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| Building Blocks Pediatrics, LLC Staff |
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Amy Conley, MOT, OTR/L
Owner/Occupational Therapist |
| Amy Conley is a master's level pediatric occupational therapist. She graduated summa cum laude with a Communication degree from Florida State University and went on to pursue a master's degree in occupational therapy from Nova Southeastern University, where she graduated first in her class. Her love for children brought her into the pediatric arena. As partner of Building Blocks Pediatrics, LLC, she is excited to be an integral piece of such a wonderful and committed group of therapists and families. She continues to work in a number of pediatric settings, including homes, schools and clinic-based environments. Throughout her career, Amy has worked with a variety of children with various needs, including feeding, sensory, handwriting, fine motor, etc. She is certified in therapeutic listening and specializes in handwriting and Sensory Integration techniques. She takes many continuing education classes always striving to improve her knowledge skills. She continues to enjoy many aspects of being a therapist, however her main source of satisfaction comes from developing relationships with families, while making a difference in the life of a child. In her spare time, Amy enjoys traveling and playing with her dog, Marlee. She also loves to visit family and friends, who mainly reside in Florida. |
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Erin Patrick, MS, OTR/L
Owner/Occupational Therapist |
| Erin is a registered and licensed master’s level pediatric occupational therapist. Erin graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998 and then went on to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy from Brenau University. Erin’s experiences and love for children has led her into a career as a pediatric occupational therapist. Erin has worked in the pediatric arena since 2002. She has worked in many settings including, hospitals, both inpatient and outpatient, schools, home health and private practice. Erin’s passion for her career as a pediatric occupational therapist and her devotion to children has led her to owning and operating her own pediatric therapy company. Erin is a current member of Georgia Occupational Therapy Association and The American Occupational Therapy Association. Erin enjoys running, playing tennis, going to the theater and spending time with friends and family. |
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Michelle Bartolozzi, MS CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Michelle Bartolozzi has been a Speech Pathologist since 1995. Michelle graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in Communication Disorders, and from the William Paterson University in New Jersey with an M.S. in Communication Disorders. Michelle has worked in a variety of settings with both pediatric and adult patients including hospitals, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings, home health, and clinics. Michelle moved to Atlanta from New Jersey in 2000 and worked at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on the inpatient rehab unit with patients who had TBI, ABI and/or Spinal Cord Injury for 7 years. In May of 2007, Michelle began working for Building Blocks so that she could spend more time with her own daughters. She started out in the clinic and now sees patients in their homes for Building Blocks. Michelle continues to work for Children's Healthcare on a per diem basis is a clinical supervisor in the graduate program at Georgia State University. Michelle loves working with children and their families. She has served on ad hoc committees for the national speech association to improve training for therapists in the area of pediatric feeding and swallowing and participated in peer reviews for continuing education. She works as a mentor to help train other SLPs in working with patients who have swallowing disorders and patients who have tracheostomies and/or are on ventilators. |
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Brittany Kendall - OTR/L
Occupational Therapist |
Brittany has been working as an occupational therapist for 6 years. She graduated summa cum-laude with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Medical College of Georgia. She started out her career working in adult inpatient rehab, specializing in treatment of neurological impairments including spinal cord injury, brain injury, and stroke. She then took her knowledge and moved to the pediatric population, where she has been working for the past 4 years. Previous employment positions have been held at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite. Brittany has loved her work with children and enjoys being a part of their journey. Brittany currently specializes in sensory integration treatment, sensory feeding treatment, fine motor and handwriting, and neuro developmental treatment.Brittany has certifications in the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding approach, Brain Gym, and is beginning training with Therapeutic Listening. Brittany is recently married, and enjoys spending free time with her husband and their dog, Sophie. Brittany also enjoys painting, cooking, and spending time with family. |
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Sarah Chaloupek
Physical Therapist |
| Sarah Chaloupek is a master level physical therapist. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Florida. She has been practicing physical therapy since 2002 and has ten years of experience with the pediatric population. She has worked in a variety of settings with her primary focus in outpatient pediatric rehabilitation. Sarah has previously worked for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. She recently relocated back to the Atlanta area and is excited to be a part of the Building Blocks team. She is experienced in treating several diagnosis including torticollis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, developmental delay, neuromuscular impairments and orthopedic injuries. . The parents of her patients learn how to help their children overcome obstacles and she feels privileged to develop a relationship with them as they work to accomplish their goals. Sarah loves to be greeted with hugs and smiles as she works together as a team; parents, therapist and the child to achieve goals of rehabilitation. She uses games and play as the theme while she works through challenges and weakness. Laughter is often heard in the treatment areas as children learn to enjoy themselves even while working hard. Outside of the clinic, Sarah is busy raising her three children and spending time with her husband. She enjoys traveling with her family, reading, and dancing. |
