About The Team

Stephanie Boughner
PT

Stephanie has four years of pediatric experience. She joined the Building Futures family in June of 2020. Her pediatric training includes a Residency in Pediatric Physical Therapy and training in the NICU setting and wound care.

Brianna Castaldi
PTA

Courtney Dye
PT

Courtney Dye graduated from University of Central Arkansas in 2021. She has always had a heart for kids and, after having different opportunities to work with this population, that interest has only grown. She loves getting to be a part of an amazing team that helps children reach goals that allow them to play and interact with their peers and to live their lives to the fullest.

Katelynn Giddens
PTA

Katelynn graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology & attended Bossier Parish Community College where she attained her PTA degree. Katelynn has always had a big place in her heart for pediatrics & enjoys getting to work with our kiddos every day! She has experience in pediatric aquatic therapy and is looking to expand her knowledge so that she can continue to serve our Building Futures children. 

Morgan Hartline
PT

Morgan has four years of pediatric experience. She joined the Building Futures family in January of 2017. Her pediatric training includes NDT-Pediatric Intensive Handling Techniques, MNRI, APTA Certified Clinical Instructor.

Garris Jones
PT

Garris is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and has five years of pediatric experience. She has always had a passion for the pediatric setting and has a special interest in neurodevelopmental cases. Garris has taken the first NDT course and is interested in furthering her education in this area. Garris has also enjoyed incorporating the use of horses in a physical therapy setting, and is currently working on her certification in this area. 

Renee Pilgreen
PTA, Team Lead, Department Manager

Renee joined the Building Futures team in 2014. She is certified in aquatics and has several pediatric training courses. She loves her job and looks forward to going to work everyday! She is very passionate about making a difference in each child’s life. She is blessed to have the job in helping children meet their gross motor skills. Renee and her husband Clay have raised two children from NICU to teenagers. She understands the pain and trauma that parents face when they have babies in NICU. The best thing about her job is celebrating those milestones with the children and their parents!

Kylie Reid
PTA

Kylie joined our team in 2018 after graduating from BPCC and greatly enjoys working with all of her kiddos. She has experience working with several different gait impairments, balance disorders, autism, and has even begun offering equine therapy sessions. Seeing her kids reach their goals and the joy it brings them is the highlight of her day!

Amanda Ables
SLP

Amanda graduated in 2021 with a master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Before becoming a speech therapist, she taught Montessori preschool and middle school. She is passionate about pediatrics and loves helping children reach their full potential!

Erica Andrews
SLP, Team Lead

Erica has been treating clients for nine years and working for Building Futures for three years. What makes her stand out as an SLP is that she loves to collaborate with her fellow OTs and PTs. She feels that meeting the client’s sensory and physical needs allows for a more successful speech treatment session. You can treat the “whole client,” making therapy much more beneficial.

Hannah Altick
SLP

Tiffany Bowman
SLP

Tiffany is currently working on her eighth year as an SLP. She has been working for BF for a little over two months now since moving back to Ruston, but she also worked for BF from 2014-2017, which is almost four years in total! Tiffany says, “I love working with individuals with early language deficits, especially kiddos with ASD. Growing up with an autistic twin brother has given me insight to not only know how to treat a child from a professional point of view but understand the challenges families face daily. I’ve had the opportunities to practice, supervise and teach pediatric language skills in the clinical and academic setting in my short time as a therapist and continue to learn and grow with each year.”

Abigail Fertel
SLP

Abigail graduated from Louisiana Tech with her Masters and has been part of the Building Futures team since 2019. She has a passion for working with infants and toddlers with feeding disorders, as well as evaluating for high tech communication devices. Abigail believes learning happens best through positive social interactions and play, and she loves working with parents on how to best meet their child’s communication goals.

Anna Ginn
SLP

Anna Ginn has a passion for working with the pediatric population. She loves working with families/ caregivers and each therapeutic discipline to ensure the best outcome for each of her clients. She earned her master’s degree in 2021 from the University of Louisiana Monroe and began working as a Speech Language Pathologist here at Building Futures. She sees communication as one of the most important aspects of daily life and strives to ensure her clients find that perfect way to communicate. 

Linda Claire Horne
SLP

Linda Claire graduated in May of 2019 with her Masters’s in Speech-Language Pathology. She has served the pediatric population for the past three years in the school system and now at Building Futures!

