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.

 Ashley is an Occupational Therapist traveling from South Carolina. She received her Master's of Science in Occupational Therapy from Barry University in Florida. Her clinical internship experience involved working with children in a school setting in Pennsylvania focusing on behavior management and handwriting skills. She also has clinical experience in a skilled nursing facility focusing on rehabilitation and training for individuals with stokes, dementia, and Parkinson's. Ashley has a background in American Sign Language as she fell in love with the language at an early age. When not at work, Ashley enjoys spending time with her fiancé and dog being outdoors with them rock climbing, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and fishing. Ashley also enjoys Acro and aerial yoga and singing whenever she gets the chance. Ashley too volunteers her time at local animal shelters and soup kitchens. Every year, she looks forward to volunteering at Tim Tebow's Night To Shine special needs prom that is held all over the world.  

Grace is a licensed Occupational Therapist. She graduated with her Master of Occupational Therapy degree from University of St. Augustine in Austin, Texas. She has worked in a variety of settings since graduating, including outpatient pediatrics, outpatient orthopedics, acute care, skilled nursing, home health, inpatient rehabilitation and working in the school district. Grace started out pursuing PT as a career but quickly made the switch upon learning what OT was. She is excited to return to the outpatient pediatric setting, as this is her passion. She has completed the Move Play Thrive continuing education course and several courses related to sensory regulation. When she is not working, Grace enjoys doing just about anything outside with her two dogs, Huey and Brisket Taco Basket, traveling, eating/cooking and has recently taken up sewing (but is not very good). 

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.

   Rachel is a travel occupational therapist originally from Michigan. She graduated with her bachelors from Michigan State University and received her Masters of Occupational Therapy from Carroll University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her experience includes multiple settings: inpatient (skilled nursing facilities, long term care, assisted living facilities) as well as outpatient (home health and hospice). She has also worked in outpatient pediatrics in Illinois. Rachel loves integrating using therapeutic play to help children gain independence and grow as unique individuals! In her free time, Rachel loves to hike, do hot yoga, cook and read. 

 Ashlyn is a travel physical therapist from Indiana. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Indiana State University. Since graduating Ashlyn has previously worked in outpatient orthopedics with adults and some adolescents with orthopedic injuries while on travel assignments in Arizona, California, and Washington. When she came to work at Achievement Therapy Center it was her first time being here in Alaska! This is not however Ashlyn’s first time working in pediatrics, as she did part of her clinical field work in PT school working with kids in Nashville Tennessee. During that time Ashlyn worked as a school based PT several days a week, helping kids navigate the school and playground environment, and worked at an outpatient clinic the other days that even had therapy horses to help kids work on their core strength and posture stability! Ashlyn has always loved working with kids and is excited to help the patients here at Achievement Therapy Center meet their goals through therapeutic based play. When not helping patients, Ashlyn enjoys spending her time exploring the new places she is living and working in by hiking, trying new foods, trying new experiences like surfing lessons, and when not exploring she likes reading a good book. 

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.

Kelsie Maynes is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist Clinical Fellow who is currently in the process of earning her Certificate of Clinical Competence through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Completing her bachelor’s degree in Communication sciences and disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020, she continued perusing a career as an SLP by earning her Masters of Science from East Carolina University in 2022. Her clinical internships allowed for a wide range of experiences including working with Veteran’s on cognition, stroke-recovery, and voice disorders to pediatric experiences utilizing articulation, language, and feeding interventions.

Relocating to Alaska in June of 2022 with her husband and son, Kelsie is excited to explore Alaska with her family. In her free time, she enjoys getting outdoors, game nights with friends, and anything that brings out her creative side.

  Laurel grew up in South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education. Laurel taught for four years, including two years as the Life Skills teacher at Goldenview Middle School. While teaching, Laurel gained experience working with a diverse population and became passionate about communication. In 2020, Laurel left the classroom to pursue a career as a Speech Language Pathologist. She completed her master’s degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders through New York University in January 2023. Laurel has worked here at Achievement Therapy Center since graduation! Some of Laurel’s passions including working with autistic individuals, incorporating sensory based play into therapy, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Laurel is a neurodiversity affirming therapist who enjoys learning about your child and incorporating their interests into their sessions together! 
Outside of the clinic, Laurel enjoys spending time with her family and her two dogs. Some of her favorite activities include running, reading, hiking, camping, and playing games!  

  Lauren is an SLP who grew up across the country in Northern Florida. She swam collegiately and received a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders from Auburn University in 2019 and a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University in 2022. Clinical internships during graduate training included preschool for children with hearing loss, virtual reading clinic, elementary school, inpatient acute care, home health, outpatient voice center, outpatient pediatric feeding clinic, camp for children who stutter, program for college students with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and inpatient rehabilitation. During her studies, she was engaged in research related to respiratory disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and language/cognitive/behavioral disorders. She worked for a year in Alabama as an SLP-Assistant at a pediatric private clinic, and a year in Oregon as a Clinical Fellow in the schools. Lauren has also worked as a camp counselor at a variety of summer camps for children, teens, and adults with disabilities. Lauren loves to learn and participate in speech therapy globally. She spent a summer volunteering in Uganda for a nonprofit speech therapy organization and spent a couple of weeks in the United Kingdom learning from students and speech therapists about European therapy techniques and service provision. She loves working with children of all ages! In her free time, Lauren enjoys reading, hiking, camping, drinking coffee, and being active!  

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 the operations specialist at Achievement Therapy Center. She used to teach math at Clark Middle School until becoming a mom in 2022. She loves that she can apply her passion for mathematics and problem-solving in the business side of Achievement Therapy Center while also having flexibility to care for her children. The best of both worlds!

Outside of welcoming smiling faces in the clinic, Hannah enjoys playing volleyball, trying new recipes, having bonfires and barbeques with friends and family, and spending quality time with her family.

Billing Specialist

 Brooke Cates is a certified Medical Administrative Assistant that received her certification in 2023. Originally from Oregon, she moved to Texas to be with her husband where she continued to work in a customer service role until, they relocated to Alaska in November of 2021. Since being in Alaska, she has taken a break from the workforce to stay home with her daughter and go to school. After completing her certification course, she now aspires to go back to school to pursue a degree in child psychology. In her free time, she likes to do crafts with her daughter, play with her dogs Sandy and Cairo, and try new restaurants.