Where are you from? I was born and raised in Orchard Park, New York — home of the Buffalo Bills (Go Bills!). I still enjoy visiting my hometown and seeing all of the great things that they are doing to fix up Buffalo.
Where did you go to school? I went to Nazareth College in Rochester for my bachelor’s degree. I played tennis while at Nazareth and that’s where I met my husband. I came to Syracuse University for graduate school to earn my master’s degree and haven’t left since!
What got you interested in Speech Therapy? I went to tour some colleges with my friend from high school who was interested in Speech Therapy and went to a presentation with her at one of the colleges. After learning about Speech Therapy, I was immediately interested. I had a couple introductory speech therapy courses in my first year at Nazareth and I haven’t looked back. What I enjoy about our profession is that there is such a wide variety of patients and populations that you can work with and they are all rewarding and fun in their own way.
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
In the summertime, our family camp on the St. Lawrence River is my happy place. My favorite thing to do is be out on our boat and watch the big ships go by. I love spending time with my daughter, my husband and my golden retriever, Dakota. I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan and look forward to every football season to be able to cheer them on! GO BILLS!
Why am I in private practice?
I spent 13 years working in the acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, subacute nursing facilities and outpatient settings. I really enjoyed the pace and the challenge of the hospital setting. I learned so much over the years and was exposed to a variety of patients, diagnoses, medical conditions and evaluation and treatment techniques. In 2022, I realized that I was at a point in my career where I wanted to be in a more relaxed, positive and encouraging environment where patients were also invested in their treatment and with making progress. I am so grateful for finding Engage and it could not have been a better fit for me at this point in my career and in my life.