Meet Our Team
Expertise, Empathy, Excellence: Our Pediatric Team Defines Pediatric Care
Andrew Elliston, MD, FAAP, Cofounder
Dr. Andrew Elliston is a board certified pediatrician providing expert personalized care in the convenience of your New York City home. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Duke University. He also received his Doctorate of Medicine at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed his Pediatric Residency at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Upon his move to New York City, he became affiliated with Weill-Cornell / New York Presbyterian Hospital and Lenox Hill Hospital.
Dr. Elliston has been chosen for inclusion on the “Super Doctors and Rising Stars of New York City Pediatricians” list by The New York Times in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Dr. Elliston’s expert training, reliability and calming demeanor ensures best outcomes for his patients while supporting and reassuring parents every step of the way. He is most passionate about creating meaningful, trusting, and long term relationships with the families that he cares for. With patience, empathy, vast experience, and education, he helps guide parents through all of the ups and downs of their children’s health and development.
Throughout his years in practice, Dr. Elliston has fostered meaningful professional relationships with the top Pediatric Specialists. These relationships ensure that his patients receive excellent, timely care and follow up as needed.
Although he is a North Carolina native, Dr. Elliston has lived in NYC with his wife and two children since 2013, and their dog Duke who recently joined their loving family.
Michelle Bennett, MD, FAAP
Dr. Michelle Bennett is a board-certified pediatrician with 20 years of experience in providing excellent, thoughtful, thorough patient care to children from infancy through college. Dr. Bennett grew up in Kentucky and decided in 5th grade that she wanted to become a pediatrician. To that end, she graduated from high school as valedictorian and received a full-paid merit scholarship to Transylvania University in Lexington, where she received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in biology and graduated magna cum laude. She completed medical school at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, where she graduated in the top 10% of her medical school class and with Honors in Pediatrics. She was elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Bennett completed her residency in Pediatrics at the University of South Carolina, where she was nominated Resident of the Year her final year and was awarded Outstanding Pediatric Resident. She then practiced for 17 years as a full-time pediatrician in Kentucky before moving to Manhattan.
Dr. Bennett finds delight in supporting growing families and in helping parents gain the confidence to trust their parenting compass. She recognizes that each child is an individual and that no cookie-cutter approach will be effective for all children. She loves to work with families as they discover the unique and amazing things that make their child and their family special.
In her free time, Dr. Bennett enjoys spending time with her own family, traveling, and going to the theater. A fun fact about Dr. Bennett’s family is that her daughter has been in two Broadway shows, including the role of Young Anna in the original Broadway cast of Frozen the Musical, thus prompting Dr. Bennett’s family’s move to New York City several years ago. And yes, they are pros at building snowmen!
Cherilyn Cecchini, MD, FAAP
Dr. Cherilyn Cecchini is a board-certified pediatrician providing compassionate, comprehensive healthcare to children of all ages. With a commitment to nurturing young lives and promoting healthy development, Dr. Cecchini is your trusted partner in your child’s healthcare journey. After receiving her Bachelor of Science from The Pennsylvania State University, she earned her medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College, where she was inducted into the Hobart Armory Hare Medical Honor Society, which recognizes individuals who achieve excellent academic marks during clerkship, and graduated with honors in pediatrics. Dr. Cecchini completed her residency training in pediatrics at Children’s National Hospital, most recently ranked as the 5th best children’s hospital according to U.S. News and World (and consistently ranked as a top ten children’s hospital for the last 8 years). She was chosen as a recipient of the Susan L. Ivey Courage to Lead Award and the 2022 AMWA (American Medical Women’s Association) Inspire Award in recognition for her meaningful contributions towards the advancement of women in medicine.
In addition to providing pediatric care through telemedicine, she has held roles of increasing responsibility across health communications at top agencies, including LifeSci Communications and most recently as Partner at FINN Partners and is recognized as a medical expert, author and influencer providing commentary for well-read media outlets, including Parents, Good Housekeeping, Care.com, The Washington Post, the Strategist, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) News, What to Expect, Celebrity Parents Magazine, Romper, GoodRx and others.
Dr. Cecchini’s academic research focused on patient-provider communication. She believes in building strong relationships with her young patients and their families and caregivers while fostering an environment of trust, empathy, and open communication. She takes the time to listen to your concerns, answer your questions, and collaborate with you to develop personalized treatment plans that meet your child’s unique needs. Her passion for pediatrics is evident in her warm demeanor, dedication to patient-centered care, and relentless pursuit of excellence.
A native New Yorker, Dr. Cecchini loves exploring New York City with her fiancé and their dog, Baci, a 5.5-pound maltese-yorkie (morkie) who is 12 years young. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, running, and doing crossword puzzles (and other games like spelling bee and connections)!
Heidi Meeker, BSN, RNC-OB, MNN, LRN, EFM, Cofounder
Heidi is a registered nurse with 20 years of experience. She has worked in Adult Medicine, Psychiatry, Home Care, Nursing Management and for the majority of these 20 years she has been a Labor and Delivery nurse which is her passion. Heidi loves empowering women to find their inner strength and helping guide the newborns safely into this world. She has additional training and advanced certification in lactation, Inpatient Obstetrics, Electronic Fetal Monitoring, Maternal Newborn Nursing and Low Risk Newborn. Heidi is the cofounder of Elliston Pediatrics and Dr. Elliston’s wife.
Together they are the proud parents of Isabela and Liam, who are the inspiration for making Elliston Pediatrics the best medical practice you will ever find! As a nurse, mother of two and wife of a pediatrician, Heidi can be an additional support to answer any questions parents might have. Her goals and efforts are spent making sure your pediatric practice not only provides the best medical care to your children but also can support, guide and empower parents to make life as stress free as possible.
She and Dr. Elliston are always working to stay ahead of medical, technological, or social changes that may affect or improve the care of your children. Dinner conversations in their home are extra nerdy!! When she can find free time, she loves cooking, eating, exercising, and cuddling with her kids (if they let her ???? )
Heather Susca, Director of Operations
Heather has over ten years of experience working in multiple administrative positions including front desk, surgical coordination, medical billing, and operations management at several different specialty practices. Throughout each practice she has always carried and valued a “Patient Comes First” attitude to make sure patients always walk away with an experience that exceeds expectations. With high attention to detail, analysis, and outside-the-box approaches, she has helped practices optimize operations without diluting high quality patient care. Heather can advocate for our parents with specialist’s offices, insurance companies and overall help better navigate your children’s care.
Jamie Hilliard, Practice Manager/Administrator, CMOM
Jaime is a Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Administration and Practice Management (SOAPM). She brings over 14 years of pediatric primary care experience to Elliston Pediatrics. She has studied business, medical practice management, and marketing. Jaime is in charge of coordinating business operations and patient management, as well as keeping us up to date and in compliance with the ever changing business aspects of pediatric medical practice. Anything from insurance and physician credentialing, supply management, and price negotiations. She can do it all!
Abbey Hertz, Administrative Assistant
Abbey is a dedicated healthcare professional with several years of experience working in primary care and pediatrics. She loves nurturing strong bonds with families, and her mission is to help guide patients and families through the healthcare system. Abbey is passionate about advocating for patients, ensuring they always feel valued and understood. She loves working with children, and is inspired by their resilience and spirit.
In her free time, Abbey is an avid hiker alongside her husband and three dogs, who bring them both endless joy, and also enjoys exercising her artistic skills as a hairstylist.
