Christina Gallo, MS, OTR/L
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Founder
CEO
Christina was born and raised outside of Boston. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in the Biological Basis of Behavior. This major integrated psychology and neurobiology sparked Christina’s interest in functional neurobiology and therapeutic interventions that impact brain processing. She then pursued a Master's of Science in occupational therapy with the specific intent to work with children using a neurobiological approach to therapy. She graduated from Temple University and earned Temple’s Award for Highest Academic Achievement. Her Master’s thesis explored the relationship between Sensory Processing and ADHD. Christina has also completed an advanced practice certificate in Infant-Parent Mental Health through U. Mass Boston. She is an Advanced Mentored Clinician in Sensory Processing Disorder, via the STAR Institute. Additional training/certifications include Assistive Technology, DIR/Floortime, therapeutic listening, interactive metronome, Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to feeding, and Brain Gym. Christina sits on the Advisory Board for Down Syndrome Connection of the East Bay. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Coach Art, a non profit organization that brings the arts and athletics to children with chronic illness. She is an exercise enthusiast and enjoys adventuring and spending time with her friends and family.
CA License 11034
CA License 11034
Lindsay Bettencourt, B.S., SLPA
Speech and Language Pathology Assistant
Lindsay grew up in the Central Valley and now resides in the East Bay with her husband and two young sons. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Stanislaus followed by 2 years in the real estate industry before deciding to make a career shift. Prior to receiving her Speech-Language Pathology Assistant License from San Joaquin Delta College in 2015, she worked as a play-based preschool teacher in San Francisco for 5 years. Her speech therapy experience includes pre-K to middle school-aged children with a wide variety of speech and language needs. She enjoys the creative process that goes into planning therapy activities tailored to each individual's interests, but helping clients evolve into confident communicators is what she is most passionate about. As a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant, Lindsay finds team collaboration with the SLP to be a huge benefit for both the client and herself as she always strives for professional growth. When she is not providing speech therapy or watching her children grow, she loves to cook, do yoga, binge on podcasts, and camp with her family.
CA Lic 3307
Lindsay grew up in the Central Valley and now resides in the East Bay with her husband and two young sons. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Stanislaus followed by 2 years in the real estate industry before deciding to make a career shift. Prior to receiving her Speech-Language Pathology Assistant License from San Joaquin Delta College in 2015, she worked as a play-based preschool teacher in San Francisco for 5 years. Her speech therapy experience includes pre-K to middle school-aged children with a wide variety of speech and language needs. She enjoys the creative process that goes into planning therapy activities tailored to each individual's interests, but helping clients evolve into confident communicators is what she is most passionate about. As a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant, Lindsay finds team collaboration with the SLP to be a huge benefit for both the client and herself as she always strives for professional growth. When she is not providing speech therapy or watching her children grow, she loves to cook, do yoga, binge on podcasts, and camp with her family.
CA Lic 3307
Sarah Guy, COTA/L
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant
Sarah Guy, COTA, was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and received her undergraduate degree from University of Minnesota in Philosophy. Upon moving to Oakland in 2000, Sarah began working at a small progressive elementary school, where she was a teacher for more than ten years. There she served in various roles such as Assisting Kindergarten Teacher, Director of the Afterschool Program, and PE Teacher. As the PE teacher, Sarah became passionate about the power of movement to change and strengthen a child’s body, mind, and spirit. Sarah felt compelled to return to school to study occupational therapy because she wanted to learn how to better serve children with special needs. Sarah received her Associates of Applied Science degree from St. Catherine University in Minneapolis. Sarah has training in Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, Zones of Regulation, mindfulness meditation, and sensory integration therapy. Sarah is very excited to combine her recent training with her experience as a teacher to support children toward health and well-being. During her free time Sarah enjoys hiking and spending time with her husband and two girls, Roxy and Ramona.
CA Lic 4976
CA Lic 4976
Bridget Hardy, MS, CF/RPE
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Bridget was born in Southern California and grew up in the East Bay Area. In 2017, she received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communicative Disorders from the University of Redlands. After graduation, Bridget moved back to the Bay Area to begin exploring the field of behavioral health as a Behavioral Specialist. She learned the benefits of utilizing various evidenced-based approaches such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) to create positive behavior change. As of September 2021, Bridget was awarded her Master of Science (M.S.) in Communicative Sciences & Disorders through New York University’s (NYU) online master program. During her free time, she enjoys going on hikes, reading, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends. Bridget is passionate about working with the pediatric population and enjoys making individualized therapy plans to create a fun, personalized learning environment. She looks forward to starting her career with Child’s Play Therapy Services as Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist Clinical Fellow.
Matt Heffernan, M.S., OTR/L
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Matt grew up in the central valley of California before moving to San Diego for his undergraduate degree. While there, he worked at a nonpublic school for children with Autism in San Diego, working closely with the occupational therapist which is what led him to pursue a career in the field. He returned to Northern California and attended San Jose State University to receive his OT degree. Since then, he worked with older adults in skilled nursing facilities before returning to the pediatric setting in a nonpublic school. He worked there for several years learning a relationship based intervention strategy and honing his OT skills, particularly with children with Autism and other developmental disabilities. Matt is excited to move to the clinic where he can continue working with children where he hopes to develop strong relationships and use a play based approach to make each session engaging. In his free time, Matt enjoys rock climbing, running, ultimate frisbee, and exploring the Bay Area with his young family.