She has a deep love for the kiddos she serves and thinks children have so much to teach us. The first words spoken, sweet smiles, and speech and language milestones reached are what motivate Linda Claire to be a better therapist every day.

Mary Hollis Lewis
M.S., CCC-SLP

Mary Hollis graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a masters degree in August of 2020. She joined our team in November of 2021 and is excited to be back in her hometown after working in Houston this last year! Having worked with both the geriatric and pediatric populations, she loves discovering the potential of every patient, no matter the age or level! She says, “Everybody has the potential to communicate in their own way. I love helping my patients grow the confidence to discover what they’re capable of!”

Karleigh Jones
SLP

Karleigh is a new hire here at Building Futures. She began her career in the school system and joined our team in March 2021. One thing that makes her stand out as an SLP is that she is super resourceful. She can use many different things that make learning fun in the therapy room!

Tonya Lenard
SLPA

Tonya Lenard has been practicing for 29 years! She has worked with children and their families in various settings. She says, “For the last four years, I have had the privilege of working with an amazing group of therapists at Building Futures Pediatric Therapy. Helping children find their voice is my passion in life and Building Futures has allowed me to fulfill my hopes and dreams. Providing speech therapy is not just a career for me, it is my calling in life.”

Madison Morris
SLP

Maddie just earned her Masters in Speech-Language Pathology at Louisiana Tech University. She says, “I have found a love for pediatrics. I love to help and watch them reach their goals. I’m so excited for my journey at Building Futures!”

Amanda McDaniel
SLP, Team Lead, Clinic Manager

Amanda has been with our team for 12 years! She has a passion for helping children meet their goals by developing relationships and mutual respect. She believes using that foundation to understand their individual needs is key in empowering them to express themselves.

Simone Mhire
SLP

Simone graduated and began practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist in 2001. In 2021, she joined Building Futures and has a passion for helping children. Simone has experience in swallowing disorders, articulation disorders, language delay, augmentative and alternative communication.

Emily Moore
SLP

Emily has been practicing as a speech language pathologist at Building Futures for over a year now! She said, “I love seeing my precious kids every day. When I chose this field as a career path, my main goal was not only to help others but also to make every one of my patients feel loved and feel like they could conquer anything they put their minds too. I have quickly fallen in love with this profession, and I find great joy in helping kids experience their full potential!”

Elizabeth Neilson
SLP

Elizabeth has worked with our team for the past four years and had this to say, “As a therapist and a foster parent, I hope to always stand out by working as hard for each of my kiddos as I would want someone to work for my own child… and by being compassionate.”

Wendy Petrus
SLP, Admin Director, Owner

Wendy Petrus is one of our owners. She graduated with her Master’s degree and began practicing as a Speech Language Pathologist in 2007. She joined the team in 2008 and became a partner in 2010. She has always had a passion for helping children and knew very early on that she wanted to work with the pediatric population. She has a strong intention to work with not only the child but the entire family and instills these ideals and virtues in her team members. Over the years, she has gained extensive training and certification in pediatric specific techniques. She has a love for sharing her knowledge with new therapists and helping them grow to be amazing as well!

Sara Kate Putnam
SLP

Sara Kate has always had a passion for working with children for as long as she can remember! She has been practicing as a speech-language pathologist for over 8 years. She loves seeing the progress of the children on her caseload over the years and building relationships with the special families she serves. She has had special training in therapy programs such as the Beckman Oral Motor Protocol, SATPAC Speech, Lively Letters by TLC, and Vital-Stim Therapy.

Abigail Benefield
Intake Coordinator, Monroe

Hello! My name is Abigail Benefield. I am 23 years old, and a graduate from Louisiana Delta Community College with an associate degree in business technology. I am the youngest of three, a twin sister and an older brother. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, listening to music, painting and hanging out with my family. I have been with Building Futures for about a month now, and I am loving every second of it. The atmosphere and people are so fun and outgoing. I am so grateful to be a part of such an amazing team.

Amy Riley
Collections Specialist Ruston

My name is Amy. I joined the Building Futures family in June as a Collection Specialist. I have worked with insurance for over 15 years. It is a joy to collaborate with people who are enthusiastic about helping children. Seeing the smiles and joy on the faces of the kids that come to therapy is extremely rewarding. When not at work, I love spending time with my husband, family, and my very spoiled dog named Blu.

Allyson Gilbert
Intake Coordinator, Ruston