Ms. Melanie
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.

Ms . Kelly
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!

Ms. Brittany
LOTR, Team Lead

Brittany attended University of Louisiana at Monroe graduating as a COTA in 2012 and with her Masters in Occupational Therapy is 2015. Brittany has been with Building Futures since 2015. In that time she has earned her Floortime DIR certification. She has also completed Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS) Certification and has recently completed the Certified Primitive Reflex Clinical Specialist (CPRCS) Certification. Brittany has extensive experience with Autism and NICU clients and families where she worked to create a plan a care that best fits their needs.

Ms. Miranda
COTA

Miranda graduated from BPCC with her OTA degree in December 2020. She has been with Building Futures since March 2021. She has a passion for helping the pediatric population thrive in occupational therapy. She enjoys working with our wonderful staff at the Ruston clinic and assisting the children in our community. In her free time, she likes hunting and traveling.

Ms. Jana
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!

Ms. Colin
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. 

Ms. Caleigh
COTA

Caleigh graduated in December from ULM with an Associates Degree in Occupational Therapy. Her goal is always to make therapy both challenging and fun. She loves connecting with children at their level, turning hard work into fun activities tailored to their specific needs. Caleigh is so excited to join your child on their journey of development at our clinic.

Ms. Kristen
COTA

Kristen graduated from ULM’s COTA program in 2015 with plans to work with children. She worked with adults for 8 years before joining the Building Futures team in 2023. Kristen is excited to help every child reach their goals! In my spare time I love to be with my family and our pups. We love all outdoor activities and are very active in our church.

Ms. Rae
COTA

Rae graduated from Louisiana State University with her Bachelors of Science in May 2021. Since then, she has attended ULM Occupational Therapy Assistant Program and graduated December 2022. Rae is excited to begin her career with the Building Futures PediatricTherapy team. She has a strong passion to work with children and help them reach their highest potential through fun and creative ways. It brings her so much joy to see our kid’s smiling faces as they meet their goals.

Ms. Macie
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.

Ms. Ashleigh
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. 

Ms. Jessica
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!

Ms. Jennifer
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!

Ms. Amber
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.

Ms. Jennifer
COTA

Jennifer graduated from ULM with her associates in Occupational Therapy in May 1998. She has a strong passion to work with children and loves to see their smiling faces. In my free time I enjoy working out, tennis and taking care of my four teenagers and husband of 20 years

Ms. Ashley
COTA

Ashley graduated from ULM in 2017 with an Occupational Therapy Assistant degree. It is exciting to work with children helping them to meet their highest potential! I am married with 2 children, love to garden, fish and spend time with my family.

Ms. Sarah
MOT

Sarah grew up in Ruston, Louisiana. Graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Science and received a Master of Occupational Therapy at the College of Saint Mary’s. Working with children and their spontaneity brings her joy. She hopes to be able to guide your child to be the greatest they can be. In her free time, she also enjoys reading and doing crafts, while listening to classical music. 

Ms. Avery
COTA

Avery graduated from ULMs Occupational Therapy Assistant program in December of 2022. She has a strong passion for working with children and enjoys being apart of a child’s growth, making OT fun, and watching them progress in their daily activities!

Ms. Emma
COTA

Emma graduated in December from ULM with an Associates Degree in Occupational Therapy. My goal is always to make therapy both challenging and fun. I love connecting with children at their level, turning hard work into fun activities tailored to their specific needs.

Mr. Baylen
LOT

Baylen worked as a COTA since 2018 and received his Masters of Occupational Therapy in December 2024 from the University Of Louisiana at Monroe. He has training and experience in treating behavioral health disorders, developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and addressing complex feeding/swallowing issues. Your child’s development is my priority. Let’s work together for their growth and joy.

Ms. Meghan
COTA

Meghan attended Louisiana Tech University and received her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences. She then pursued her Associate’s degree at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. Meghan has a strong passion for working with children and helping them to achieve their goals through fun and creative ways. It is such a rewarding profession and seeing the impact we make in individuals lives is so gratifying in itself.

Ms. Cindy
MOT, LOTR

Cindy graduated as an Occupational Therapy Assistant and worked for 25+ years before returning to college to complete her Undergraduate Degree, then obtaining her Masters in Occupational Therapy. She has had the privilege of working with adults for many years, but has found her love in working with pediatrics. Not only does she enjoy watching her patients thrive, but their progress and success allows her to thrive as a clinician as well.

Ms. Kylie
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!

Ms. Renee
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!

Ms. Brianna
PTA

My name is Brianna! 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!

Ms. Morgan
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.

Ms. Kelly
PT, DPT

Kelly earned my undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University, followed by my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Central Arkansas. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, serving at my church, and enjoying all sorts of outdoor activities. She loves to get to know her patients and their families and to work together toward achieving their goals.

Ms. Amanda
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.

Ms. Erica
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.

Ms. Hannah
SLP

My name is Hannah, 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!

Ms. Tiffany
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.

Ms. Tara
SLPA

Tara 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! 

Ms. Ashlyn
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. 

Ms. Wendy
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!

Ms. Sara Kate
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.

Ms. Avery
SLP

Avery graduated from Louisiana Tech with her bachelor’s degree in May 2021 and obtained her master’s degree from Southern University. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, walking her dog, Della, and needlepointing. I love helping children work towards their goals through enjoyable and engaging activities.

Ms. Malorie
SLPA

Malorie received her Bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Louisiana Monroe. She is so excited to be at Building Futures and to work with children in speech therapy! She looks forward to working alongside her patients and their families to achieve their goals.

Ms. Mattie
SLP

Mattie, holds a degree from Louisiana Tech University and recently completed her master’s at the University of Central Arkansas. Having interned at Building Futures, she was inspired by the nurturing environment and dedicated approach to each child’s development. Mattie’s goal is to foster your child’s communication skills and help them thrive in both their personal and social interactions.

Ms. Allyson
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.

Ms. Abigail
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.

Ms. Jasmine
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.

Ms. Catina
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.

Ms. Amy
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.  
 

Ms. Brooke
Executive Assistant/Lead Tech

Hi Friends I’m Brooke and I’m so excited to be at Building Futures. At a young age I knew I had a heart for special needs kiddos and wanted to work with them. I’v had wonderful people in my life who have helped me succeed and I want to help kids do the same. My love for helping  kids and families with special needs has grown so much after being involved in buddy camp, school SPED programs, and ABA therapy as a line technician for 3 years.

Ms. Tiffany
Front Desk/ Intake Coordinator, Ruston

Hi, my name is Tiffany Doster. I’m excited to be a part of the Building Futures team. I was a stay-at-home mom and decided to go back to work. It’s nice seeing friendly faces every day. In my free time I like to spend it with my husband, son and family.

Ms. Sierra
Front Desk/Intake Coordinator West Monroe

Sierra is currently a Louisiana Tech student studying to be a pediatric counseling therapist. She is honored and beyond thrilled to be a part of the Building Futures family. Sierra loves coming to work and seeing all the smiles and excitement for therapy from not only the kiddos but also the therapists and workers here. When not at work she loves spending time reading, with her family, and being outside as much as possible.

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