Occupational Therapists

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Dana is a lifelong Alaskan, who has been working with children in Anchorage and across the state for over 25 years. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University in 1991 and has enjoyed continued education in evidence based occupational therapy approaches. Her clinical experiences include early intervention, in patient acute care, outpatient clinics and outreach to infants and children in remote communities of Alaska. Dana uses the following approaches in treatment: D.I.R. Floortime, Oral Motor Treatments, Ayers Sensory Integration, Neurodevelopmental Treatment, Perception-Action Approach, trainings in ocular motor and visual perceptual skills, Integrated Listening Systems, treatments for Dyslexia, Yoga, Lindamood-Bell’s LIPS program, and Aquatic Therapy, to name a few.

Dana enjoys spending her free time with her family and dogs, gardening, doing home improvement projects, traveling, volunteering, and being creative.

Sarah is a licensed occupational therapist. Her career started in special education which is where she discovered OT. She loves the OT approach to helping people overcome barriers and increase their participation in meaningful life activities. 

She enjoys helping kids increase their fine motor skills and self-regulation through child led treatments. Her continuing education includes DIR Floortime, Beckman Oral Motor protocol, and courses focused on sensory modulation and emotional regulation. 

Sarah enjoys all things outdoors. Some of her hobbies are hiking, backpacking, cross country skiing, and spending time with her Australian Shepherd, Ollie.

Amanda is a licensed Physical Therapist traveling from Ohio. She earned her undergraduate degree in Health and Rehabilitative Scinces at The Ohio State University before continuing on to receive her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Wheeling University in West Virginia. During her time in school, Amanda was President of her class and helped coordinate events to raise funds to be able to send therapists abroad and open Pro Bono clinics internationally. She specifically worked in a pediatric clinic when volunteering in Izamal, Yucatán, Mexico. Amanda has clinical experience working in pediatric sports at The Ohio State Medical Center, as well as, neurologic physical therapy with The Cleveland Clinic. When not in the clinic, she enjoys traveling with her husband and husky, Kita. They often find themselves on hikes or other adventures in the great outdoors on the weekends and experiencing all Alaska has to offer!

Ariel Rice is a bilingual English-Spanish Speech-Language Pathologist who specializes in early intervention and feeding therapy. She has a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and a minor in Spanish from Grand Valley State University and received her M.A. in Communication Disorders and Sciences from University of Oregon. She loves traveling, cooking, and really any outdoor activities. When she is not working, she spends her time with her husband and their two huskies.

  Laurel is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) who is currently in the process of earning her Certificate of Clinical Competence through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She grew up in South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University in 2016 with bachelor’s degree in Special Education. Laurel taught for four years, during which time she relocated from Asheville, NC, to Anchorage! She spent her last two years as the Life Skills teacher at Goldenview Middle School. In the classroom she gained experience working with a diverse population and worked closely with the IEP team, including behavior specialists and the SLP. She learned a lot from both specialists and quickly became passionate about communication and making sure everyone in her classroom had a voice. In 2020, Laurel left the classroom to pursue a career as a SLP by completing her master’s in Communicative Sciences and Disorders through New York University. Some of Laurel’s passions including working with children with autism, play based therapy, feeding therapy, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

Outside of the clinic, you can find Laurel enjoying time with her family and dog! Some of her favorite activities include running, hiking, camping, skiing, rock climbing, playing games, and reading. 

Kate James grew up outside of Philadelphia before moving to the mountain west to complete her undergraduate degree at Colorado College and her Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology at the University of Wyoming. She and her husband moved to Anchorage in 2014 and enjoy skiing, hiking, backpacking, and raising their two daughters. She specializes in working with children with autism, language intervention, treatment of articulation and phonological impairments, and reading/writing intervention. She is trained in the Wilson Reading Program, DIR Floortime, and the PROMPT technique. 

Hannah Smith is a licensed middle school math teacher and spent time with her husband traveling around the United States teaching at charter, private and Title 1 schools. Her most recent school year was teaching 7th grade math and Algebra 1 at Clark Middle School where she also served as the Math Department Chair, coached volleyball, and tutored students during the after-school program. Upon learning that she was pregnant with a baby girl, she resigned from the school district to be able to take care of her daughter with more flexibility in her career. Hannah has had experience working in the front office at other therapy clinics in Alaska and in Florida while studying education at the University of South Florida. She loves that she can apply her passion for mathematics in the business side of Achievement Therapy Center.

Outside of welcoming smiling faces in the clinic, Hannah enjoys playing volleyball, experimenting with Pinterest recipes, having bonfires and barbeques with friends and family, and hiking with her husband and her two dogs, Luna and Ted.