Kelly Cain
COTA, Team Lead, clinical manager

Kelly became an OTA in 2001 and has 20 years of experience. She has been with the Building Futures family since 2007!  She is a certified autism specialist and her passion is working with these children and families, so that they can meet their goals to the fullest potential! She loves being able to make a difference in each child’s everyday life! Kelly is a lead at our Monroe location and helps mentor, lead and train other staff members at this location. She believes in passing down her knowledge to others is at best benefit to the entire community!

Melanie Christian
COTA, Clinical Director, Team Lead

Melanie is our Clinical Director and has over 20 years of pediatric experience. She has been with Building Futures since its opening in 2005. Melanie leads by example and enjoys mentoring new graduates and new OT’s in our profession. She strongly believes in seeing things from the eyes of the child and meeting the needs of each child individually in order for them to participate in their daily lives.

Anna Dearman
LOTR, CLC, Team Lead

Anna attended Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and graduated in 2012 with a Master of Occupational Therapy. She has extensive knowledge and experience in pediatric orthopedic conditions including splinting prosthetics and equipment management from her time spent working at Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. She is a Certified Lactation Counselor and is currently working towards international board certification by completing the requirements to sit for the IBCLC exam. She is a tethered oral tissue (TOTS) trained provider, enabling her to establish a pre and post frenectomy plan of care tailored to each child. She works with dentists, ENTS, and physicians to perform functional feeding/oral motor function assessments on the bottle, breast, and solid feeding pre procedure and is able to collaborate with recommended release providers to develop a plan of care to meet your family’s needs. Anna enjoys working for Building Futures because it gives her the opportunity to serve the needs of families in our community that would not otherwise have access to lactation care.

Jana Ferchaud
LOTR

Jana graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Occupational Therapy program in 2006. Throughout her experience as an Occupational Therapist, she has worked primarily with pediatrics in the areas of early intervention, school system, and outpatient pediatric therapy. Her mom was a kindergarten teacher for 34 years, so she knew at an early age that she wanted to work with children, but had a deep desire to work within the medical field. The field of pediatric Occupational Therapy has allowed her to get a chance to do just that!! She remembers some of her first pediatric patients from over 16 years ago. Through the years, each patient of hers has left an imprint on her heart. Building Futures has such a wonderful team that she is thankful for and it brings her joy to be a part of our pediatric Occupational Therapy team!

Brittany Keen
LOTR, Team Lead

Brittany is earning a certification in Floortime DIR and will be one of only 12 practitioners in Louisiana. She also has personal experience with her own daughter being in the NICU and sweet little Alaina has actually already graduated from therapy!

Jonann Arrant
LOTR

Jonann is excited to have been in the very first certification class in the US for the Evaluation of Ayres Sensory Integration! She loves being able to talk with families about their goals they want to accomplish for their child and establishing a plan of care that is not only functional but also important to the family!

Macie Branch
MOT

Macie earned her Master of Occupational Therapy degree from LSU Health Shreveport in 2020 and recently joined the Building Futures team. She loves getting to work with children and coming up with creative and fun ways to help each child reach their goals.

Colin Brooks
COTA

Colin graduated from ULM’s OTA program In 2021 and recently joined the Building Futures about 6 months ago. She has a passion for finding creative ways to make working towards goals fun and functional. She’s also a part of the awesome hippotherapy team. 

Camille Cirilo
COTA

Camille started working at Building Futures-Monroe the summer of 2020. She thrives in helping kids of all ages and meeting their families wherever they are no matter the circumstances as well as trying to be the best advocate she can for her kids to reach their highest potential. She tries her best to treat all her clients in a holistic aspect. Camille graduated at ULM in 2019 with her Occupational Therapy Assistant degree and shortly afterwards again in 2021 with her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology degree. In her free time, Camille enjoys spending time with her family and being a Mom.

Ashleigh Colvin
OTR

Ashleigh has worked as an occupational therapy practitioner since 2016 and continued her education by completing her master’s degree through ULM in 2020. She is passionate about using creative play that incorporates a child’s interest during sessions to promote the skills needed for everyday life. 

Baylen Harris
COTA

Baylen is able to meet any child at their level and loves the challenge and fun of helping them do hard work while they are having so much fun! He also has training in complex feeding and swallowing issues.