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Sarah Swafford, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist |
Sarah Swafford graduated from University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and went on to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy from University of Washington. As a pediatric occupational therapist, Sarah has managed to combine her love of science and healthcare with her passion for working with children. Sarah has worked in hospital based pediatric inpatient and outpatient clinics for the last five years. She has had the pleasure of serving a diverse population of children with fine motor, developmental, sensory, neurological, handwriting, activities of daily living, and other needs. Sarah is currently the principal investigator of a clinical-based research project which is studying the effectiveness of an intensive outpatient occupational therapy program for young children with developmental and/or sensory processing delays. Sarah is thrilled to be a member of the Building Blocks team and is looking forward to all of the ‘fun and functional’ time she will be spending with her new friends and their families! When she isn’t having fun at work Sarah enjoys playing tennis, training for triathlons, and playing with her dog, Bear. |
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Susan Still, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist |
| Susan Still, OTR/L graduated from Boston University’s Sargent College of Allied Health in 1995. She received her NDT certification for “Treatment of Children with Cerebral Palsy” in 2003 and completed the Advanced 1 class for 'Yoga for the Special Child' in 2007. She is trained in therapeutic listening including CORE training in Samonas and Sonnas. Susan has worked with children for 15 years in an early intervention daycare, home care settings, and both inpatient and outpatient settings in a Children's hospital. She worked for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for 10 years as both a staff occupational therapist and discipline team leader. She was on a wide variety of committees to improve clinical competency and standards at Children’s including chairing the Sensory Processing team. Susan currently does contract work in a public school system as well as doing private therapy. She co-owns YogAbility kids, LLC,a company specializing in providing recreational community based yoga and ball gymnastics classes for all children, including those with special needs. She received a GA PTA Diversity and Inclusion Grant in 2007 to provide full inclusion ball gymnastics classes after school. In her spare time Susan loves going to Broadway musicals and live concerts. |
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Jennifer Stuart, Ed. S, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Jennifer Stuart graduated from the University of Georgia with an undergraduate and master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders. She also obtained an education specialist degree from the University of Georgia in reading education specializing in the treatment of reading disabilities. Jennifer enjoys working as a speech language pathologist with children with language disorders on all aspects of communication: speaking, reading and writing. She has worked in various settings throughout her career including private practice and schools and has experience treating children with language disorders, autism, traumatic brain injury, oral-motor, and developmental disabilities. Jennifer and her husband David have been residents of the Smyrna/Vinings area of Cobb County for over a decade. When she is not spending time with her husband and son, she enjoys UGA football and the Atlanta Thrashers. |
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Denise Pennington, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Denise A. Pennington has been a Speech Language Pathologist for over 23 years. She graduated from University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1982 with her Bachelor's Degree and from Louisiana State University in 1986 with her Masters Degree in Communication Disorders. She worked in Louisiana in a wide variety of settings including private practice, schools, outpatient clinics, acute care, intensive/extensive care, inpatient rehab centers, nursing home rehab and home care. She has worked and an insurance reviewer for speech language therapy services. Denise also worked with a large rehab company reviewing Medicare and Medicaid paperwork. While living in Louisiana, she also served as an expert witness in several court cases. Denise moved to Marietta in 2001. At that time she began work in a pediatric outpatient rehab center and completed NDT training. Since then she has also worked in the school system. Denise began work as an independent contractor with Building Blocks in 2005. Denise has been married since 1986 to Wesley Pennington. They have 3 children, Rob 21, Justin 20 and Mandy 17. Denise loves to read and spend time with her family and pets. |
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Sharon Seltman, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist |
| Sharon Seltman received her B.S. Degree in Occupational Therapy in 1980 from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Sharon has practiced OT for over 27 years with both the pediatric and adult populations. She is NDT Certified (Neuro-Developmental Therapy) since 1987. Sharon's past experience includes working with a wide range of pediatric disabilities in a variety of settings. She has worked for South Metro Psycho-Educational Center, Emory University Rehabilitation Center and the HUG Center for medically Fragile Children. She also has extensive inpatient and out patient experience with adults in many local Atlanta Hospitals and outpatient treatment centers. Sharon took time off from Pediatrics while her own children were young and focused on adult rehabilitation. Now that her children are teenagers, she has returned to the Pediatric arena, her first love of OT. Sharon has been working for Building Blocks since 2005 shortly after the clinic's doors opened. Sharon's expertise includes NDT, Sensory Integrative Therapy, Fine Motor and Perceptual delays and working with a multitude of varied diagnoses. Sharon loves what she does and is so happy to be back treating the pediatric population. She enjoys the multi-disciplinary team approach and enjoys teaching both parents and teachers the benefits of OT. |
