Our Team
Jaime Thomas M.S.,CCC-SLP
Owner of Speak Read Grow
Licensed and ASHA certified speech-language pathologist Jaime Thomas, M.S., CCC-SLP established Speak Read Grow to address the growing need in the community for research-based evaluation and treatment for speech, language, and literacy development. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Jaime specializes in pediatric speech, language, literacy/dyslexia and processing disorders.
Jaime began working with children with speech and language disorders and dyslexia during the time of her graduate research position at Florida Atlantic University in 2006-2007. This was just the beginning of her developing passion for children with speech, language, literacy, and processing difficulties. She then pursued further training in literacy remediation in the Orton-Gillingham method and created a private tutoring company while working towards completion of her Masters degree. As her education and experience developed, she became engulfed with the connection between speech and language development and literacy development. She’s had the pleasure to work with children with speech/language and literacy difficulties, processing disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and developmental delays/disorders for 15 years now.
Her passion is helping families identify and treat the specific issues affecting the development and education of their children. She enjoys helping families feel confident and supported while working on developing skills with their own children, and offers optional parent and teacher trainings to facilitate a team approach with families and teachers.
Jaime has been married to Daniel Thomas (see bio) for 16 years and they have four sons, ages ranging from 5 to 15. She and her husband have home schooled their two oldest for several years and have enjoyed creating and exploring evidence based curriculums that fit each child best.
Vanessa Crookes
Clinic Director
Reading Specialist
Vanessa is a wife, mother of two adult children and longtime resident of Jupiter. Vanessa studied psychology at Furman University and has devoted the last 16 years to working with young children. She completed the Orton-Gillingham training in 2013 and has been tutoring full-time ever since. She is passionate about helping children with dyslexia find success in reading and writing while throwing in a little fun with games and multisensory activities. Vanessa is certified in the Visualization and Verbalization® program as well. This Lindamood-Bell® program is designed to help students who have weaknesses in reading comprehension, listening comprehension, memory, oral and written language expression.
Rachel McElveen
Reading Specialist
Rachel is a married mother of two “perfectly imperfect” children ages 13 and 9. Previously, she was a Montessori toddler teacher for over five years and received her infant/toddler Montessori teaching credentials at Village Montessori Training Center in Miami, FL. Before that she received an Associates of Arts Degree from Miami International University of Art and Design. After learning that her son has dyslexia, she began her quest to understand the unique way he learns. Through this journey she learned about the Orton Gillingham method and pursued training. She loves tutoring and working with children one on one and in groups. “Watching them learn to read and grow their skills is an extremely rewarding experience.”
Danny Thomas
Accounting/Business Manager
Multi-Sensory Math Tutor
Daniel Thomas became the Accounting and Business Manager for Speak Read Grow in 2018 while running his successful local Landscape and Design company. In the past year, Daniel has merged to a full-time position with Speak Read Grow to work as a team with his wife Jaime Thomas, M.S., CCC-SLP, President/Owner of Speak Read Grow (see bio). Daniel brings his knowledge of finance and accounting to Speak Read Grow from his experience as a business owner for over 10 years. As our in- house math instructor, he is trained in specialized methods for Math instruction, including Math U See and On Cloud Nine. As a child, Daniel was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, and is truly understanding of a student’s learning challenges associated with dyslexia and other exceptionalities. His passion is helping kids learn differently and effectively. He enjoys using our evidence-based, multi-sensory and visual based methods to help children that struggle with math and learning “see” math differently. He believes that math should be fun and applicable to life to be best understood. “Math is a universal language spoken by all to be understood by all”-Daniel Thomas.
Michelle Davis M.S.,CCC-SLP
Speech and Language Pathologist
Reading Specialist
Michelle is a licensed, ASHA certified Speech Language Pathologist. She received her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from University of Central Florida and received her master’s degree from Florida State University.
Michelle has experience treating individuals with a variety of articulation and phonological disorders, expressive and receptive language disorders, reading/writing exceptionalities, childhood apraxia of speech, and fluency disorders. Michelle is especially passionate about working in the area of fluency. She also enjoys utilizing the multi-sensory Orton-Gillingham method in her literacy based intervention plans.
In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, paddle boarding, exercising, and spending time with her family and adorable niece.
Gabby Adamowicz
LCSWI, MSW, B.Ed
Gabby is a Certified K-6 Teacher, holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and is registered with the State as a Clinical Social Work Intern. She began her career as a Kindergarten teacher and then quickly realized the importance of student’s social and emotional wellbeing which led her back to school to get her MSW. She graduated with both degrees from UCF, Go Knights! She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 4 years and is recently a new mom to a beautiful baby boy, Mason!
