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Who We Are

At Communication Junction, we are a team of speech pathologists and early educators that teaches families how to communicate and connect with their children through sign language, so they can develop a lifelong love of learning.

We offer classes face-to-face in Peoria and Bloomington, IL, as well as virtually wherever you are. Our classroom locations:

Peoria Classroom:

7320 N University St.
Peoria, IL 61614

Bloomington /Normal:

10 Westport Ct Bloomington, IL 61704

Open the door to easy communication with children's sign language.

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Our Team

Abbey Cook

Owner/Director


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Brittany Heidemann

Peoria Instructor/
Curriculum Director
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Rebecca Kinnary

Peoria Instructor/ Social Media +
Graphic Design
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Abbey Mathis

Peoria Instructor

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Elizabeth Mester

Bloomington Instructor
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Molly McCue

Bloomington Instructor
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Amanda Nudd

Office Manager
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Erica Ogden

Story Time Instructor/ Photographer
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Katlin Reardon

Peoria Instructor/ Story Time Lead
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Meghan Robertson

Instructor/Social Media Manager
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Jen Williams

PEORIA Instructor
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Alyssa White

Virtual Instructor
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Abbey Cook

Owner/Director
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Abbey Cook, owner and director of Communication Junction, is a Speech Language Pathologist, receiving her Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology, at Gallaudet University in 2004. She is licensed through the American Speech and Hearing Association, and a certified Early Intervention Service Provider in the State of Illinois. Prior to establishing Communication Junction in 2009, Abbey worked as a SLP in an elementary school with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children in Virginia Beach, VA. Abbey has also worked at Illinois State University, supervising graduate students and teaching various courses. Abbey has two children who began using American Sign Language at a young age. At five months old her youngest son began signing milk and by age 1 both boys had signing vocabularies of 20+ words. She has seen first-hand the power of teaching ASL vocabulary to children can have on early communication skills (leading to less frustration and tantrums), vocabulary development and school readiness skills. She established Communication Junction to share her knowledge of language development and passion for early communication with all families.

Brittany Heidemann

LEAD Instructor
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Brittany Heidemann is a Speech Language Pathologist with a Masters Degree from Texas Christian University (Go Horned Frogs!). She is licensed through the American Speech and Hearing Association and a certified Early Intervention Service Provider in the State of Illinois. Brittany and her husband, Scott, reside in Peoria with their two sons, Colby and Miles. She has been a CJ mama since 2016 and became an instructor in 2018. Brittany is thrilled to share her knowledge of speech and language development with you and watch your family fall in love with the community you’ll find in our classes.

Rebecca Kinnary

Peoria Instructor + Social Media/ Graphic Design
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Rebecca graduated from University of Illinois in 2012 with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught Kindergarten, summer school and coached High School dance in Chillicothe, IL for seven years. She decided to stay at home when her son, Theo, was born in 2019. She currently lives in Peoria with her husband Kyle and three little boys. Rebecca started Communication Junction classes with Theo when he was six months old and saw how much of a positive impact these classes had for Theo and her family. Rebecca is excited to help other families on their communication journey with their little ones!

Abbey Mathis

Peoria Instructor
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Abbey graduated from Illinois State University in 2015 with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught 1st Grade for 8 years in the Dunlap School District before deciding to stay home after her second child was born. Abbey and her husband Phil live in Dunlap with their two children Mila and Jude. Abbey started out as a CJ mom when Mila was 9 months. As a mom, she saw how amazing classes were and how helpful they were for communication at a young age. She’s excited to switch roles and be able to help families have the same success. 

Elizabeth Mester

Bloomington Instructor
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Elizabeth Mester received her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Iowa in 2011. She is licensed as a speech-language pathologist and is certified as an Early Intervention Service Provider in the State of Illinois. Prior to working at Communication Junction, Elizabeth worked in school settings, primarily in a special education classroom for preschoolers with significant communication disorders. Elizabeth has a long history with Communication Junction – first supporting CJ’s method of teaching early communication as a fellow speech-language pathologist, and later in classes with her own children as a CJ parent. Elizabeth loves helping young children develop a strong foundation for communication and language learning, and she is excited to now be a part of the CJ team of instructors! Elizabeth and her husband, Luke, live in Normal with their six children. 