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Vanessa Gabriele, M.H.S., OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
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| Vanessa Gabriele, M.H.S., OTR/L is a 2006 graduate of Medical College of Georgia, where she earned a Master of Health Sciences in Occupational Therapy degree. Vanessa was President of the Student Occupational Therapy Association and received the Ricardo Carrasco Award for second career students. A Maine native, she also holds an Associate of Arts in Natural Resource Management degree from Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, VT. Vanessa moved to Atlanta in 1997 for a year of service with Hands On Atlanta AmeriCorps and has lived in Georgia ever since. Vanessa worked for over 2 years on an adult inpatient brain injury unit. Continuing education coursework during that time included Neuro-Developmental Treatment and Kinesio-taping. She also became Georgia Modalities Certified. Vanessa has a love of serving pediatric populations using a relationship-based approach. She has facilitated handwriting groups, home programs to address Therapeutic Listening and Wilbarger Brushing Protocol, as well as Sensory Diets tailored to child-specific needs. Vanessa has treated children with diagnoses that include (but not limited to) Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Visual Impairment, and Sensory Processing Disorder. She has worked extensively in a Level III NICU and has an interest in working with premature infants throughout their life span. Vanessa owns a Cocker Spaniel rescue dog that she spoils with love and attention. She enjoys learning new cooking methodology, sewing, and reading. She “dabbles” in running and yoga. Vanessa currently resides in Collier Hills. |
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Joan M. Crawford, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Joan M. Crawford has been a Speech Language Pathologist for over 25 years. She graduated from Auburn University with an undergraduate degree in speech pathology and a minor in psychology. She received her master’s degree from Memphis State University in Speech Pathology. She is certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association and licensed by the state of Georgia. Her extensive and varied experience includes being part of a preschool pediatric diagnostic team for a major school system, elementary school speech therapy, providing all of the speech services for a major hospital, clinical therapy, private practice, accent reduction, and owning a preschool screening business. Joan is a native of Atlanta who has also lived in Dallas, Chicago, and Birmingham. She is the mother of three girls in their twenties. When not working, she enjoys travel and spending time with friends and family. |
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Lauren Keane, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist |
| Lauren Keane is a master’s level occupational therapist. She graduated with a Psychology degree from the University of Georgia and went on to pursue a master's degree in occupational therapy from the Medical College of Georgia, where she graduated with a 4.0 and was inducted in to the Alpha Eta honor society. Her passion for children started when she was young, volunteering for Special Olympics and providing child care throughout her teenage years. Working as a paraprofessional in a self-contained Autism classroom and being a camp counselor at a special needs summer camp furthered her passion for children with special needs. She is joining the Building Blocks team and looks forward to continuing her education in pediatrics and growing as a therapist. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys being active outdoors and spending time with friends and family. |
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Jennifer McCuller, M. Ed, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Jennifer McCuller graduated from The University of Georgia in 2003 where she received her undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders. She then pursued a master’s degree in communication disorders from Valdosta State University in 2007. Jennifer has worked as a school based speech-language pathologist in Atlanta for over 3 years. She has experience working with children who have a variety of needs, including students with apraxia, autism, language delays, phonological/articulation disorders , mild intellectually delayed, and moderately intellectually delayed. Jennifer ‘s true passion is collaborating with teachers in the classroom to improve phonemic awareness and literacy skills. She feels that working on language concepts in the classroom setting is crucial to meeting both the student’s language and academic needs. She began working as an independent contractor for Building Blocks Pediatrics in the summer of 2010. Jennifer has been married to her husband Chris for almost two years. They both enjoy the mountains and hiking in North Carolina. Jennifer also enjoys going to concerts, reading, and scrap booking in her free time. |
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Kim Wimberley, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
| Kim earned her B.S. in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from Alabama A&M University, and her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology, with a Bilingual English-Spanish Certificate from Marquette University. Kim initially began working for the Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, TN. She then transitioned to a more medically-based setting in Garland, Texas, where she worked at a Pediatric Clinic specializing in children ranging from birth to age 21. Currently, she works for the Marietta Public Schools in Marietta, GA, in addition to servicing our clinic in the home health arena. Kim’s broad experience in both the medical and educational speech therapy settings enables her to have a good grasp of “both worlds” (private and public schools) which has a positive impact on therapy success. In addition to working with children, Kim enjoys traveling, reading, writing poetry, and spending time in nature. |
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Marilyn Charles, EdS, CCC-SLP
Speech Therapist |
I am excited to be providing Speech-Language Services at Building Blocks Pediatric Therapy, Inc. Not only have I had experience with providing Speech Services for children ages preschool through high school, but I have also worked with children in the capacity of preschool teacher, elementary aged teacher, and gifted teacher.
