Learn more about our team.
Our Team
A. Elaine McCurry,
M.A., M.S., CCC-SLP
Laine is the Owner and Co-Founder of Carefree Speech, LLC. She is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist with over a decade of clinical, coaching, and leadership experience. Prior to becoming a speech pathologist, she worked as an adult education instructor, teaching literacy, writing, and GED prep courses for students between the ages of 18-92.
After several years in clinical leadership roles, Laine created Carefree Speech, a mission-driven, values-based company to help clients of all ages and backgrounds achieve greater confidence in their communication skills. She is a strong neurodiversity advocate and believes that speech therapy should empower clients to embrace their authentic selves.
She loves spending time with her husband and four rescue dogs, learning to play the drums and ukulele, and drinking iced coffee.
Education
Laine holds an M.A. in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Iowa and an M.S. in Communication Sciences from East Tennessee State University. She graduated summa cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. in Anthropology and Spanish.
Recognition
Laine is a recipient of the Obermann Graduate Fellowship from the University of Iowa and the FIPSE Graduate Fellowship from East Tennessee State University. In 2014, her graduate research was formally recognized as meritorious by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). During her graduate studies at ETSU, she completed an exchange program in Brazil, during which she examined cross-cultural clinical practices in the field of speech-language pathology under the guidance of Dr. A. Lynn Williams, former president of ASHA.
Experience
With over a decade of clinical and leadership experience, Laine has practiced in a variety of settings including teletherapy, outpatient, skilled nursing, and home health settings. She is qualified to assess and treat clinical concerns including articulation, expressive/receptive language, executive function, social language, and fluency disorders. She also specializes in public speaking, alleviating speaking anxiety, and interview preparation.
She is currently licensed to provide clinical speech therapy services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Laine offers communication coaching, tutoring, and executive function coaching services throughout the entire United States.
Jamie McCurry, M.Ed.
Jamie is the Co-Founder and Business Operations Manager of Carefree Speech. He is a proud U.S. Navy veteran and licensed middle- and secondary- mathematics instructor and learning coach with over fifteen years of teaching experience.
Jamie is dedicated to helping clients of all ages develop the skills they need to lead exceptional lives. He takes a compassionate, empowering approach to supporting clients in the areas of executive dysfunction and mathematics tutoring. Having participated in speech therapy himself during childhood and adolescence, he believes in the mission of Carefree Speech to foster a safe, welcoming space for clients to achieve confidence in their communication skills.
He loves spending time with his family, playing videogames, and listening to 80s music.
Education
Jamie holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the University of Tennessee. Jamie completed additional coursework to support gifted students in the state of Georgia and, in 2020, he received a Computer Science endorsement to further advance in the area of STEM education.
Recognition
In 2019, Jamie received a TVA STEM grant as director of an eLab for the Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts to help students create voice-operated prosthetic limbs for amputees.
Experience
Jamie has over fifteen years of experience as a licensed mathematics instructor and learning coach in secondary education. He has worked extensively with gifted, 2E (twice exceptional), and non-traditional learners in alternative and credit recovery programs in Georgia, Tennessee, and Nebraska.
In addition to his background as an instructor, he has experience in data analytics and software coding. He is passionate about helping clients develop improved executive function skills to support greater independence and success in their lives.