Gabby has experience working with students of different exceptionalities in the Palm Beach County School District for the past 5 years. She is certified in different therapeutic modalities and has a passion for supporting students to help them gain their confidence and reach their maximum potential. Gabby has experience working in different inpatient, outpatient and residential treatment facilities with children ages 5-18 providing individual and family counseling services.
Gabby loves being outdoors, spending time with her family and relaxing with her dog!
Finondra Wilkins
Reading Specialist
Finondra holds a Bachelors Degree in Criminology and a minor in Psychology. She is a former Case Worker who has had the privilege of providing individual and group therapies to adults and children with developmental disabilities. Finondra has always had a passion for teaching using a hands-on approach which led her to pursue trainings in both the Orton Gillingham method and the Visualizing and Verbalizing® program. She enjoys coming alongside children to help build their confidence in learning while making gains in fluency and comprehension. Finondra is a wife and mother of 2 children whom she has been dedicated to homeschooling through middle and high school.
Katie Knips M.S.,CCC-SLP
Speech and Language Pathologist
Reading Specialist
Katie is an ASHA certified and licensed Speech Language Pathologist. She received her bachelor’s degree in the area of Communication Science and Disorders from Florida State University and received her master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University.
During Katie’s time in grad school, she worked as a teacher’s aide in a preschool classroom for children with Autism spectrum disorder. Prior to joining Speak Read Grow, she gained experience treating and evaluating a variety of students with expressive and receptive language disorders and articulation and fluency disorders. She has worked with a wide range of individuals in the pediatric field. She enjoys implementing Orton-Gillingham as a multi-sensory, evidence based method to help our kids who are struggling with reading and writing.
Katie is a Florida native who moved to the Jupiter area in 2020. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going to the beach, crafting and spending time with her husband, Steve.
Amy Drinkwater MOTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Amy is Florida licensed and registered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). She grew up in Western Massachusetts and attended the University of New Hampshire for her undergraduate degree. In 1997, she left the Northeast to pursue her master’s degree in occupational therapy at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her career in OT started in 2001 where she spent 13 years in a physical rehabilitation setting. Since 2014, she has been an OT in the public schools providing services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, specific learning disabilities, other health impairments, and emotional behavioral disorders. For the past two years, prior to arriving at Speak Read Grow, she provided OT services for students on the Autism Spectrum and other related disabilities at a public separate charter day school. When not working with her students Amy loves spending time with her husband, Jon, and their two teenage children, James and Delaney.
Rachel Turbet M.S., M.Ed.
Certified Teacher, Reading Specialist
Rachel received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Skidmore College and master’s degrees in Zoology and Elementary Education from the University of Florida. She began working in the education field as a Naturalist in 2006 but quickly discovered her love for teaching children, which led her to begin her career as an elementary school teacher in 2008. Prior to joining Speak Read Grow, Rachel worked as a reading interventionist and pursued training in the Orton-Gillingham method. She feels privileged to be part of the Speak Read Grow team, building relationships with her students while fostering their love and confidence in reading. Rachel is a wife and a mother of two young children. When not working with her students she enjoys exploring nature with her family.
Allie Kleisley
Reading Specialist
Allie received a bachelor's degree in Social Science Education from Florida State University. Allie spent her early years in education teaching high school history and economics. During these years, she also enjoyed high school leadership roles, including coaching, mentoring, and advising clubs. Allie took a hiatus from teaching to raise her two children, Joey and Danny. During these years, she was an active volunteer with many organizations, she especially enjoyed her role as a literacy mentor. In 2017, Allie returned to education as a high school administrator. Currently, she interacts with students, parents, and teachers to facilitate course placement and much more. Allie is also passionate about volunteerism; she is presently an Advisor to young adults pursuing the Congressional Award. The Congressional Award is Congress’ only charity and the highest honor a member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives may bestow upon a youth civilian. She also holds volunteer positions with outreach programs, her church, and her favorite non-profit organization: The West Palm Beach Fishing Club. Allie has competed in half-marathons, triathlons, and is currently training for the Marine Corps Marathon while raising awareness and funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Most importantly, Allie is an avid reader and passionate about reading. Allie witnessed the success of the Orton-Gillingham multisensory approach with her son and is OG trained and very excited to implementing this approach at Speak Read Grow.