Stefanie Willard, President & OTR/L

Stefanie is a certified Pediatric Occupational Therapist with more than 15 years of experience in early intervention and pediatric therapies.  Stefanie graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1992. She has taken several post graduate courses on Sensory Integration, Neurodevelopmental Treatment, Vision Therapy, Oral-motor and Feeding Issues in Pediatrics, and is trained in the Handwriting Without Tears Program as well as Therapeutic Listening.  Stefanie started Helping Hands Pediatric Therapy, Inc. in 2001 after moving to Georgia. Stefanie and her six year old daughter, Maya, live in Buford, GA.

Margaret Van Buren, OTR/L
Home-based and Clinic OT

Margie is a 1994 graduate of Louisiana State University Medical Center, located in Shreveport Louisiana. In addition to being a board certified Occupational Therapist, she has also maintained board certification as an Assistive Technology Practitioner by the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) since 2001. She has worked as an independent consultant providing assistive technology assessments, application, and training. Margie has extensive pediatric experience, both in private practice and in the school system, specializing in therapeutic feeding and sensory integration techniques. She is currently pursuing certification as a Sensory Integration Praxis Test (SIPT) provider. She is trained in the Handwriting Without Tears program and is a certified provider of the Therapeutic Listening Program. She is the mother of 3 and resides in Jefferson, with her husband, David.

Keri Converse, OTR/L
Home-based OT

Keri is originally from Buffalo, N.Y. where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2001.  Keri has worked as an inpatient acute care therapist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore MD.  The population she served there ranged from cardiac, intensive care, orthopedic, surgical and oncology patients.  Keri was then employed with the Prince George’s County Public School System where she served the infant and toddler population in a transdisciplinary model.  This provided her with the opportunity to work closely and consult with special educators, physical therapists, speech therapists and service coordinators.  Keri and her family relocated to the Atlanta area in June 2005.

Pamela Evans, OTR/L
Home-based OT

Pamela is a 1980 graduate of Howard University and has her Doctorate & Masters in Business Administration. Pamela has over 27 years of clinical practice in Occupational Therapy with skills in a variety of patient populations including pediatrics, adults, and geriatrics.  In pediatrics, Pamela has experience in early intervention, acute, home bound, and k-12 school settings.  Pamela is originally from Indiana but has served clients in Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, Texas, and now Georgia.   Pamela and her 16 year old son live in Duluth, Georgia.

Dianne Issen, OTR/L
Home based OT

Dianne graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2002.  Prior to becoming an Occupational Therapist, Dianne gained experience as a Behavioral Interventionist where she used behavioral modifications with children and adolescents  utilizing therapeutic media and cognitive behavioral approaches.  She has also served as a Job Coach to two adults living with developmental delays prior to serving pediatric clients as an Occupational Therapist.  She currently works full time in the Gwinnett County Public Schools providing school-based therapy for multiple schools, providing fine motor, oral motor, visual motor/visual perceptual, sensory integration, and behavioral interventions.  She provides home based services for Helping Hands to clients after school.

Kristi Kutchback Baggerly, CCC-SLP
Home based & Clinic-based SLP

Kristi graduated from the University of Georgia in August, 2004 with a Master's of Speech Pathology.  Kristi served as a travel SLP where she provided services in the Hawaii School System, gaining valuable experience in planning & implementing Individual Education Plans (IEP's) for preschool, school age and high school students.  She currently provides pediatric SLP services for children enrolled at Challenged Child and Friends, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in the comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation unit while serving home based & clinic based clients with Helping Hands 3 days per week.  Kristi has experience with children who have autism spectrum disorders, developmental delay, Down's Syndrome, dysphagia, sensory integration deficits, and speech/language delays.  Kristi has continued education in Sensory Integration, Auditory Processing Disorders, Oral-Motor & Feeding disorders, and the PECS system.  Kristi is and her husband are expecting their first child soon and reside in Cumming, Georgia.

Mary Bernhardt, CCC-SLP
Home based SLP

Mary graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987.  She has extensive experience as a school based SLP since 1987 and she continues to provide school based services full time in the Gwinnett County Schools.  She has provided early intervention, home-based services since 2003 in addition to her school based position.  Mary has experience with children who have autism spectrum disorders, Cerebral Palsy, developmental delay, Down's Syndrome, dysphagia, sensory integration deficits, and speech/language delays.  Mary resides in Lawrenceville with her children and husband.

Darlene Thomas, Office Manager
 

Darlene comes to Helping Hands with extensive experience in medical office management where she excels in customer service, scheduling, insurance billing & claims collection, and insurance verification and authorization.  She is an excellent asset to Helping Hands, providing much needed assistance with Medicaid prior authorizations and customer service.  Darlene and her four children reside in Duluth, Georgia.