Melonie Melton is a licensed speech/language pathologist and AAC specialist from Poquoson, Virginia with undergraduate and graduate degrees from Old Dominion University, as well as an Assistive Technology Certificate from George Mason University. Her experience includes treatment of children and adults with a variety of communication and literacy disorders as well as autism in schools, home health, an outpatient pediatric hospital clinic and private practice. She is currently providing evaluation and treatment of elementary students with complex communication disorders and autism at the Center for Autism at New Horizons Regional Education Centers in Newport News, VA. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), ASHA’s S.I.G. 12 (AAC) and the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia (SHAV). She is a co-coordinator of the state SHAV AAC Group. Melonie has provided presentations on a number of topics related to AAC and autism at various local, regional, state, and national conferences. She is a co-founder of a private practice, Collaborative Speech Solutions, PLLC and has been an adjunct instructor at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia where she has taught a graduate course in Augmentative & Alternative Communication.

Kristen Monroe, SLPD, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU where she is a member of their Assistive Technology Team. She regularly completes multidisciplinary AAC evaluations and interventions for pediatric and adult AAC users. Kristen also engages in staff training and peer mentoring on AAC-related topics. She received her Master's degree from James Madison University and her Clinical Doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. Her clinical and research interests include counseling techniques to engage AAC users and their caregivers and evidence-based adult learning principles for effective and engaging professional development. In her free time, you can find her spending time with her husband, two children, and dog, as well as participating in triathlons or teaching indoor cycle classes!