Our Team

At Our Brave Voices, we are a team of dedicated professionals united by a shared passion for empowering children with selective mutism to find their brave voices. With decades of experience across speech-language pathology, psychology, and education, we bring diverse expertise and a collaborative approach to every child’s journey.

Our work combines evidence-based strategies, creative problem-solving, and compassionate care to support families and school teams in fostering confidence, communication, and meaningful progress. Whether through evaluations, trainings, or ongoing school-based support, we are committed to helping every child unlock their potential and thrive.

Annie DiVello, M.S. CCC-SLP; M.Ed.

founder

Annie graduated from West Virginia University with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 2007. Hungry to learn more about behavior, personality, the mind, and mental health, she went on to complete her M.Ed. with a focus on school psychology at Rivier University in 2022. She is also honored to be one of 80 clinicians around the world certified in PCIT-SM.

Though Annie has worked with many populations, her particular area of clinical passion is selective mutism. She am licensed in ME, MA, NH, and VT and enjoys working closely with school teams in those states to create a collaborative “round table” model of support for students with SM. Some of the school-based supports that Annie provides include school-based evaluations, 504/IEP goal writing & implementation, and consultative support. She loves helping teams bring their students’ brave voices to school and feel that the ability to communicate is a beautiful gift and the foundation of the human connection.

In addition to offering school-based supports, Annie is one of ASHA’s Continuing Education Providers and is privileged to lead a variety of ASHA approved CEU trainings on the topic of selective mutism for school teams around the world. She serves as the Selective Mutism Association (SMA) State Coordinator for NH, MA, and ME.

Annie lives with her husband, Gary, their daughter, Elizabeth, and their rescue pups, Abby and Chloe, in Kennebunk, Maine. In her free time, Annie enjoys reading books on mindfulness and self-compassion, practicing yoga, hiking, and spending time with her friends and family.

Dr. Elizabeth Doppler-Bourassa, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Beth is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with people across the lifespan, including children from birth through adolescence and their families. When children are dealing with difficult feelings or adjusting to life changes, it is often hard for them to put their experiences into words. Instead, they show us with their behaviors. She enjoys helping children with a variety of issues find ways to express themselves through the art of play, storytelling, and other creative processes.

​In order for children to make meaningful changes in their behavior that extend beyond the therapy office, they need the support and guidance of important adults in their lives. Dr. Beth make it a priority to establish supportive and collaborative relationships with children’s parents/guardians, other providers, and educational systems.

Play has also been shown to be a valuable strategy for adults. Dr. Beth adapt traditional therapies (such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: CBT) into playful, action oriented interventions to help adults find creative solutions to difficult life problems. These issues include, but are not limited to, parenting & family issues, anxiety and depression, adjustment to life changes, & stress management.

When not at the office, you can find Dr. Beth spending time at the beach with her family on the New Hampshire seacoast or down the Jersey Shore. Dr. Beth loves to bake and is a Harry Potter enthusiast! She is also actively involved with youth travel soccer and plays in a local woman’s soccer league.

Sarah Josef

Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist

Sarah received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of New Hampshire and has been practicing in pediatric outpatient facilities in the state of NH since 2011.

After completing her graduate clinical rotation at Easter Seals The Family Place, Sarah returned to the family-centered pediatric outpatient facility for her Clinical Fellowship Year. She had the opportunity to mentor under Joleen Fernald, an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist and selective mutism expert in Dover, NH for several years. During that time, Sarah was part of an interdisciplinary team that provided comprehensive selective mutism evaluations and ongoing therapy using Joleen’s DIRFloortime® model in conjunction with the Systematic Sound Sequencing Strategy (SSSS).

Sarah now uses a hybrid approach utilizing her background in the DIR-SM model in conjunction with more behavioral approaches such as fade-ins within her therapy sessions. Selective mutism continues to be a special area of interest that Sarah enjoys and finds gratifying as she helps support each child to access their brave voice and share it within their communities. She is excited to team up with Annie to expand her work with children with selective mutism by providing school-based evaluations across the states of NH and MA.

Throughout her career, Sarah has also had the opportunity to work alongside a variety of occupational therapists. This has allowed her to gain a strong understanding of children’s sensory systems and how one’s regulation can impact their ability to engage and communicate with those around them. Sarah incorporates a variety of movement-based activities and regulation strategies to support a child’s ability to access their brave voices within her play-based, child-centered therapy approach.

Over the course of her career, Sarah has supported children with a variety of needs from 18 months to 20 years of age. In addition to selective mutism, she also enjoys working with children who have speech sound disorders and expressive language delays.

In her free time, Sarah loves spending time with her husband, daughter, family, and friends. She enjoys being outdoors, going to the beach, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, gardening, reading, and practicing yoga.