Jessica Huff
COTA, Hippotherapy Program Lead

Jessica has a passion for both children and animals. Recently, she has been able to combine her two loves with Hippotherapy by getting her certification in this specialized area. She enjoys being able to witness and experience the emotion, sensory input and problem solving of a child when working with the horses on the ranch!

Jessica Gajeski May
LOTR

Jessica is creative and likes thinking outside of the box and uses holistic and science driven strategies to facilitate participation in life matters that are important to the child and family. She has been with Building Futures for 10 years now!

Chase Owens
COTA

Chase is from El Dorado, AR. He graduated from SACC’s OTA program in 2021 and joined our team at Building Futures in May, 2022.  Chase has a true passion for working with children and genuinely takes his kiddos’ success with Occupational Therapy to the next level. Not only does Chase work at our Ruston and Monroe clinic locations, but he also works with our great team members at our Hippotherapy program at the Owl Center. Chase enjoys working with the other team members at Building Futures and learning from the best! 

Therese Pirkey
COTA

Therese has a passion for advocacy! She loves problem solving and working with team members and caregivers to help children be successful in their occupations! Therese joined our family in January 2021 and is such a joy to have on our team!

Jennifer Reeves
LOTR, CEO, Owner

Jennifer is one of our owners and has been practicing OT for more than 20 years. She has a highly creative mind and enjoys making both clinics fun and functional for our children. She is immensely proud of the growth of our company and is thrilled to have such an amazing team!

Amber Soignier
COTA

I attended ULM Occupational Therapy Assistant Program and graduated December 2019. I have over a year experience working in pediatric therapy, however have only been with Building Futures since September of 2022. I was born and raised in Lafayette, LA and moved to Ruston in 2017 to go to school. I enjoy walking the local parks with my dog and doing arts and crafts! Working with our committed families at Building Futures brings so much joy; I get to share the smiling faces of our kiddos and caregivers as they meet their goals.

Shelby St. Clair
COTA

Shelby graduated from ULM in 2020 with her OTA degree. She has been with Building Futures for one year. Shelby is passionate about constructing her treatment sessions to each child’s needs. Her treatment styles include creative ways to address play, school, and daily life skills, all to help each child meet their individual goals!  She loves the atmosphere at Building Futures and how everyone works as one big team.

Hadley Swartz
COTA

Hadley graduated from ULM’s OTA program in 2018, but she has loved this profession since she was a child. She has seen firsthand the benefits occupational therapy can bring to a child and their family. She strives to help her kids reach their highest potential imaginable through fun and exciting ways.

Katie Whitaker
COTA

Katie loved seeing firsthand how functional play and home exercises changed her daughter’s outcomes of being born with arthrogryposis and her son being a NICU baby! This is what helped her decide to be a COTA. She joined our team in August of 2020 and has been a wonderful addition with her positive and upbeat attitude!

Kristin Wyble
COTA

Kristin has a passion for kiddos with sensory processing disorders and she is finishing up her certification in Yoga Calm. She has been with Building Futures since 2016.

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

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.

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!

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!

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!

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, 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.”

Sabrina Cencer
SLP

Sabrina has been a speech therapist for 6 years. While she has worked in a variety of settings, the pediatric population is her favorite! Sabrina enjoys developing relationships with clients and helping them become better communicators. Her favorite part about Building Futures is being part of an interdisciplinary team with PT, OT, and SLP peers working together to develop new ideas for making therapy sessions fun for everyone!

Tara Holmes, SLPA

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

My name is Amy and I have lived in Ruston for over 20 years. I have worked with insurance/collections for over 15 years. I joined the Building Futures family over a year ago as a Collection Specialist. I now also handle credentialing. It’s a joy to collaborate with people who are enthusiastic about helping children. Seeing the smiles & 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 & my very spoiled dog, Blu.  
 

Harlee Roberts
Front Desk/Intake Coordinator, Ruston

Hi! I am Harlee Roberts, the front desk intake coordinator for Ruston. I am currently getting my degree in Business Administration at Louisiana Delta Community College. I have three years experience with medical office work. My favorite thing about working at Building Futures is getting to see the smiles on all of the kids’ faces when they come through the door. Their excitement for our clinic and their therapist is very inspiring! My favorite pastimes are spending time with friends and family, traveling, and watching movies.

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