I am an outpatient occupational therapist (OT) with a particular interest in developmental pediatric occupational therapy. I often work with children who have challenges with sensory integration, sensory processing and autism. I really love my job! Working with children and their families brings me joy. I strive to make therapy a fun and creative place for kids to learn and advance their skills. I want to help caregivers gain strategies to help their child so they can leave our sessions empowered.

I was drawn to OT as a high school volunteer at a local hospital after seeing how OT could help improve independence in daily life skills. I have always loved children, and being able to combine OT and pediatrics was a natural fit for me. I am playful by nature, and using play to advance children's skills is very rewarding.

I am energetic, creative, organized and playful. During treatment sessions, I use play strategies to help children be happy and healthy to maximize their full potential. I want them to have fun in our sessions. I often use play "adventures" to motivate the child to engage in our sessions. It is important to me to connect with the child and their caregivers. I make our sessions fun for everyone and will often ask caregivers to join in on the activities. Children are more motivated to learn when they are having fun, and including caregivers is an excellent way for them to get used to doing activities that will help their child at home.

I am board certified in pediatrics and possess multiple sensory integration and processing certifications. I lead our sensory team in OT/PT, where we develop guidelines and training for managing care for children with sensory integration and processing challenges. I am a clinical trainer for new hires to our department, and I value the mentoring opportunities this affords me.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I like to stay active and regularly exercise, hike and water ski. My husband and I love to travel — we have been to six continents. During our travels, I have been fortunate to meet many new friends from around the world and have even kissed a dolphin!