About Us

Our Team

Our team brings almost four decades of combined clinical experience in voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders — including hospital, rehabilitation, private practice, and university settings in Australia and overseas.

Danielle Rutledge

Danielle Rutledge is the founder and lead clinician of Professional Speech Pathology. With almost two decades of experience, she's passionate about helping clients improve their quality of life through voice restoration, swallowing diagnosis and treatment, and management of upper respiratory dysfunction. She has worked across hospital, rehabilitation, outpatient, and private practice settings in Australia, the USA, and the Middle East, and mentors undergraduate, masters, and clinical fellow students, including through the American Speech and Hearing Association.

Professional Affiliation and Awards

  • Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia (CPSP)
  • Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP), American Speech and Hearing Association
  • Voice and Upper Airway Special Interest Group (ASHA)
  • Australian Voice Association (AVA)
  • Laryngology Society of Australasia
  • Mater Allied Health Employee Award for Technology and Innovation, 2021

Training/ Qualifications

  • Master of Speech Pathology
  • Bachelor of Psychology and Business
  • Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT)
  • Paradoxical Vocal Cord Movement Assessment and Management (advanced training, USA)
  • Manual Therapy in Voice and Swallowing
  • Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study
  • MBSImP certification
  • FEES assessment and evaluation
  • PhoRTE Voice Therapy certification

Book an appointment with Danielle

Sophie Chandler

Sophie Chandler is an experienced speech pathologist and university educator with a special interest in voice restoration and transformation. She brings warmth and expertise to her work, with almost two decades of clinical and educational experience across Queensland and New South Wales, including tertiary and private hospitals, rehabilitation and outpatient clinics, private practice, and university teaching.

Sophie has presented research at conferences internationally, including the Australian and New Zealand Head and Neck Society (Melbourne and Singapore), Laryngology (Kuala Lumpur), Speech Pathology Australia National (Tasmania), and Head and Neck Cancer Grand Rounds (Sydney). She has also contributed to publications in Supportive Care in Cancer, the Head and Neck Journal of the Sciences, Specialities of the Head and Neck, the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and the Australasian Journal on Aging.


Publications

Committed to lifelong learning and professional development, Sophie has also contributed to publications in

  • Supportive Care in Cancer
  • Head and Neck Journal of the Sciences
  • Specialities of the Head and Neck
  • European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
  • Australasian Journal on Aging


Training/ Qualifications

  • Master of Speech Pathology
  • Bachelor of Arts (Psychology, Honours), University of Queensland
  • Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia (CPSP)

In addition to her clinical and academic work, Sophie has a lifelong passion for the performing arts and previously studied in the Bachelor of Performing Arts program at QUT - a background that continues to inspire her work with voice and communication today.

Book an appointment with Sophie

Julia Matthews

Julia Matthews joins Professional Speech Pathology after more than 41 years of practice,  20 years as a Speech Pathologist at Mater Hospital. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside medical, nursing, and allied health colleagues to support adults with complex communication, swallowing, and speech needs. Julia now brings that experience to private practice, continuing to build on those collaborative relationships in the outpatient setting.


Clinical areas of focus:

  • Neurological communication disorders
  • Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)
  • Head and neck cancer rehabilitation
  • Chronic cough, upper airway, and breathing disorders

Julia welcomes referrals for adults requiring assessment and management in these areas, and is committed to delivering evidence-based, patient-centred care.

Qualifications and Affiliations

  • Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia (CPSP)


Training/ Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Speech Therapy (1985)


Book an appointment with Julia