Meet the team
Katie received her Masters of Science in Education from Portland State University, specializing in Special Education and General Education. Katie is married with two children and enjoys spending time with family and friends. She loves reading, crafting and exploring the outdoors.
Prior to establishing Northwest Neurodevelopment Center, Katie worked for 11 years in public education with preschool, elementary, middle school, and high school age students. She is currently licensed and has taught in both special education and general education classrooms. Katie has provided extensive mentoring and teacher in-service training workshops. She has a working knowledge with students who experience specific learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, language impairments, ADHD, and behavioral concerns, as well as those individuals considered on the Autism Spectrum. Katie has also had experience working with students considered “at-risk.”
Katie case managed and worked with parents, students, and school staff to evaluate and develop individualized education plans that assist students in accessing and becoming successful within the general education curriculum. During her time in public education, Katie has served many roles including Teacher Leader and Mentor, Learning Specialist, Inclusion Specialist, Educational Consultant, and Autism Consultant. She has a great understanding from a parent perspective as she has a young child with special needs. Katie believes strongly in supporting students and their families as a team.
Katie Jackson, M.S.Ed
Owner, Special Educator, Educational Consultant and Advocate
Heather has four children, three cats, and one giant dog. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and friends but is a huge supporter of staying in, wearing pajamas and reading books.
As an educational professional with a commitment to delivering dynamic education and training programs that support the development and enhance the educational experiences, Heather was immediately drawn to our team here at Northwest Neurodevelopment Center LLC. Heather possesses an unparalleled ability to assess the needs of diverse groups and sustain a compelling learning environment for all levels of students. She is dedicated to developing and administering customized instruction to meet the student’s individual needs.
Heather worked in special education at public schools for 5 years. Prior to working in the school, Heather spent 8 years working as a life skills coach for children, teens, and adults with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Believing in person-centered plans and presenting each new encounter with its own unique style.
Heather Deisner
Instructional Specialist
Rebekah is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#T1450) in Portland specializing in working with children and families. She is trained in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) and in DIR/Floortime therapy, a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to working with children, especially those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other sensory processing differences. The work that Rebekah does with individuals, families, and parent-child relationships is influenced by interpersonal neurobiology and current research on attachment theory and mind-body integration. Rebekah loves supporting parents and families as they confront new diagnoses or work through new challenges that come with each stage of development.
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To learn more about Rebekah and her services visit www.rebekahsprings.com
Rebekah Springs, LMFT
Independent Practitioner
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Cory Coleman
Independent Practitioner
Social Independence Coach
Cory Coleman is a social independence coach specializing in helping young people reach their individual goals. Her work is based on relationship and trust-building. She believes the greatest successes come when young people feel that they are heard and understood. Only then are they able to take risks and move past their comfort zones. She offers one on one sessions, as well as community outings, and work experience through volunteering.
Cory has worked in public school special education for over 15 years. She has experience teaching and case managing students with a variety of differences from sensory issues, anxiety concerns, attention problems, learning disabilities, and more.
She is married with 4 grown children and will soon be a grandma! As the mother of students with their own learning differences, she has been on the other side of the table at IEP meetings and has a deep understanding of how difficult it can be to navigate the special education process.
Click on this link to learn more about Cory and her unique services: www.headwaypdx.com
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Michele is co-director, co-owner and speech and language pathologist at FoundationSCLL. She earned a BA degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at William Paterson University (NJ) a MA degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Montclair State University (NJ) and a MA degree in Autism at Grand Canyon University (AZ). Michele's years of experience in the field of pediatric speech and language therapy has prepared her to coordinate proven practices with new technologies in creative ways that help children succeed in today's world. Michele has 30 years experience in evaluating and implementing programs for children with Receptive/Expressive Language Delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Articulation Disorders, Phonological Disorders, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Language and Literacy Delays, Neurogenic Disorders, Attention Deficit, Auditory Processing, Down Syndrome, and Developmental Coordination Disorder. Michele is Licensed by the Oregon Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and the NJ Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee. She also holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association (ASHA) (1994).
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To learn more about Michele, her services and FoundationSCLL visitwww.foundationscll.com
Michele McCourt-Verney
Independent Practitioner
Speech and Language Pathologist
Robert Justiniano
Independent Practitioner
Special Educator/Elementary Teacher
Robert is co-director, co-owner and a licensed educator at FoundationSCLL. He received his BS in Liberal Studies with a minor in Elementary Education at Portland State University and continued to receive his MS degree in Special Education from the Inclusive Education Educator Pathway. Robert has been working with students in a variety of educational backgrounds for the last 15 years. From the typical classroom to Outdoor School, summer camp programs, specialized education programs and 1:1 tutoring for career and college readiness. Over the last four years, Robert has been working with students from kindergarten to sixth grade where he has used a research-based curriculum to teach literacy and mathematics. Robert has developed his own mathematic and writing curriculums based on student need and targeted to the individual student or group he is working with. By using the time-tested and evidence-based strategies, he has been able to bridge today's ever-increasing digital world to the demand for understanding how to read in a technology-based world.
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To learn more about Robert, his services and Foundation SCLL visit www.foundationscll.com
Coming Soon!