Our Team
Our Team of experienced speech, occupational, and physical therapists specializes in addressing a diverse range of challenges. From expressive and receptive language disorders to articulation issues, apraxia of speech, autism spectrum disorders, cognitive delays, sensory processing disorder, learning disabilities, ADD and ADHD, torticollis, plagiocephaly, traumatic brain injury, and feeding disorders, our therapists are well-equipped to provide comprehensive treatment.
Our Georgia clinic, located in Savannah, offers dedicated therapists who focus on children's needs. Additionally, we extend our services to the natural environment setting in both Georgia and South Carolina. At Southland Pediatric Therapy Services, we take pride in our exceptional team, composed of skilled and creative therapists and staff. As you continue reading, you'll discover the outstanding individuals on our staff who are eager to assist you and your family in achieving your therapy goals.
Georgia Speech Language Pathologists:
Cindy graduated from Armstrong State with her Master's in 1985. She started out at Long County Schools, then onto Richmond Hill Elementary and High School. After those jobs she moved to Atlanta to work at a private day/residential school called Davidson Speech School. She's worked in everything from preschool to high school; all levels of abilities and disorders including AU. She was an Assistive Technology Specialist for quite a few years. She is retired now after 30 years in the public school system. Working for Southland allows her the ability to balance her work with play. Her favorite part of this job includes no IEP's!
Cindy loves working with the great staff at Southland, and very much enjoys the kiddos and their families! She loves to get her stress out by playing tennis and hiking. She also likes photography, even though she's still a beginner. She loves sorbet and dark chocolate and listening to country music. Her favorite place to go is Yellowstone!
Marjory received her undergraduate degree at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida and her Master’s degree from Armstrong State University.
Marjory currently works full-time at Southland Therapy Services and is a mom of two school-aged children.
Her favorite part of the job is getting to know the children and their families. Her favorite hobbies include traveling, attending her kids extracurricular activities, watching Jeopardy and eating dark chocolate gelato.
Pat received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia in Business Administration. She received her Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1992. She has worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist for over 23 years.
Pat has experience in the public schools from her position in the Chatham County public school system. She loves working with children and helping them gain new communication skills. She enjoys spending her free time with her four children.
Jennifer is originally from the Pacific Northwest and earned her degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. She has lived in Savannah for over a decade and is married with a school-aged son. She has been practicing speech therapy for over 15 years and specializes in the treatment of apraxia of speech and autism-related language disorders. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys camping, reading, and crocheting. She is very excited to be a part of the Southland team!
Brittany received her bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Armstrong State University. She has worked with pediatric clients in a variety of settings which include: home health, teletherapy, school, and private practice. Brittany’s favorite part of the job is interacting with the kids and their families. She loves watching the kids make progress with their communication skills and master their goals!
Brittany is also a mom to one daughter. She loves spending time with her daughter and husband. They enjoy traveling to North Carolina to visit family and spending time at the beach in their free time.
Shelley received her undergraduate and Master's degrees from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). She works at Southland in the afternoons and full-time in the Savannah-Chatham Public School System as a Speech Pathologist in the PSI Program. Her favorite part of the job is when the children make her laugh (which is every day!) Her second favorite part is seeing how proud the parents are when their children learn something new.
Some of her favorite hobbies include hanging out with her family, watching her daughter cheer, and watching the Georgia Bulldogs play. Her favorite dessert is raw cookie dough and says that it's a risk she is willing to take. Shelley has a grown son and a daughter in high school and jokes that both are very easy to embarrass in public.
Claire received her Master's of Science Communication Sciences and Disorders from Armstrong State University. Her favorite part of the job is watching children learn to communicate with their loved ones. She especially enjoys early language and articulation therapy.
Some of her favorite hobbies include spending time with family, friends and traveling. She is originally from Michigan but was raised in Savannah. She currently lives in Savannah with her husband, their son and husky.
Lanier received her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Georgia and her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Georgia Southern University. Some of her favorite things to do include reading, doing puzzles, listening to podcasts, and walking around the beautiful Savannah parks. Her favorite part of the job is seeing kids have fun in therapy!
Bio coming soon!
Georgia Physical Therapists:
Dr. Sauers received her bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Georgia in 2007 and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2011. She has experience working with pediatrics in varied settings including outpatient, community-based and inpatient. She also has experience in orthopedics and sports medicine. Brandi is an APTA Credentialed Instructor.
She has a special interest in early intervention, neurological disorders, torticollis, and sports injuries. She is in the process of completing her certification in Kinesiotaping and proceeding with additional training in TMR teens and tots, a modified positional release concept that can be used to treat postural asymmetries, such as torticollis. She values working with new kiddos and families to educate them on various play techniques that will help their kids hit developmental milestones in a fun and interactive way. She also hopes to become a Special Popluations CSCS and incorporate this into her treatment styles for her older kids. She is a Savannah native and lives with her husband, 2 boys and dog. She enjoys anything involving the water and being on the water. She is also an exercise enthusiast, and enjoys exercise in all forms.
Jill received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport. She has been practicing since 2007. She has experience working with pediatrics in a variety of settings including outpatient, community-based and inpatient. She believes the most rewarding aspect of being a physical therapist is helping patients reach their greatest potential and live their fullest life. Jill has a special interest in youth sports safety and cheerleading. Jill loves traveling, eating (especially chocolate), and spending time with her family.
Georgia Occupational Therapists:
Samantha Letson, OTR/L has worked in the field of Pediatric Occupational Therapy for over 12 years. Samantha received a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Utica College/ Syracuse University in 2009. She has many years of experience working in a hospital setting with inpatient/outpatient children and adults while on an OT team.
