Meet The Team
Speech Pathology
Kate Etheridge
Director and Speech Pathologist
Kate has worked as a speech pathologist in Cairns since 2000, after graduating from the University of QLD. She worked for the Department of Education in Cairns before commencing private practice in 2009.
Kate thoroughly enjoys her work with children and loves seeing the successes achieved by students. She is committed to working within best practice guidelines and maintains her skill-set by regularly attending conferences, workshops and ongoing professional development.
Heath Brook
Speech Pathologist
Heath completed his Bachelor of Speech Pathology through Charles Darwin University in 2025, while working at Therapy Plus CDC as an Allied Health Assistant.
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Heath provides services on the Atherton Tablelands, as far away as Ravenshoe, as well as in the Cairns clinic.
Heath has an interest in working with adult clients as well as children and is building up his evidence-based skills in both areas.
Lisa completed her Bachelor of Speech Pathology through Charles Darwin University in 2025.
Lisa grew up in Cairns attending local schools and is excited to be able to offer speech pathology services in her home town. Lisa also provides a service to Mareeba.
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She enjoys working with children to bring out their best, and is also interested in working with adults.
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Lisa Iivonen
Speech Pathologist
Sam Quan
Speech Pathologist
Sam lives in Julatten and provides services in the Mossman, Julatten, Port Douglas and Mareeba areas. She graduated from James Cook University in 2014 where she received the JCU academic medal and membership to the Golden Key International Honour Society.
Sam enjoys working together with children and their families to facilitate a learning environment where children can feel at ease in therapy and are motivated to achieve their speech-language goals. Her areas of interest include motor speech disorders and phonological delays.
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Occupational Therapy
Tahlia de Jong
Occupational Therapist
Tahlia is a local Cairns woman who is returning home after completing her studies in Brisbane. She is delving into all areas of paediatric occupational therapy and has a strong interest in helping children to improve their functional capacity.
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Tahlia provides services in the Cairns clinic, as well as Mossman, Port Douglas, Smithfield and Mareeba.
Masato Yagi
Occupational Therapist
Masato first graduated from a Diploma of Occupational Therapy in Japan in 2010. Subsequently he worked in Japan until 2019 before moving to Australia. On the Gold Coast he then completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University in 2025.
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Masato comes with varied experience, and is excited about making Cairns his new home. He has been exploring the area, with appointments on the Tablelands, including Mareeba, Malanda and Ravenshoe, as well as in the Cairns clinic.
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Masato is interested in working with adults as well as children.
Early Childhood Practitioners
Kristy Turner
Early Childhood Practitioner
Kristy has many years of experience as an Early Childhood Teacher across Far North QLD, including Cooktown, Mareeba, Brinsmead, Smithfield and Edge Hill.
Kristy enjoys working individually with children, helping them to develop specific skills. She also works within childcare and kindergarten settings to maximise the child's learning potential, social skills and emotional wellbeing in their naturalistic environment.
Kristy runs our popular 'Curious Crocodiles' program, which is a small group social skills program for 3-5 year old children.
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Anna Jonsson
Early Childhood Practitioner and Speech Pathology Student
Anna was inspired to pursue a different career path when personal experience required her to deepen her knowledge of child development. She likes to say that “it felt like I’d been given the wrong baby manual and had to contact tech support”, to understand the various reports, results, and recommended strategies.
Anna completed her Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) with Distinction while raising her two young children. She completed a Graduate Certificate in Psychology in 2023, which she felt necessary to support caregivers and their children in her role.
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Before joining us in 2024, Anna worked in various roles in primary and early childhood education settings as Inclusion Support, Early Childhood Teacher and Educational Leader.
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Anna is committed to providing neuro-affirming, strengths-based learning experiences for children that spark their joy and interest, while supporting caregivers in their role as first and foremost educators for their children. She is passionate about applying the latest best practice models and completed Sounds-Write training in July 2025 and became qualified to administer the Sensory Profile.
Anna has recently commenced a Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology.
Administration
Donna Sutton
Senior Receptionist
Donna is our full-time receptionist. She has a wealth of experience in reception, administration and finance.
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Donna relocated from Victoria at the end of 2023 with her family and is enjoying the Cairns lifestyle.
Nikkita Bruno
Junior Receptionist
Nikkita is our junior receptionist. She is learning all things reception, while completing a Certificate III in Health Administration 2026.
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Peta Travers-Jones
Administration Assistant
Peta is our administration assistant who handles all things related to NDIS service agreements.
She fits this in while also working as a vet nurse and competing in various athletic events such as ultra marathons and triathlons.