Director of Speech-Language Pathology

Megan Lekas is the owner of the Learning and Therapy Corner. She graduated from Denison University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Child Psychology. Megan continued her education and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Towson University. In 1999, Megan graduated from Loyola College with her Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology.

Megan has extensive experience evaluating and treating communication disorders in children of all ages in public schools, private schools, clinics, and private settings. She is a certified Phono- Graphix® Reading Therapist, a member of the American Speech Hearing Association (ASHA), and a member of the Maryland Speech Hearing Association. Megan is licensed in the state of Maryland and the state of Florida and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence through ASHA.

Megan has always enjoyed working with and being around children. She has two college age children of her own giving her the ability to relate to her clients and their families both from professional and personal perspectives.

Fun Facts:
Loves the Beach
Has 2 children attending college in FL
Has a Westie named Leon who is often with her at LTC.

Assistant Director of Speech-Language Pathology

Karon Zablonski is a speech-language pathologist and has been working at LTC since 2011. She earned her undergraduate degree from Buffalo State Colle in 1996 and her Master's Degree in speech-language pathology in 200 at Towson University. She worked for the Baltimore City Public School system for almost 10 years prior to staying home with her son. She loves the opportunity to meet the needs of her clients while building close relationships with them and their families. She also enjoys her role scheduling new speech-language pathology clients and helping new families feel welcome at LTC. In her free time, Karon loves to read and spend time with her family and friends. She is also slowly learning how to garden.

Megan Crowley, a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), has been a part of the LTC team for 15 years. She graduated from Towson University with her Master’s Degree in SLP and first worked for Baltimore County Public Schools. She loves that LTC gives her the opportunity to work with children one on one, and to get to know their families along the way. One of her favorite places to be is sitting on the floor playing with kids! It’s exciting to see the joy and the growth that can happen when therapy is centered around a child’s interests. Megan also loves spending time with her husband of 25+ years, Adam, and their young adult daughters, Kaitlyn and MacKenzie.

Fun Facts:
• Loves to travel with her family, especially to National Parks
• Has two Westie pups, Tucker and Windsor
• Enjoys gardening, hiking, and reading

Speech-Language Pathologist
ASHA Certification: 01064992
MD License: 01983

Jackie is a licensed and certified Speech Language Pathologist with over 25 years of experience. She received her Master's Degree and undergraduate degree from Towson University. She also holds a Maryland Teaching Certificate. Jackie has worked with both children and adults in a variety of settings. These include; home health services, private practice, preschool, elementary, middle and high school settings and early intervention.

She has also provided clinical supervision to entry level Speech Language Pathologists and Speech Language Pathology Assistants. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association as well as other local speech organizations. Jackie is committed to keeping abreast of current best practices and providing quality speech language intervention services to her clients and their families. Jackie is both passionate and dedicated to helping children and adults become better and more effective communicators.

Annette has extensive experience evaluating and providing therapy for children in a variety of settings, including private and public school environments. She has worked with children with an array of speech, language, and learning abilities from early intervention to high school age students. As a mother of three who has experienced her own children develop as individuals with a variety of abilities, Annette benefits from insights into the many challenges that every child faces. She enjoys making therapy fun while catering to each child’s needs so they can be confident and successful communicators in and out of the classroom. Annette holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology and a Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Towson University. She is a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). She is licensed in the State of Maryland and holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence through ASHA.

I love working with children, especially preschoolers. I enjoy helping families to communicate easier. It’s fun to meet so many families and watch the children grow and develop. I love working at LTC because it’s a wonderful supportive family environment where kids can be kids.

Fun Facts:

* Love to travel
* Enjoy being outside and spending time at the beach
* Love shopping especially with my daughter Emeline

Masters Degree from Emerson College in Boston, MA

I worked at Children’s Hospital Boston and St. Johns Hospital in Detroit, before moving to Baltimore to be near family and work at Kennedy Krieger School. After taking some time off to raise my family, I began working at LTC and have truly found my work home!

I love working with all ages, but particularly middle and high school students. I’m passionate about a variety of speech and language areas, but my absolute favorite is helping clients with social skills.

The thing that makes LTC special is that we’re a big family. Also, I have a pretty great commute- I can walk to work!

Personal Facts:

I have 3 school aged children who keep me on my toes! We’re always busy with activities, but also love to snuggle up and just relax together.

Fun Facts:

• I love the thrill of a new experience, whether through travel or a spontaneous adventure day.
• I feel strongly about supporting LGBTQIA rights.
• I’m told I can tell a good story!

Passionate Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) with 20+ years of experience in providing pediatric speech and language diagnostic and therapy services. I have taught graduate level courses, provided clinical supervision to graduate students, provided speech and language therapy services to children in the private setting and public schools with hearing impairments, Autism, swallowing disorders, and speech and language delays and disorders. I have mentored parents on language rich routines in the home of young children with expressive language delays.

Certifications:
Maryland State License in Speech-Language Pathology, expires May 31st, 2025
Certificate of Clinical Competence, expires December 31st, 2024
The Hanen Centre, More Than Words, certified August 18th, 2022
CPR certified, April, 2023

Education:
University of Texas at Austin, TX, M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders 1999
State University of New York College at Geneseo, NY, B.S. in Communication
Sciences and Disorders 1997

Fun Facts:

• I love to exercise, travel, cook, and attend live music festivals.

