Speech Language Pathologists
Cynthia Core, Ph.D, CCC-SLP – Cynthia is a Speech Language Pathologist with over 16 years experience providing services to infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children. She specializes in working with children who have hearing loss, expressive and receptive language delays, articulation challenges, as well as dual language learners. Cynthia provides services to children within the early intervention program and she co-leads our therapist teaming group.
Cynthia is also an Associate Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at George Washington University in Washington DC where she focuses her research on speech and language development in bilingual children, children with cochlear implants, and children with speech and language needs.
Andrea Burns, MS, CCC-SLP
Andrea received her Master of Science degree in Speech Pathology from James Madison University and has been practicing as a Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist over the past 20 years within various settings. She has a passion for and extensive experience working with children who have feeding and swallowing needs and works closely with other team members including our Dietitian to provide comprehensive care to families. Andrea is also skilled at working with children who have expressive/receptive delays, articulation challenges, stuttering as well as apraxia and she has received training in PROMPT.
Currently, Andrea provides services to children within the early intervention program within Arlington and Alexandria City.
Amanda Lockard, M.Ed., CCC-SLP – Amanda is originally from Pennsylvania and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Audiology and Speech Pathology from Bloomsburg University. She received her Master of Education in Communication Disorders from Valdosta State University and works with children within our Outpatient and Early Intervention programs.
Before coming to PPTS, Amanda spent five years working in public schools and treated children with mild to severe disabilities. She is passionate about working with children with special needs and helping them to communicate. She especially enjoys working with children who need articulation, language, and social skills support.
Outside of therapy, Amanda enjoys cooking, reading, working out, and exploring D.C. with her husband.
Occupational Therapists
Amanda Kelley, MS, OTR/L, ATP – Amanda received her Master’s of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Shenandoah University and has been practicing as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist for over 20 years. She has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient, schools and early intervention and has a passion for working with the birth to 3 population. She has extensive experience working with children who have feeding and swallowing challenges and she also holds a certification in Assistive Technology. At PPTS, Amanda provides services to children within our early intervention program and helps to co-lead our therapist teaming group.
Christine LaPorte, MOT, OTR/L – Christine grew up in Texas and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Exercise Science with a minor in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. She returned to Texas to receive her Master of Occupational Therapy from the University of Texas Medical Branch. She works with children in the outpatient program at PPTS and specializes in helping children develop their Activities of Daily Living (self-care) skills.
Before moving to Virginia and joining the PPTS team, Christine worked at a bilingual outpatient pediatric therapy clinic in Oklahoma City. She worked primarily with Spanish-speaking children and low income families, where she gained experience with feeding therapy, infant development, sensory integration therapy, handwriting, and ADLs.
Besides working with children, Christine is passionate about exercising, walking, reading, cooking, volunteering at her church, doing puzzles, and watching movies with her husband.
Physical Therapists
Jill Baird, PT, MSPT – Jill received her Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Miami School of Medicine and has over 17 years experience working with children and families in various settings including inpatient, outpatient, schools and early intervention. She has a passion for helping children who have neurological and orthopedic conditions as well as children with developmental delays. Jill currently serves children and families within our Early Intervention program within both Arlington and Alexandria City localities.
In her spare time Jill enjoys spending time with her family, going on hikes, and traveling.
Joan Elliott, PT, DPT – Dr. Joan Elliott, PT, DPT, has had clinical practice in many physical therapy settings, including acute care, home care, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient physical therapy and the National Institutes of Health Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. She has extensive clinical experience in the school setting and has specialized in pediatrics for seventeen years. At PPTS Joan works with families within our Outpatient Program and is passionate about helping children improve and/or restore function within their daily activities.
Joan is an Adjunct Clinical Faculty member at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. She received her BS in Kinesiological Sciences at the University of Maryland and her MPT in physical therapy from Shenandoah University in 1994. Joan graduated in August 2015 from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions t-DPT curriculum with a Pediatric Science track.
For ten years, Joan served as head swim coach for a Division 1 team in the Northern Virginia Swim League. She served as a volunteer swim coach at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, MD with the Army Wounded Warriors for the Warrior Games of 2012. She enjoys the outdoors, especially swimming, biking and running. In her free time Joan enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and adult children.
Registered Dietitian
Sue Schiller, RD – Sue holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Nutrition from Howard University. She is a Registered Dietitian and has been supporting families of children with nutritional needs for over 25 years. She has worked in inpatient, outpatient, private practice, and early intervention settings. Sue provides nutrition counseling services in our early intervention program. She values being a part of interdisciplinary teams to help families meet their child’s nutrition goals and works closely with Occupational and Speech Therapists to support children who have feeding needs.
Outside of work Sue enjoys engaging in a variety of recreational activities including gardening, hiking, vermiculture and swimming. She also enjoys travel, participating in volunteer activities, cooking new foods and spending time with her grandchildren.
Administrative Staff
Bobbi Beardi, Practice Administrative Assistant – Bobbi is our Practice Administrative Assistant and provides administrative support to our families, therapy team and funding sources. She is passionate about providing personable service to families.
Bobbi has over 25 years experience as an Administrative Assistant professional with 15 years in hospital and the healthcare environments. She has recently earned a certification as an Administrative Medical Specialist and is AAPC Certified Professional Medical Coder.
Bobbi enjoys spending time with her husband, traveling to visit family and friends, and has recently adopted a new interest in creating photo-video montages for her family.