Irene Lestari, M.S., OTR/L
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Director of OT Department and Clinical Education
Irene was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. She moved to the Bay Area during her high school years, and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Berkeley, she discovered her love for Occupational Therapy when caring for a boy with autism. She then pursued a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. Irene has worked in various settings treating children with numerous disabilities at the clinic as well as home-based and school-based settings. She has partaken in many Sensory Integration workshops, including having completed certification in SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Test) and a level 1 mentorship program with Dr. Lucy Jane Miller and Dr. Sarah Schoen. Additional training includes multiple listening programs, Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding, Perceptual Enrichment Program (PEP) and various handwriting approaches. She has obtained a core specialist status from the MNRI (Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration) program. Irene enjoys traveling, taking culinary trips and spending time with her family.
CA License : 7552
CA License : 7552
Stephanie Nereppil, MS, OTR/L
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Stephanie was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Human Development and Disabilities from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Stephanie then earned her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University. Stephanie’s love for providing pediatric services comes from her experience working in both clinic and home settings. Stephanie believes that every child can grow and blossom with a unique and tailored approach. Stephanie is trained in Therapeutic Listening and has experience with Reflex Integration and Rhythmic Movement Training. In her free time, Stephanie loves to spend time with loved ones and enjoys crafting and Cricuting.
Gina Pretzer, PhD, CCC-SLP
Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist
Director of Speech Department
Gina was born in the Central Valley and grew up in Southeast Idaho. She completed her BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders and MS in Speech-Language Pathology at Idaho State University. She received a PhD in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced where she worked on two National Science Foundation research projects. Gina's personal research focused on the effects of parent interactions on prelinguistic development as well as exploring the relationship between motor and language development. She has been published in peer reviewed journals including Infancy, PLoS One, and Scientific Reports. Gina's main clinical interests are early speech and language development and social communication with family and peers. She is also passionate about providing education and support to each child's family. She is trained in the Sequential Oral Sensory Approach for Feeding. When she is not working, Gina likes to spend her time adventuring with her friends and family. She loves to travel and to experience art in museums or on the stage. She is an avid reader and devoted cat mom.
Rachel Shea, B.A.
Administrative Assistant
Rachel was born and raised in the Bay Area. She attended Sonoma State University where she majored in Human Development and minored in Anthropology. During her time in Sonoma, she enjoyed volunteering at a therapy farm that offered animal-assisted and horticultural therapeutic activities for at risk youth. As a part of her major, she traveled to Nicaragua with a non-profit to build an elementary school alongside members of the community. After graduation, she worked at an after school daycare where she designed and implemented the kindergarten program. In her free time she enjoys visiting National Parks, hiking, camping, and spending time with family and friends. Working with children has always been a joy for her, and she is so excited to further her career in pediatric occupational and speech therapy.
Jordyn Stromback, MA., CCC-SLP
Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist
Jordyn grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota, before moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she earned her Bachelors & Masters Degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Calvin University. Jordyn then worked in Michigan schools for two years before transitioning to the Bay Area to work in the Oakland Unified school district. Jordyn has worked with students with a wide variety of speech-language needs and has a specific passion for working with students on the autism spectrum and those with complex communication needs that warrant the use of AAC. She has also worked in clinic settings and has interests in early childhood language development, fluency, articulation and phonology disorders, receptive/expressive language disorders, literacy, and executive functioning. Jordyn has one sister that lives in the Bay Area and a cat named Nox. In her free time, Jordyn enjoys listening to podcasts, photography, baking, reading, and exploring the East Bay one coffee shop at a time.
Lisette Oliu, OTD, OTR/L.
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Lisette was born and raised in the Bay Area. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences at California State University, East Bay. She became interested in occupational therapy while completing her undergraduate degree and began working as a special education assistant for the school district. She has a passion for working with children and over 10 years of experience working in childcare. Lisette completed her Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) at Samuel Merritt University. She grew her knowledge in pediatrics while completing her clinical experience at UCSF Children’s Hospital- Mission Bay and by her capstone research exploring parent’s perceptions of pediatric occupational therapy to improve service delivery. Lisette enjoys hiking, baking, traveling, and spending time with her family in her off time.
Nicolette (Nikki) Zader, MS, OTR/L
Pediatric OT and Feeding Therapist
Nicolette “Nikki” was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She moved to Fort Collins, CO to attend Colorado State University and earn her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Studies and then her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Nikki worked in early intervention and pediatric home health for the past 12 years in Denver, CO and recently relocated to the East Bay Area. She specializes in feeding therapy and earned her certification in the Sequential Oral Sensory Approach back in 2010 and has been utilizing the SOS feeding program in therapy for the past 10 years. She is also certified in the Beckman Oral Motor Approach. Nikki’s passion for feeding therapy stemmed from her own feeding difficulties as a child and she is able to relate directly to those with sensitivities and aversions to food. Her greatest joy is participating with children learning to explore and love food! Outside of work, Nikki enjoys exploring the Bay Area, cooking for her family, and reading fiction novels.