• I have 3 kids, 1 dog, and 1 amazing cat who is the center of my universe:).

• I believe the internet was created to watch cat videos.

Kate is relatively new to LTC, having joined the team in late 2022. She received her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Towson University and has spent time working at St. Elizabeth School and a Head Start preschool in Baltimore City. Kate’s favorite thing about being an SLP is helping people to understand each other better by improving their speech, language, and communication skills. She also loves the opportunity to learn from her students, all of whom have different and beautiful ways of thinking about things and expressing themselves. When Kate isn’t at work, she loves to read, walk, travel, have adventures, and spend time with family, friends, and neighbors. She has an incredible daughter and a wonderful husband.

Fun fact:
She used to be an actress and still loves to be dramatic!

Jamie joined the Learning and Therapy Corner team as a Maryland certified SLPA during the summer of 2023. She recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and Intercultural Studies. She aspires to be a bilingual SLP and is well on her way! She has a lot of experience working with children as a lead preschool teacher, teaching Spanish to children in the foster care system, and coaching a Special Olympics team. She is currently in the Master's degree program to become a full SLP and loves being a part of the LTC family. She looks forward to providing support and making a difference in our community! 💗

I have been a speech-language pathologist for 33 years. I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of Ohio and a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of Virginia. I currently work four days per week for Baltimore City Public Schools and two half days for LTC. Areas that I am interested in are articulation, language, and use of core vocabulary for nonverbal communicators. I have mentored and supervised many new clinicians and SLP graduate students over the years. I am currently on a committee that is outlining the policies and procedures for SLP assistants and their supervisors in Baltimore City Public Schools.

Fun Facts:

In my free time I like to read, exercise, bake bread, and spend time with my husband, three adult daughters, and friends.

Becky Gagliardi received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Towson University. In 2003, she graduated from Loyola College with her Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She is a member of the American Speech Hearing Association (ASHA), and a member of the Maryland Speech Hearing Association. Becky is licensed in the state of Maryland and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence through ASHA.

Becky has extensive experience evaluating and treating children diagnosed with Autism in both school and home-based settings. She is trained in Picture Exchange System Communication, SCERTS and ABA discrete trial teaching. She is also experienced in evaluating and treating for the use of assistive technology and helping families secure funding through insurance for personal communication devices. Becky also has experience with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. She strongly believes in the importance of early intervention and strong family support to promote success. She focuses on teaching parents and caregivers how to promote communication in a variety of environments and activities in order to ensure generalization. Her professional goal is to improve a child’s ability to communicate through the use of a multi-modal communication approach to ensure a functional means of communication across all environments and communication partners.

Megan is a speech-language pathologist working part-time at the Learning and Therapy Corner and full-time in the Baltimore County School system. She graduated with her Bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2009 and with her Master's Degree from Penn West Clarion in 2011. From 2014-2019, she was the Apraxia/phonology consultant for the Speech/Language Department in Clark County School District in Las Vegas, NV. At that time, she consulted with over 100 school-based Speech-Language Pathologists to train and guide effective evaluations, goal-writing, and treatment sessions. She has also consulted with school-teams on developing/brainstorming ideas to measure academic achievement for students with limited verbal abilities.

Megan has extensive training treating children with Apraxia of speech. Her treatment includes an eclectic approach towards the goal to help children become effective, confident communicators. Initially and throughout treatment, she encourages and promotes individualized communication methods using assistive technology. By providing a means to communicate with the world immediately and successfully, she hopes to establish trust and confidence in children to know his or her thoughts are important and can and will be heard.

LEAD TEACHER

Kristen Gordon is the founder of Little Corner Academy along with Megan Lekas. She is also a lead teacher at Little Corner Academy (LCA). Kristen has 10 years of experience working in Baltimore County Public Schools. All ten years she was a self-contained special education teacher for the Communication and Learning Support program. Kristen has a Master’s Degree from Towson University in Education as a Reading Specialist and a Bachelor’s Degree in Infant/Primary Special Education. She has an advanced professional certificate from the State of Maryland in the following areas: generic special education 1-8, early childhood education preK-3, reading specialist, early education 1-6, and middle school. In addition, Kristen is trained in Floortime and has received a certificate of achievement for successfully completing Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Training and is CPR certified.

I am a 4th grade teacher in Anne Arundel County Public Schools. This will be my 16th year teaching. I have also taught 2nd and 3rd grade. I have been here at Learning Therapy Corner for 6 years and provide educational support through the tutoring program. I have a strong passion for teaching and love watching kids learn and grow. I am a new mom to a baby girl named Maverick Brittany and am extremely close to my family. I enjoy sports, especially the Orioles and Ravens. I was Teacher of the Year finalist in 2020 for Ann Arundel County Public Schools.

Reading Specialist/Tutor

Alison graduated with a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education from Towson University in 2019. She worked for Baltimore County Public Schools for four years, before joining LCA and LTC for her fifth year. She taught preschool IGE 3's program and 1st grade in BCPS. Alison has a passion teaching younger children and assists in small groups and 1:1 instruction in the LCA classroom. She also tutors and is the coordinator for LTC's StoryTime program. She has a passion for meeting children where they are, providing them with the support they need, and creating a warm and safe learning environment to support their social/emotional and academic skills.