Molly McCue

Instructor
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Molly grew up in Bloomington-Normal and attended Augustana College, graduating in 2011 with a Psychology degree. She returned to Bloomington and worked at a local church for 9 years before deciding to stay home with her two boys full time. Molly started as a “CJ mom” with her oldest son when he was 8 months old and has been amazed at how sign language has allowed both of her children to communicate clearly at such a young age, relieving the stress and frustration of the young toddler years. Molly loves to have the opportunity to get to know local families and help them connect with their kids through silly songs and signing.

Amanda Nudd

Office Manager
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Amanda Nudd joined Communication Junction as Office Manger in November 2018. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Elementary Education in 2012. After teaching second grade for a year, Amanda decided to stay at home full-time with her son, while also continuing to substitute teach part-time. Amanda currently lives in Chillicothe with her husband, Jeff, and their four children. Being a CJ mom since 2014, Amanda can truly attest to the positive power that both signing and Communication Junction has on raising children through story times, classes, and at home. She absolutely loves being a part of an organization that means so much to her and her family and contributing to the incredible impact that CJ has on the community!

Erica Ogden

Story Time Instructor/
Photographer
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Erica graduated from Bradley University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and endorsement in Special Education. She taught preschool in the Dunlap district before staying home when her oldest daughter was born. Erica and her husband, Eric, live in Dunlap and have 4 girls, Addison, Savannah, Brooklyn, and Emily. Sign and Sing Storytimes were some of the first experiences Erica and her girls had to Communication Junction and have attended Stroll & Sign, classes, and events ever since. The benefits of sign, routine, and socialization Communication Junction provides has been a gift to her family. She is excited to now be teaching the Sign and Sing Storytime that first impacted her family many years ago and watching other families benefit as well. You may see her with a camera in her hands at times – Erica loves being the photographer for Communication Junction too!

Katlin Reardon

Peoria Instructor/ Story Time Director
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Katlin graduated from Southern Illinois University in 2011 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught Kindergarten for 4 years before deciding to stay home after her second child was born. Katlin and her husband Phil live in Dunlap with their three children Nora, Owen and Levi. She started out as a CJ mom when Nora was 6 months old in 2014. She has since taken numerous classes and attended many story times and fun CJ events. Katlin is excited to become an instructor with Communication Junction because she has seen just how much sign language has helped her own children learn to communicate and grow! She can’t wait to help other families grow too!

Meghan Robertson

Instructor & Social Media Manager
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Meghan has an undergrad degree in Deaf Education from Illinois State University. After graduating from ISU, she relocated with her husband to SE Michigan. While there, she began teaching Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in a classroom setting at both the elementary and high school level for 7 years. She saw, first hand, how important early language development, through sign language could have such a strong impact on a child’s lifelong literacy. Meghan then chose to focus on language development, receiving her Master’s Degree from Madonna University in 2015 in Reading and Literacy. Since her husband’s job relocated the family back to the Bloomington-Normal area in 2018, Meghan has been staying at home with their 3 young children. Meghan is thrilled to be a part the Communication Junction team and to continue to help families grow and communicate in a fun and meaningful way!

Jen Williams

Instructor
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Jen graduated from Bradley University with a degree in elementary education and taught kindergarten and first grade before working toward her Masters in literacy from Benedictine University. She currently teaches preschool and is married with four children. Jen started coming to story time when her oldest was just one and has since taken countless classes and attended many more story times! She is excited to be part of the CJ team as she has seen first hand the powerful impact early communication can have on babies.

Alyssa White

Virtual Instructor
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Alyssa White is an Early Childhood Educator. She graduated from U of I in 2013 with her Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and also earned her Masters Degree in Language and Literacy in 2019.  Alyssa taught 1st grade for 10 years before deciding to stay home with her children and continues to substitute teach part-time. Alyssa and her husband Andrew live in Mahomet, IL, just outside of Champaign (Go Illini!) They have two children, Lucy and Jack.  Alyssa started as a CJ mom in 2020 when her daughter was 6 months old.  She has seen tremendous growth in communication in both of her children with the help of CJ’s virtual classes, tips and tricks, and knowledgeable staff. Alyssa is excited to be a part of your journey in communicating with your little ones!