Our Staff

When in need of help, your time can be limited. We understand your needs for guidance and assistance. Our entire staff is trained to support our clients with patience and customer care. North Florida, Jacksonville, Orange Park, and surrounding areas we are here to serve the community. Contact us today!

FSST Director - Speech Therapy

Khalilah Marques M.A. CCC-SLP

Licensed SLP / Clinic Director

An experienced, state licensed, vital stim and ASHA certified member since 2010.  Khalilah Marques is licensed to practice Speech Language Pathology in the states of : California, Georgia, and Florida. Her experience includes working in every setting of Speech Pathology (schools, hospitals, home health, rehab & private clinic). 

Previously, she was on the Communications Sciences & Disorders department advisory board with Jacksonville University. Khalilah has previously worked with Los Angeles County Office of Education, Loma Linda University Hospital, Duval County Public Schools, First Coast YMCA, Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital, and St. Vincent’s Hospital. She has provided quality care in the field for 18 years, also has treated and completed the VitalStim certification for Dyshagia treatment. Khalilah is trained and American Heart Association
Basic Life Support CPR and AED certified.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Disorders from California State University of Los Angeles and a Master of Arts in Communicative Disorders from California State University of Long Beach. 

Image_20230624_075506_852

Christy Brinson M.A. CCC-SLP

 Licensed slp

Christy Brinson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 2016 with a concentration in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in Educational Studies. She further pursued a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Florida, receiving this in 2018. 

Christy has previous experience working with pediatric populations in the school, home, and outpatient settings in Texas and Florida. She has a passion for augmentative and alternative communication and social skills. When not working, she enjoys relaxing with her dog, spending time with her friends/family, and playing volleyball.

VU Company Pic

Dr. Velinda Utile

 Licensed OTD/OTR/L

Velinda Utile graduated from Florida A&M University (Go Rattlers!) with her Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education. She further pursued a doctorate in Occupational Therapy Services from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in Miami.
 
Velinda has previous experience working with the pediatric and adult populations in the school system, home, and outpatient settings. She has a passion for meeting people where they are, with previous experience assisting individuals with disabilities in finding employment. When not working, she enjoys exploring new eats in Jacksonville!
AO Cropped Image_20230818_114850_642

Amarachi Charles-Okezie

Licensed COTA/L

Charles-Okezie, COTA/L, earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy Assistant from Huntington University in May 2022. She is attaining her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Jacksonville University and will graduate in April 2025. 

Amarachi is competent and certified in American Heart Association Basic Life Support CPR and AED. She is also an AOTA member and is licensed to practice as an Occupational Therapy Assistant in Florida. Her experiences include working and interning in most occupational therapy settings, such as outpatient pediatric clinics, outpatient orthopedics, and inpatient hospitals with different age groups and diagnoses. Furthermore, Amarachi has a strong passion for working with children and individuals to enable them to perform and participate in meaningful everyday life activities! 

Amarachi looks for ways to improve her skill set when not working through continuing education courses and practicum. She also enjoys reading novels, engaging in weightlifting, forms of aerobics, and exploring new eats and places to socialize with family and friends.

IMG-1070

Akira Taveras

Client coordinator

  Akira Taveras is a current student here in Jacksonville, Florida at The University of North Florida. She’s currently seeking her Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Health Studies with a future goal of being a Community Health Educator. She loves supporting and helping those whose voice needs to be heard. She showcased that through her past experience working with Jacksonville’s Communities in School program and serving 2 years with AmeriCorps: Youth Transition Program. 

Akira plans to pursue her Masters in Public Health in hopes of becoming a Public Health Policy Analyst one day. 

DSC00782

Thurmon Marques sr.

Business Manager

A fair and detailed orientated individual who strives for extreme efficiency in operations. Understanding customer care with protective communication, this is his focal point when incorporating our company’s policies and procedures. He has established systems that help maintain a strong core and values structure with our company strategy. Thurmon is also certified for HIPAA Compliance. 

Majority of his experience from the last 20 years has been developed from working for Aviation Fortune 500 companies and also being a United States Army Veteran. A discipline and attention to detail skill set he says is credited to being a Federal Aviation Administration Licensed Technician. 

He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Redlands. 

Join us or leave us a review on social media and Google!  

Tap our social media icons for fast access, no need to search for us.  

Jacksonville Florida Speech Therapy

Join Our Team.

Go to our careers section to see what opportunities we have currently available. 

Our Story

We continue to operate on our combined history and experience since establishing in 2012.

Our clinic was developed to keep in mind results driven mindset with our clients . Since the doors have been opened, we have served families to large organizations with an equal mindset. As our story continues, we look forward in reaching those in need and impacting their goals positively.

Develop with us.
Improve with us.

Fresh Start Speech Therapy Services LLC. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.