training for 4 years in a Family-Based Psychoanalytical Clinic with & under the eminent Dr. Mohammed Shaalan. In 1985 she received with Honours a post graduate diploma in Communication Disorders from Ain Shams Medical University; Unite of Phoniatrics and Communication Disorders. Cairo, Egypt.

Jehan Shehata Aboubakr is currently residing in Toronto, Canada and is a long-standing member of SAC and IALP

Mrs. Shehata Aboubakr received training in and practiced the Hanen-Parent Mediator Model under Ayala Manolson and was certified as Senior Hanen Speech-Language Pathologist in 1990. In collaboration with Ayala Manolson, she translated ‘CARING CONNECTION” into Arabic, and it was published. She worked at the Speech Foundation of Ontario providing therapeutic intervention in group settings with Debra Hidden 1991 – 1999. She was certified as Oral-Motor Speech Level II PROMPT user in 1996. She received training since 2000 under Serena Weider and Stanley Greenspan in the DIRFloortime® Model and Approach as well as mentored by Ruby Salazar and Sima Gerber. She is currently teaching as a Training Leader with ICDL and as Faculty with Profectum Academy. 

Yuta Weiss is a Speech-Language Pathologist in private practice. She oversees the related services at Integrated Therapy which is comprised of a team of DIR® trained SLP’s and OT’s. She is also the clinical director for Firefly Learning Center (FLC) which is based in Lakewood, NJ. FLC is an early childhood program that services children with autism spectrum disorders and developmental challenges ranging in age from 18 months through five years. FLC was created with a goal to provide DIRFloortime® services in an educational setting where teams of professionals’ work with each child within the program. Yuta oversees the clinical team which is comprised of a classroom teacher, teacher assistant, DIR® supervisor, Floortime player, BCBA, OT, SLP, MH. Yuta also supports DIR® in local mainstream schools by training Floortime players to work and advocate for struggling students and provides education for local teachers and principals.

Rebecca Berg, MS, OTR/L, IMH-E® has been serving young children and their families since 1999. From her origins as an early childhood educator, she went on to complete her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from New York University in 2008. Rebecca completed an Infant Mental Health externship in 2018 and will finish the Napa Infant-Parent Mental Health Fellowship in spring 2024. She is endorsed by the Washington Association of Infant Mental Health.

Her professional home is Cooper House, an infant mental health practice in Seattle, WA, where she serves children birth-five and their families, providing equity-centered, developmentally-minded, and relationship-focused occupational therapy services. She serves the clinical team in the role of Integrated Clinical Model Lead, working to develop and expand their unique transdisciplinary mental health and occupational therapy assessment and intervention model. In addition to her clinical work, Rebecca provides training and consultation for parents, teachers, and other professionals in the community. She has lectured locally and nationally, including Profectum, Zero to Three, the Barnard Center for Infant Mental Health, and the Washington Occupational Therapy Association. She is committed to advocacy for policy change reflecting social justice, trauma-responsive practices, and relational health in her writing and participation in committees and work groups. 

From her first conference in 1999, Rebecca has embraced the remarkable power of the DIR® model to describe social emotional development and support the formation of robust relational health. She attended the Institute in 2008 & 2011, completed Fellows in 2014, Trainers in 2020 and has benefitted from countless hours of training, master classes, and mentoring sessions by so many of the visionary faculty members. She is thrilled for the opportunity to contribute to the future of Profectum. 

Among Rebecca’s many professional interests: the influence of praxis on the development of self & agency, working memory and theory of mind in development, the bi-directional influence of attachment and developmental differences, embodied parental reflective functioning, trauma, social justice and neurodiversity affirming practice.

Breindy has a master’s in special education. She has been involved in the field of special education in numerous capacities. She worked one on one with students and was a classroom teacher as well. Currently, Breindy focuses on Early childhood development through DIR® practice in a school setting.

Breindy works as a DIR® practitioner at the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence located in New Jersey. It’s a school that provides special educational services to children with a variety of diagnoses and levels of functioning. Breindy is assisting her students in their social and emotional development as well as ensuring that their learning opportunities are in line with their developmental capacities.  

Breindy is passionate about bringing out each students’ potential by supporting their individual profile and tailoring interactions and connecting to them in a real and meaningful way.

