About The Team

Kylie Reid
PTA, team lead, clinic manager

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!

Renee Pilgreen
PTA, Team Lead, public relations director

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!

Brianna Castaldi
PTA

My name is Brianna Castaldi! I graduated from ULM with a bachelors in Kinesiology, and followed it up at Louisiana College with a PTA degree. Since the start of me entering the therapy field, my passion has been to work in pediatrics, so Building Futures is naturally home for me!

My favorite thing about my job is watching kids succeed and reach the goals they have been working so hard towards. I love that I play a small role in their achievements!

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.

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.

Kelsey Idom
DPT

Kelsey is a new graduate who is from the West Monroe/Calhoun area. She received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from ULM and went on to LSU Health in Shreveport to complete her doctorate degree in physical therapy. Kelsey completed a clinical site rotation with Building Futures last year, and was excited to be able to come back and work with this amazing team and their awesome pediatric population! She is thankful for the staff’s encouragement and blessed to be able to help children meet their full potential.

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.

Ellen Shaw
DPT

Ellen attended Belmont University Physical Therapy Program and graduated August 2011. She has nearly 10 years of experience working in pediatric therapy. She joined the Building Futures team in August 2022. She has been living out of state for several years but recently moved back to her hometown of Monroe, LA with her husband and 3 children. She is thankful to have the opportunity to empower children and families, and Building Futures is a great clinic where she is able to accomplish that!

Jason McGowen
PTA

Jason enjoys working at Building Futures! He is able to use his 20 plus years experience to improve the function and quality of a child’s life. He has come to love and cherish each visit and look forward to work everyday. Jason has a son who is Autistic and is able to relate to parents of Autistic children. Even though Jason and his family is from Texas, he has already become a LSU fan! In his spare time, Jason enjoys spending time with his family and friends.

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.

Erica Andrews
SLP, Team Lead, clinic manager

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

My name is Hannah Altick, and I graduated from Louisiana Tech university in May 2021. I began practicing as a Speech Language Pathologist and started working at Building Futures in 2021. I am LSVT certified! I love working at Building Futures and collaborating with the other professionals to help the sweet kiddos achieve their goals! I chose working with children because I love seeing them progress and work towards their goals and improve in life skills!

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.

Angela Daykin
SLP

Angela graduated from Louisiana Tech in 2015. She has worked in various settings as a Speech-Language Pathologist but pediatrics holds a special place in her heart. She has worked for Building Futures since September 2022. She says, “I have the best job on the planet! I love being a part of helping children improve their overall communication skills. I am super grateful to work for such a well-respected clinic that plays a vital role in helping children and families in our community.

Tara Holmes
SLPA

Tara Holmes is from the small town Rayville, LA. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with her Bachelors in Pre-Professional Speech Language Pathology, May 2021. She has always had a strong passion to work with children and loves seeing their smiling faces and helping them meet their speech therapy goals! Tara has always had a special love for helping anyone who comes across her path. Tara enjoys working with all the Building Futures team members and learning new information every day from the best peers in this area! 

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.

Ashlyn Hanna
SLP

Ashlyn graduated from Louisiana Tech University with her bachelor’s degree in Pre-Professional Speech-Language Pathology in May of 2021. Then pursued her master’s degree at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and graduated May 2023.  Ashlyn has always enjoyed working with children and is so blessed to have the opportunity to play such a small role in their life. She has always loved how unique the field of speech-language pathology is; her passion for this profession grows with each child she meets. 

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 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!

Samantha Weems
SLP

Sam attended Louisiana Tech University for my undergraduate and master’s degree. I earned my master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in May of 2023. I always knew that I wanted to work with the pediatric population. Watching the kids gain more confidence and meet their speech and language goals is such a rewarding feeling! In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my fiancé, Kaleb, and my dog, Owen. I also enjoy reading a good book!

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.”

Leslie Hebert
SLP

Leslie Smith Herbert graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1990 and a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 1993. Leslie has served as a practicing speech therapist, with additional supervisory roles in Arkansas and Louisiana in part for 30 years. Together, with her husband, Greg, they have raised a daughter, Devin, and a son, Dalton, in Ruston, Louisiana. She has treated individuals of all ages with a wide variety of communication disorders and brings with her a wealth of knowledge, training, and speech therapy techniques. The last 17 years she has worked as a full-time speech-language pathologist with the Lincoln Parish School system. In March of 2023, Leslie started working at Building Futures after school to help out as needed. Building Futures’ team-oriented, family-centered atmosphere is something Leslie enjoys. She loves to help children find their voice, maximize their communication capabilities, and achieve their developmental milestones.

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!

Abigail Hagood
SLPA

Abigail graduated from Louisiana Tech University with my Bachelors in Pre- Professional Speech Language Pathology in May 2022. She joined Building Futures in January 2023. She has always had a strong passion to work with children and loves to watch them grow and achieve their speech goals. “I love working at Building Futures, not only do I get to have a relationship with the kiddos, I can form a relationship with their families as well! I am looking forward to my journey here at Building Futures!”

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.

Rayna Trujillo
SLP

Rayna graduated from ULM in May 2020 with her Masters in Speech-Language Pathology and has been a clinician at Building Futures since early 2022. She began her career in Skilled Nursing Facilities and now practices with both geriatric and pediatric populations. Her favorite part about working with pediatrics is developing relationships with the families and helping her clients reach their milestones through fun play-based therapy!

Allyson Gilbert
Patient Care Coordinator, Monroe

My name is Allyson Gilbert, and I am the Patient Care Coordinator here at Building Futures. It is such an honor to see our therapist making the biggest difference in these kiddos lives. And seeing the children’s exciting faces when they arrive and smiles when they leave is such a wonderful experience. While at home, I enjoy spending time with my fiance and family, going to the park and walking trails. When not doing that I enjoy reading and watching Netflix with my cat, Clairice.

Abigail Benefield
Collection Specialist, Monroe

Hello! My name is Abigail Benefield. I graduated from Louisiana Delta Community College with an associate degree in business technology. I am the youngest of three, a twin sister and a brother. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, Fortnite especially,  listening to music, painting, and hanging out with my family. I love working for Building Futures. The atmosphere is so fun, and the staff is so outgoing and positive. I am so grateful to be a part of such an amazing team.

Jasmine Green
Front Desk/Intake Coordinator, Monroe

Hi! I am Jasmine, the front desk/intake coordinator for our Monroe location. I joined the Building Futures team in November of 2022. I enjoy being the face that everyone sees when checking their children in for therapy. In my spare time I love finding diy projects , and organizing. I like working for Building Futures because it is a wonderful environment for the children to grow. I enjoy working with an amazing staff that has welcomed me with open arms.

Catina Lewis
Staff Success Coordinator

Hi, my name is Catina! As Staff Success Coordinator, I am excited to be a part of ensuring the growth and success of each staff member. Building Futures has built a team of outstanding therapists and staff of which I am thankful to be a part. I am filled with joy seeing our amazing team help our patients be the best they can be. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends.

Amy Riley
Collections Specialist, Ruston

Harlee Roberts
Front Desk/Intake Coordinator, Ruston