I have participated as an active participant on various Cobb County Speech Special Interest Committees and am presently a member of the RTI Committee for GOSSLP. In the past, I was part of a team that presented at Best Practices For School-Based SLP’s and the Georgia Speech and Hearing Association. My responsibilities have included providing diagnostics and therapeutics for elementary aged speech and language impaired children. Overall case load included language, disfluency, voice, and articulation. Also, extensive work with Cerebral Palsy students, Mildly Intellectually Impaired, Moderately Intellectually Impaired, Autistic students, Orthopedically Impaired students, and Significantly / Profoundly Impaired students. I was responsible for programming four different types of augmentative communication devices. |
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Sherri Lundquist
Physical Therapist |
Sherri M. Lundquist has been a Pediatric Physical Therapist for over 34 years, graduating in 1977 magna cum laude from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. She worked in Long Island, New York in a variety of outpatient clinics, schools, and home care settings. Sherri moved with her family to Marietta in 1987, where she was employed as the Director of Therapy Services for a large health care corporation, providing therapy to the medically fragile pediatric population in a day treatment program, as well as home care to pediatric and adult clients, until 1998. At that time, she began working full time as an independent contractor with the Babies Can't Wait Program, and had been contracting part-time since 1990. Sherri has been a board member of the Interagency Coordinating Council since 1993. She has been associated with Building Blocks since July 2005. Sherri's vast experience has made her an expert in the interdisciplinary team approach, and one of her areas of expertise is designing and modifying equipment and home environments to meet her patients' unique therapeutic and positioning needs. Sherri is married to Dr. Glenn Lundquist, and has two children, Andrew, 30, and Michael, 25, three stepchildren and three grandchildren. She is an avid tennis and racquetball player, and loves movies, theater, playing trivia, traveling, decorating, and her three toy poodles, as well as listening to her husband play keyboards in some local bands. |
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Jennifer Wimer
Speech-Language Pathologist |
| Jennifer Wimer received her undergraduate and graduates degrees in communication sciences & disorders from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, earning her Masters in 2005. She began her career near Pittsburgh, primarily serving, non or minimally, verbal preschoolers. Since moving to Georgia, she has worked as a school-based speech-language pathologist, specializing in serving children with autism, intellectual disabilities, and learning disabilities. She joined Building Blocks as an independent contractor in 2011. Jennifer enjoys using a combination of technology, play, and literacy activities in therapy, and working with parents to help children use their new skills at home. When she's not working, Jennifer enjoys watching Steelers games with her husband, reading, cooking, and playing with her young daughter. |
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Liz Brown
Occupational Therapist
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| I grew up in Massachusetts and went to college at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. After graduation I moved to Georgia and worked at an inclusion preschool. My first OT job was at a private clinic. Since then, I have worked in a variety of settings including Babies Can't Wait, private clinics, inpatient for Children's Healthcare and now for the schools. When I am not at work I love spending time with my three young children,fantastic husband, and our Golden Retriever, Patty. We live in the East Cobb area and most Saturday mornings (before the clinic) we love having breakfast at Chick-fil-a. |
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Laura Glazebrook
Physical Therapist |
| Laura Glazebrook graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from beautiful North Georgia College & State University. She is a native of Metro Atlanta, attending local public schools and graduating with her Bachelor's Degree in Health & Exercise Science from Kennesaw State University. Laura enjoys working with children with various therapy needs in this clinic, and also works part-time at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite hospital in the Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. She makes it a priority to address the family's specific goals for a child and loves incorporating music & games into therapy sessions. She has experience working with children with diagnoses including hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, mitochondrial disorder, brain & spinal cord injury, sports injury and many, many more! Outside of love of working with children, Laura enjoys an active lifestyle including running, dancing, and yoga, and also spending time with her husband and many pets. |
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Angi Sklar
Occupational Therapist |
| Angi graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Medical University of South Carolina with her degree in Occupational Therapy in 1995, coupled with a degree in Psychology from The College of Charleston. Angi began her career at Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation hospital in Nashville,TN working on the Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurological inpatient rehabilitation unit. She then broadened her horizons by working as a lead clinical site coordinator and project manager for a company specializing in clinical research trials in ophthalmology. She transitioned from working with adults to children in 2010 and hasn't looked back. Her interests surround NDT treatment, yoga, and using exercise, among other tools, to make learning fun and to boost her patients' brain power. Who doesn't need a little more of that?! She is also certified in Handwriting Without Tears. When not at work, Angi enjoys exercising, spending time with her husband and 3 1/2 year old son, and looking for the latest and greatest ideas on Pinterest! |