Breindy is highly creative and enjoys expressing herself through artistic projects. She lives in Lakewood, New Jersey with her husband and three little girls.

Jeannie Gutierrez, Ph.D. Is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of clinical and consulting experience, working in Chicago, Illinois.  She works in a collaborative practice with occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and learning specialists to support the development and mental health of children and families with diverse neurodivergent profiles.

Occupational therapist with certification in DIRFloortime® and Sensory Integration from USC Chan.

Dr. Michele Havens received her Ed.D. degree from Rutgers University, is certified in DIRFloortime® and is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She is a DIRFloortime® Consultant at Imagine Academy, a Brooklyn ABA/DIR® program. Dr. Havens is Professor Emeritus from Kean University, Montclair State University and Daemen College, advocate and private interventionist for children with special needs, and Autism parent support group. Facilitator.  Dr. Havens was previously the coordinator of the Verona, NJ Preschool Disabled Program.

Jennifer Hein is the occupational therapy Supervisor and DIR® model Expert Clinician at Soaring Eagle Academy. As an occupational therapist for 18 years, she has worked in private practice and the school setting specializing working with children and families using the DIRFloortime® and sensory integration theoretical models. She is SIPT certified and has completed the DIR® model certification receiving trainer status through the Interdisciplinary Council of Development and Learning and Profectum Organization. She has served in a variety of leadership roles throughout her career including supervisor of program development, lead clinical supervisor, clinical director of a private practice as well as starting her own practice. In these roles, she has focused on developing programs to support caregiver-child interactions through incorporating innovative and unique occupational therapy interventions individualized to meet the needs of families. In addition to helping parents understand the unique and individual sensory and motor profiles of his/her child, Jennifer is passionate about teaching health care professionals and has supervised and mentored numerous professionals throughout her career. She has provided direct training, supervision and coaching to professionals including occupational therapy students, occupational therapists, teachers, mental health workers, speech language pathologists, physical therapists, and paraprofessionals. In addition, she has co-taught a class in Developmental Interventions at the Erikson Institute of Chicago. She has also presented numerous presentations throughout her career around Chicago and in the Washington, DC area. She was chosen to present a poster presentation at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy in Santiago, Chile in 2010.

Maureen Karwowski serves as the Vice President of Clinical services at Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley. She is a graduate of Western Michigan University’s Occupational Therapy program with more than 25 years of experience working with children. Her experience has included work with children with a variety of diagnosis, including autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, sensory processing disorders, and feeding issues. Maureen has provided treatment in settings such as an early intervention program, a children’s hospital, schools, as well as out-patient therapy centers. Maureen holds a certificate in in Neurodevelopmental Treatment Techniques (NDT) as well as completing the requirements for her trainer’s certificate in Developmental Individualized Relationship Based treatment (DIR®) from Profectum. Maureen incorporates this DIR® training as well as the NDT training to children with autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing disorders as well as children with feeding challenges. 

Beth Osten, MS, PhD, OTR/L is a lifelong clinician with interests in clinical consultation and research. She is Chief Clinical Advisor at Positive Development, a DRBI autism services company. Beth speaks internationally on DRBI, autism, sensory processing, regulatory disorders, interpersonal connectedness, and parent mediated intervention. She is recognized as an expert training leader for DIRFloortime® and co-authored of the Test of Infant Motor Performance.  Beth’s PhD is in Infant and Early Childhood Development with an emphasis on infant mental health and developmental disorders. Her research examined mother-child  connectedness in preschool children with and without autism. She examined the validity of a clinical tool, the Connection Coder, to easily assess interpersonal connectedness to better understand mother child interaction.

I am an early childhood educator with 34 years of experience as a general and special educator. My commitment to my students and my love of learning brought me to Profectum's DIR® courses. I continue to explore best practices in helping all students and share the information with other educators and parents.

Diane Selinger, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice, who works with children, adolescents and adults. She is a  faculty member of Profectum Academy and of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis (CCP).  For many years, she was the mental health consultant at Beth Osten and Associates, a multidisciplinary pediatric clinic. She continues to be a mental health consultant at Soaring Eagle Academy and to provide individual and group consultation. 

