Meet Our Team
Erica Lester, M.S., CCC-SLP
Owner, Speech-Language Pathologist
Erica opened Talk Time in 2012, with a mission to offer collaborative and compassionate speech, language, and feeding therapy to families in her community. Erica can attest to the sentiment that “If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life,” and her passion for helping others communicate is evident to every child, parent, and colleague that she works with.
Erica believes children make the most progress when everyone is working collaboratively to support their goals. Erica and her team work closely with other professionals–including a local physical therapist and occupational therapist–to ensure they are addressing the whole child. Treating the whole child means not just addressing speech and language skills in her sessions, but also promoting sensory and motor development.
Erica earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Indiana University-Bloomington and her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Seton Hall University. Prior to opening Talk Time, Erica gained experience within private schools, public schools, early intervention programs, and private practice settings. Her special interests include working with autistic children, supporting and addressing sensory-related behaviors, and working with children who have learning differences, language delays, auditory processing difficulties, and speech disorders.
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In addition, Erica has taught as an adjunct professor for the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. She developed and instructed an introductory course to communication disorders for prospective speech pathology graduate students where she formulated and integrated curriculum as well as mentored and advised undergraduate learners.
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Erica values the relationships in her life; she has two lovely children and a wonderful husband. She enjoys spending time with her family being active outdoors, eating at their favorite restaurants, and traveling to new places. She also serves as a co-leader for her daughter's Girl Scout troop. And appreciates each beautiful day that life has to offer!
Advanced Trainings, Licenses, and Certifications:
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National Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
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Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, State of New Jersey
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Certified Speech-Language Specialist, State of New Jersey Department of Education
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Certified Speech-Language Pathologist Service Provider for Early Intervention, New Jersey Early Intervention System (NJEIS)
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Certified Provider of the Hanen Centre® Program, It Takes Two to Talk®.
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Skilled in Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and adaptive communication switches
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Training in Principles of Motor Learning and Childhood Apraxia of Speech
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Knowledgeable in PROMPT
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Trained in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
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Certificate of Recognition for the 2017-2018 Governor’s Educator of the Year Program for the Oak View Elementary School in the Bloomfield Public School district
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Specializing in Orofacial Myology
Linda Morrissey, M.S., CCC-SLP
Feeding & Swallowing Specialist,
Speech-Language Pathologist
Linda is a pediatric feeding therapist with over 14 years of experience. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders, including: food refusal, oral aversion, bottle feeding difficulties, delayed development of feeding skills, and oral motor dysfunction. She works with infants, toddlers, and children with feeding difficulties related to a variety of medical and developmental diagnoses, such as hypotonia, prematurity, genetic syndromes, craniofacial abnormalities, sensory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorder, myofunctional disorder, and gastroesophageal reflux.
Linda enjoys helping families achieve their feeding goals while minimizing stress at mealtimes, and feels that it is incredibly rewarding to see the positive impact therapy can have on the whole family. She is dedicated to promoting positive feeding experiences for families and setting a strong foundation for long-term feeding behaviors. Linda is uniquely qualified to provide comprehensive clinical feeding evaluations, which can determine areas of sensory or motor difficulty, and develop individualized treatment plans to address each child’s specific needs. Her therapy methods are family-centered and she is passionate about helping children transition new feeding skills into the home environment.
Linda graduated magna cum laude from Loyola College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and went on to earn her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Seton Hall University. She has since gained extensive experience in feeding and swallowing evaluation and treatment from a variety of medical and clinical settings, including outpatient clinics, inpatient hospital units (NICU, PICU), a NICU follow-up program, early intervention, private practice, and home health. Linda has worked closely with multidisciplinary teams of physical therapists, occupational therapists, developmental pediatricians, gastroenterologists, pediatric surgeons, pediatric neurologists, pediatric psychologists, social workers, and behavioral therapists. Her passion for collaborative care is a benefit to her clients.
Linda has 4 young children, giving her a sympathetic understanding of how stressful developmental challenges can be for a family. She loves spending time with her family, going to the beach, engaging in sporting events, running, reading, and eating at different restaurants.
Advanced Trainings, Licenses, and Certifications:
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National Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
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Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, State of New Jersey
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Certified Speech-Language Specialist, State of New Jersey Department of Education
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Certified Speech-Language Pathologist Service Provider for Early Intervention, New Jersey Early Intervention System (NJEIS)
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Infant Feeding Specialist with Advanced Training in: Orofacial Myology, NOMAS (Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale), TOTs (Tethered Oral Tissues), SOS Approach to Feeding, Oral Defensiveness and Aversion, Positive Mealtime Behavior, Sensory vs. Behavioral Feeding Difficulties, Infants with Craniofacial Differences, Clinical Practice in NICU/NICU Swallowing and Feeding, Managing Complex Feeding and Swallowing Problems in Children, Intervention for the High-Risk Infant, Managing Dysphagia in the Schools
Jessica Intromasso, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Jessica Intromasso received both her Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences and her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Monmouth University. Jessica is a certified, licensed speech-language pathologist and is also certified by the state of New Jersey's Early Intervention System. Jessica developed and led Monmouth University’s first pre-school-aged social skills and communication group therapy sessions, which is where her joy for working with children escalated. For the last 4 years, Jessica has worked in a variety of settings, including public and special education schools, outpatient clinics, private practices, and sub-acute rehabilitation facilities. She specializes in expressive/receptive language, social language, alternative augmentative communication, and dysphagia. Jessica loves working with family members, teachers, other professionals, and supporting staff to ensure progress and growth with her clients. There is nothing she loves more than to see her clients excel!
Advanced Trainings, Licenses, and Certifications:
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Nationally certified member – Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
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Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, State of New Jersey
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Certified Speech-Language Specialist, State of New Jersey Department of Education
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Certified Speech-Language Pathologist Service Provider for Early Intervention, New Jersey Early Intervention System (NJEIS)
Lia Mennella, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Lia received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Alabama and her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Seton Hall University. Lia is an ASHA certified, licensed speech language pathologist as well as a certified speech-language specialist by the state of New Jersey’s Department of Education. Lia has since gained clinical experience in a variety of settings including public schools, specialized schools, assisted living facilities, and subacute rehabilitations. She has worked with individuals of all ages to improve expressive/receptive language, social pragmatic skills, articulation, cognitive-linguistic skills, voice, and swallowing function. Lia values collaborating with an interdisciplinary team to reach the functional goals of her clients. She believes that utilizing evidence-based practice as well as a team-based approach results in better therapeutic outcomes.
Advanced Trainings, Licenses, and Certifications:
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Nationally certified member - Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
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Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, State of New Jersey
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Certified Speech-Language Specialist, State of New Jersey Department of Education