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Tasha Wisehart, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Tasha graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Communication from Wake Forest University in 1996, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2000 with a Masters of Science in Communication Disorders. Tasha is licensed in Georgia by the state board of examiners in Speech and Language Pathology. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Tasha has worked in various settings throughout her 12-year career, including private practice and schools. She has interests and experience in many areas of communication, including working with children diagnosed with receptive and expressive language disorders, phonological and articulation disorders, fluency disorders, voice disorders, apraxia, language-based learning disabilities, literacy, pragmatic language disorders, Asperger's syndrome, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Tasha joined Building Blocks as an independent contractor in Fall 2012, and lives in the East Cobb area with her husband and young children, a son and a daughter. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, working out, reading, listening to music, and playing with her pug, Ellie, and cat, Lu. |
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Lindsay Medwed (SLP)
Speech-Language Pathologist |
Lindsay Medwed graduated from the University of Florida with an undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders. She graduated from The George Washington University with a master's degree in Speech Language Pathology. She has experience with a variety of diagnoses including Autism spectrum, Down syndrome, developmental delay, articulation, and phonological disorders. Lindsay has experience in both early intervention and private clinic settings. She has received P.R.O.M.P.T training as well as Beckman Oral Motor training. Lindsay and her husband Michael have been married for 4 years and have one daughter. |
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Jane Jimenez
Front Office Administrator |
Jane has over 17 years of experience as an office manager handling various accounting functions. She graduated from Iona College in NY with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. After the birth of her twin boys, she moved from NY to Florida with her family. She then switched professions and became a preschool teacher so she could raise her boys and remain on the same schedule as them. Because of her love of children, she went on and received her certification from Broward College to teach elementary-age children, and was most recently working as the assistant to the teacher of students with special needs. She then left her position as she relocated to Georgia following her husband's career. At Building Blocks, she found the best of both worlds! She is working in our front office handling billing, insurance claims, and other general accounting activities, while she still gets to see all the precious children and families that come through our office. In her free time, Jane enjoys playing board games, cooking, watching baseball, and spending time with her family. |
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Susie Smith
Front Office Administrator |
Susie Smith was born and raised in Indiana. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She is married and has two children. She worked at Hospice of the Calumet Area in Northwest Indiana before relocating to the Atlanta area. She enjoys reading, cycling, traveling and watching football. She is enjoying exploring the Georgia culture and sights. |
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| What Building Blocks Means To Us |
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We are so fortunate to be the owners of Building Blocks and consider ourselves extremely blessed to be an integral part of the Building Blocks family. Over the last several years, we have grown to love the children and families of Building Blocks as our own, and strive to create lasting relationships with each person who enters our doors. We have an amazing team of therapists who are an extremely large part of what make Building Blocks so special. We strive to hire only the best therapists/staff, and remain indebted to the wonderful group of therapists who bring their compassion, knowledge, expertise and love for children to the families of Building Blocks each day. If you are looking for a therapy clinic and/or just beginning to navigate the “therapy world,” we would be honored to help you in your journey. We strive to create a child and family-friendly environment, where parents and children feel comfortable expressing themselves and a place where new learning and progress is “the norm”.
Please feel free to call or email anytime if we can support you in any way. We know that your child’s potential depends in large part to the care he or she receives along the way, and we promise to provide the best care possible. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you to the Building Blocks family and hope that Building Blocks brings as much joy and love to you and your family as it brings to us each day.
Sincerely,
Amy Conley and Erin Patrick
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“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
Albert Einstein |
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