Founder, Speech Therapist, Program Director

Julia Gerhard started her career as a singer (with a doctorate in vocal performance) and then became a speech-language pathologist to help people with their communication. She honed her skills at the National Center of Voice and Speech and through the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) fellowship during her clinical fellowship training at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She worked for a decade in various high-level medical centers and published and presented research at the national and international levels on voice and mindfulness in speech therapy.

She started Ivory Speech Therapy out of the requests from families for “out of the box” therapy solutions during the COVID pandemic. Families kept asking for services, and she kept listening to what they needed.

The result is a robust program full of exciting and innovative programming that helps kids and families build community. The approach is mindful, respectful, and intentionally functional.

She has a passion for supporting the entire family when working with a child. As a mama of three kiddos, she understands the complexities of family life. She is devoted to sponsoring and cultivating a community for moms of kids with unique abilities to offer resources including low-cost retreats for parents to learn, connect and grow.