Susan Smith-Foley, OTD, MPA, OTR/L is the Clinical Director of Positive Development’s Cherry Hill and Lakewood, NJ Therapy Centers. She has expertise on the provision of transdisciplinary DIR®/DRBI services and frequently lectures on this topic. Susan is passionate about integrating the DIR® model into school and community settings. She completed a post-professional doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy (OTD) at The University of Kansas Medical Center in December 2018. Susan is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum Academy.

Cindy is a Speech Language Pathologist and President and CEO of ACT Learning Centre. Cindy's area of clinical focus is the provision of assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder, disorders of relating and communicating, intellectual disabilities, global developmental delays. 
Cindy is also Senior Faculty for Profectum and has taught in Profectum’s Training Program educating occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, psychologists, educators and physicians in the use of the DIR model in their practice settings. Cindy is a well-known public speaker who trains and educates clinicians and parents in North America and abroad.
Cindy believes that it is essential to make parents an integral part of intervention and that together with the therapists, parents should be seen as “co-quarterbacks” in the treatment process.
Cindy holds Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Vermont. She is very active in her community and serves on a number of Boards and community associations. 

Gilbert M. Foley, Ed.D., IMH-E serves as Consulting Clinical Psychologist at the New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) in New York City and Clinical Co- Director of the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC). He is Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health/ Clinical Mentor, Level IV and is a founding board member of the New York and Pennsylvania State Associations of Infant Mental Health. He is a senior faculty member of the DIR® Profectum Academy and core faculty member of the Psychodynamic Institute for Clinical Social work (Chicago). Dr Foley is a retired Associate Professor (tenured) of the School-Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Practice at Adelphi University. He served as Visiting Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center and was Director of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Foley is the co-author of four books and has written over 50 scholarly articles and chapters. Linking Sensory Integration and Mental Health: Nurturing Self-Regulation in Infants and Young Children has just been published by National Zero to Three. Dr. Foley lectures widely nationally and internationally.

Jennifer Hein is the occupational therapy Supervisor and DIR® model Expert Clinician at Soaring Eagle Academy. As an occupational therapist for 18 years, she has worked in private practice and the school setting specializing working with children and families using the DIRFloortime® and sensory integration theoretical models. She is SIPT certified and has completed the DIR® model certification receiving trainer status through the Interdisciplinary Council of Development and Learning and Profectum Organization. She has served in a variety of leadership roles throughout her career including supervisor of program development, lead clinical supervisor, clinical director of a private practice as well as starting her own practice. In these roles, she has focused on developing programs to support caregiver-child interactions through incorporating innovative and unique occupational therapy interventions individualized to meet the needs of families. In addition to helping parents understand the unique and individual sensory and motor profiles of his/her child, Jennifer is passionate about teaching health care professionals and has supervised and mentored numerous professionals throughout her career. She has provided direct training, supervision and coaching to professionals including occupational therapy students, occupational therapists, teachers, mental health workers, speech language pathologists, physical therapists, and paraprofessionals. In addition, she has co-taught a class in Developmental Interventions at the Erikson Institute of Chicago. She has also presented numerous presentations throughout her career around Chicago and in the Washington, DC area. She was chosen to present a poster presentation at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy in Santiago, Chile in 2010.

Mary Ann O’Connell is a dedicated speech-language pathologist with over 25 years of experience as a pediatric clinician. Mary Ann’s area of expertise and interest is working with clients and families who present with a breadth and depth of individual differences. In addition to clinical work, Mary Ann has widespread experience as a supervisor and mentor with fellow speech-language pathologists and additional experience as a DIR® tutor and instructor with Profectum Academy and in private practice.

Mary Ann is on the faculty with Profectum Academy. In addition to DIR® training & teaching, she has taken several of Marge Blanc’s Natural Language Acquisition courses. She is trained in the PROMPT technique, and Oral-Motor training by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson MS, CCC-SLP. Mary Ann has presented at conferences, school in-services, and workplace training. 

Mary Ann’s leadership experience extends beyond clinical work. Mary Ann served as the chairperson for Profectum’s 2023 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Conference. She has also been a member of committees with Profectum Academy and Fielding Graduate School. 

Mary Ann is a doctoral student in the Infant and Early Childhood (IECD) program with an emphasis in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities at Fielding Graduate University. Her area of interest is studying gestures of autistic children.

Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.

Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.

She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment  Project and  the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.

Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three,  Girl Scouts of America  Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.

At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.

Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information

https://www.rubymoyesalazar.com/

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.