The Blossom Rural team is made up of passionate Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists who are committed to supporting children in rural and remote communities across Australia.
We understand the realities of rural life from distance, limited access to services, busy family routines, and the importance of flexible, practical support.
That’s why everything we do is designed to be accessible, meaningful, and easy to embed into everyday life. Our clinicians work collaboratively with families, schools, and support teams to ensure children receive consistent, high-quality care no matter where they live.
Emily Baxter
Blossom Rural Director & Speech Pathologist (B.SP, CPSP)
Hi there, my name is Emily! I am the Director and Founder of Blossom Rural. I studied a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.
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As a Speech Pathologist, I love working with rural families on their child’s literacy, speech and language skills.
I opened Blossom Rural in January 2021 after noticing the lack of Speech Pathology services in my local Far Western NSW region.
The number of rural children, living on properties and remote towns, who were not able to access regular Speech Pathology intervention without driving to a major capital city, was astounding. These were the families I had always hoped to work alongside and provide an accessible service to.
I grew up in Broken Hill before heading to Adelaide for Boarding School at 12 years of age followed by university. The healthcare gap between country and city was very obvious!
Meg Haynes
Speech Pathologist (M.SP, CPSP)
Meg is a Speech Pathologist who loves working with all people to achieve their goals!
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Meg has a love for helping clients with goals related to:
🤩 Motor Speech
🤩 Literacy
🤩 School-Aged Language
🤩 Early Language
🤩 AAC
🤩 Social Communication
Meg has lived far and wide, so understands the difficulties families face when trying to access Speech Pathology services!
Erin Lazzarini
Occupational Therapist (B.OT)
Erin is a paediatric occupational therapist with 14 years of clinical experience. She has worked across a variety of settings including private practice, education, and the community sector.
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She has experience working with children of all ages but has a passion for intervention in the early years of development. Her special interest areas include developing social and emotional skills in children and empowering parents to understand and support their children to the best of their ability.
She regularly presents information sessions to educators and parents on topics including handwriting, fine motor skills, attention, feeding, sensory processing, motivation and social/emotional development. Her article addressing how to teach handwriting skills to young children was published in the Journal for Early Education. She has presented at the Early Childhood Intervention Association conference on this same topic and has run workshops for OT Australia on keeping distracted children engaged in the classroom. Erin also works in tertiary education supporting occupational therapy students.
Erin works part time at Blossom Rural (Monday-Thursday) and enjoys spending the rest of her free time with her 6 year old daughter and husband.
Sophie Greet
Speech Pathologist (M.SP, CPSP)
Sophie is a Speech Pathologist, living in rural South Australia! Soph joined our team as an Allied Health Assistant, 2 years ago and has now graduated as a Speechie!
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My name is Sophie and I am a Speech Pathologist at Blossom Rural. I live in rural South Australia.
I was drawn to Blossom Rural because I understand the need for this service. I feel passionate and would like to advocate for country kids who may not otherwise be able to access speech pathology and occupational therapy.
In my spare time, I enjoy cooking for my friends and family, reading and playing with my adorable rabbit, Casper.
Brooke Humphrey
Administration
Brooke is on the Admin Team at Blossom Rural. She has been working in medical reception/admin roles for 10 years and loves it.
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She really enjoys creating a great rapport with clients and helping with any questions/queries they may have. Brooke lives in Central Victoria with her partner Josh, their two dogs, and cat. In her free time, she loves to read (anything fiction, romance, suspense, thrillers, horror), gardening, listening to music/true crime podcasts, or being outside.
Ainsley Harben
Occupational Therapist (B.OT)
Ainsley is an Occupational Therapist with a passion for working with children, teenagers and families from rural and remote backgrounds. Ainsley has a keen interest in social and emotional development, as well as sensory processing, and loves exploring how these skills translate into real-world settings.
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In her practice, Ainsley prioritises building positive therapeutic relationships, ensuring that every client and their family feel supported, understood, and empowered throughout the therapeutic journey.
When she’s not in session, you’ll often find her diving into research on social competence! She has presented her academic work on supporting social development in vulnerable children at the 2024 Early Childhood Voices Conference and the 2025 Occupational Therapy Australia Conference.
Outside of work, Ainsley loves spending time in nature, discovering new places and seeking out the best local coffee spots!
Eliza Blume
Speech Pathologist (M.SP, CPSP)
Eliza is a Speech Pathologist, living in Queensland. She has experience working with people of all ages in community, hospital, and private practise settings. Eliza studied a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at the Australian Catholic University, Brisbane.
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My name is Eliza, and I am thrilled to support your children achieve their communication goals! I am interested in working towards speech, language, literacy, social communication, and voice therapy goals. Here’s some fun information about me: I love learning about health and wellness, playing tennis, trying to convince my garden to stay alive, and refurbishing antiques. I’m looking forward to meeting you soon!