Annie is the founder and owner of Cortex Initiative. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist through the Brain Injury Association of America and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Old Dominion University with a minor in Special Education, and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from James Madison University. Annie started her career as a middle school special education teacher and a multi-sport coach. She later became an outpatient SLP in a local hospital system, where she treated patients with a vast range of medically complex diagnoses, was the lead SLP for both the ALS and MS clinics at a nearby neurology practice, and co-facilitated a support group for people with Spasmodic Dysphonia. In addition to outpatient therapy clinics, she has worked in acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation settings, long-term care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities.

Annie has extensive clinical experience in general speech pathology with the adult population, including disorders of speech, language, cognition, voice, resonance, and swallowing. Her specific interests include working with clients who have suffered brain injuries, brain tumors, strokes, or have progressive neurological diseases, as well as clients with disorders of the voice.  She has dedicated much of her career to developing and refining materials, resources, and interventions that help strengthen the cognitive and language abilities of high-performing military service members and civilians with a history of mild traumatic brain injury.  Annie enjoys educating family members on the impact of TBI and regularly collaborates with other professionals nationwide to ensure superior care for her clients. She is nationally certified with leadership and clinical supervision experience.

Annie is the proud mother of a young son, two stepchildren, and the best doodle-dog, Bobo. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, traveling, and volunteering with her husband’s military hockey charity, Warrior for Life Fund.

Shayla is a board-certified art therapist and substance abuse counselor with extensive clinical and research experience in diverse settings, including hospitals, psychiatric facilities, rehabs, nonprofits, and government agencies. She has also received training and certification as a brain injury specialist, registered yoga teacher, and mindfulness instructor. This unique blend of skills allows me to provide holistic, integrative care for individuals looking to improve their mental health and strengthen their recovery.

Jessica Branham, LCSW has been practicing in the field of clinical social work for 14 years.  She earned her BA in psychology from James Madison University in 2006 and her Master’s of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 2008.  With a strong focus on work with children, adolescents and families, Ms. Branham completed clinical rotations throughout New York City before permanently relocating to Virginia Beach.  She worked at Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters, supporting children and their families dealing with chronic and life changing illness.  For the last 10 years Ms. Branham has been embedded locally with the Navy focusing primarily on the wellbeing of those serving as tactical specialists in naval special warfare.  She developed expertise in care of those dealing with trauma and is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for trauma, prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.  Working with a tactical population allowed her to also specialize in mental performance, leadership development and personal growth.  Ms. Branham is passionate about the health and wellbeing of those who are driven to perform in their chosen field whether that means traditional mental health treatment or enhancement of skills through performance coaching.  She provides care that is personally tailored to each individual and based on their specific goals.  Ms. Branham is currently the owner and operator of Balanced Growth Therapy and Consulting in Virginia Beach.  In this practice which opened in 2023 she provides treatment, mental performance enhancement and individual and group consultation.  Ms. Branham is married with two children and in her free time she enjoys being outside, traveling and spending time with her friends and family.

Jonathan Haynes is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) with a master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Denver. With over eight years of experience, Jonathan specializes in high-performance coaching and mental skills training, working with elite athletes, military personnel, corporate leaders, medical professionals, and educators. His diverse clientele includes startup founders, executives, musicians, airline pilots, and more.

Jonathan’s extensive experience includes working as a resilience trainer for the United States Army and U.S. Air Force, serving as part of the U.S. Army’s Resilience Directorate at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). He has supported high-level units such as the 18th Airborne Corps, Special Operations, Combat Arms, and Combat Aviation. Additionally, he has served as a Cognitive Performance Specialist for the Department of Defense’s Human Intelligence Training-Joint Center of Excellence (HT-JCOE), where he contributed to enhancing mental performance and cognitive resilience in personnel across various critical roles.

Drawing from evidence-based techniques such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based interventions, Jonathan helps clients build resilience, enhance performance, and foster psychological flexibility. He also has extensive experience in leadership development, team dynamics, and resilience-building, offering support that empowers individuals and organizations to thrive in high-pressure environments.

Rebecca is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who has obtained a Certificate of Clinical Competence through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Rebecca earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from California Baptist University in Riverside, California and her MSEd in Speech-Language Pathology from Old Dominion University in 2015. She is passionate about helping adults with cognitive, communication, and swallowing deficits regain their ability to function at their highest level. She feels that it is most important to team up with the client and his/her support system and create individualized approaches to make therapy the most challenging, yet functional to improve that client’s home and work life. Her skill set includes providing adult and geriatric cognitive, language, speech, voice and swallowing therapies. Rebecca has clinical experience providing services in the outpatient and inpatient setting to patients from 12 years old to 106 years old. Further, she has had experience in the school setting, skilled nursing facilities, long term care facilities, and assisted living facilities. Rebecca holds licenses as an SLP in both VA and CA. In her free time, she enjoys homeschooling and playing with her 3 daughters and son, spending time being active outside, and is very involved in her church community with her husband.