Samantha works with children on sensory processing skills, organizational skills, motor planning, visual motor skills, adaptive play skills, fine motor skills, oral-motor and sensory based feeding, and handwriting skills. She enjoys helping children promote and improve these skills for daily life at home in the school and other social environments. Samantha loves working with children of all ages and their families and watching them prosper. Samantha is licensed to practice in Georgia and lives in the Savannah area.
Cat received her Master of Health Science in Occupational Therapy at Augusta University in May 2022. She completed her fieldwork in various settings such as aquatic therapy, neuro‐developmental treatment, Camp IVEY, school system, acute care and inpatient rehabilitation. Her favorite part of being an occupational therapist is being able to build relationships that make differences in her patients' lives. Cat looks forward to working in the pediatrics setting and making therapy fun for her patients.
Cat was born in Vietnam, but moved to Savannah, GA. She has been in Savannah for about 17 years. Some of her hobbies include spending time with family and friends, engaging in leisure sports, reading, and playing with her husky, Bow.
South Carolina Speech Language Pathologists:
Dana graduated in 1999 with a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Georgia. She enjoys working with children who have Apraxia of Speech, Articulation disorders and oral-motor based feedings disorders.
She has many years experience working in a hospital setting working on an outpatient/ inpatient feeding team. She currently treats children in the natural environment through BabyNet services in South Carolina with Southland. She has worked in the pediatrics field her entire career and truly loves what she does.
Dana is Georgia and South Carolina licensed and ASHA certified. She lives in the Savannah area and is married with three daughters.
Amy attended graduate school at The Ohio State University receiving her MA in 1996. She received her undergraduate degree at Ohio University in 1994. She has many years expereince working in the Beaufort County School District working with 4-6 year olds. Through Southland, she assists in Babynet evaluations for children transitioning from birth-3 program to preschool. With the younger children she loves seeing their excitement as they come into the speech room and as they participate in language activities. With her older students, Amy loves seeing their faces when they begin saying sounds correctly that they have been working on for a very long time.
Her favorite activities/hobbies include organizing, planning in my passion planner, scrapbooking, watching the food network and walking her Golden Retriever named Duke. She and her husband Jeff moved from Zanesville, Ohio to Hilton Head, SC in May 2004. She loves peanuts and M&Ms; therefore, peanut M&Ms are her perfect treat!
Samantha has lived in the Lowcountry her entire life. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from South Carolina State University and has been a practicing Speech-language pathologist for over 3 years.
She has experience working with children with a variety of communication disorders in the natural environment (home/daycare) and in the school setting.
She is ASHA certified and holds a SC license.
Jennifer Lemkes has always had a passion to be around children. Being born the middle child of five girls to first generation immigrant parents, she learned to speak Dutch prior to learning English in school. Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from North Carolina State University in 2008. She earned a Master of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology from East Carolina University in 2010. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. While she spent some time working in geriatrics, becoming a mom reignited her passion to work with children. Jennifer has experience working with children in early intervention, private clinic and the school system. She loves to find what motivates a child to communicate and finding effective communication techniques, accessing a child’s natural strengths and building from there.
Jennifer lives in Greenville, SC, and has been married to Allan since 2013. They have one son named Preston. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys traveling, hanging with friends and family, cooking, and watching sports.
Danielle received a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Carolina. She has experience working with children with a variety of disorders (apraxia of speech, articulation/phonological disorders, language disorders, autism). She is ASHA certified and South Carolina licensed.Previously working as a pediatric speech language pathologist in an outpatient hospital clinic, she joined Southland therapy in May 2019 to treat children in the natural environment through BabyNet services in South Carolina. Her favorite part of the job is finding out what makes each child unique and working closely with families.Danielle lives in Simpsonville, SC with her husband Sean and 3 young boys (5 year old twins and a 3-year-old). In her free time, she enjoys traveling, running, cooking, and spending time outdoors with her family. Her favorite treat is mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Bio coming soon!
Bio coming soon!
Bio coming soon!
South Carolina Pediatric Physical Therapists:
Brandi graduated with her B.S. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Florida and earned her Master’s of Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine in 2000. She lives in Bluffton and loves being a mother to her 9 and10 year old. Brandi has over 17 years of pediatric therapy experience with emphasis on treating patients with torticollis, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, genetic disorders and developmental delay. She has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient, early intervention/home based, hospital based and the school system. Brandi holds her certification in Early Intervention Services and is a APTA credentialed clinical instructor. Her love of incorporating "non traditional" intervention approaches has lead her way to develop aquatic based therapy programs and assists with working with developmental dance and hippotherapy programs. She is GA and South Carolina licensed.
Anne Marie has worked in the field of pediatric physical therapy for over 35 years after receiving her degree from the University of Buffalo. She has worked in many diverse settings which include: hospital, NICU’s, neonatal follow up clinics, center and Home based early intervention with medically fragile children, special needs and public school settings, and outpatient pediatric clinics. She has worked in many states including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South Carolina and now Georgia! Anne Marie loves working with children and their families. She has specialized training in adaptive equipment, torticollis, pediatric treadmill training, aquatic therapy and intensive therapy with the Therasuit and Universal Exercise unit.
Anne Marie and her husband, Joe, relocated to Beaufort, South Carolina from coastal New Jersey in 2016. She has 3 children, Matthew, Meghan and Daniel, and a 2 year old grandson, Carter. She loves her new life in the Lowcountry and is looking forward to providing services to South Carolina and Georgia families!
Betsy completed her Masters of Health Science in Physical Therapy at the Medical University of South Carolina and became board certified in 2003. Betsy’s pediatric experience includes a variety of settings – acute care, in- & out-patient rehabilitation, private out-patient clinics, pediatric home health including Early Intervention (EI), school systems, horse therapy, and aquatic therapy. She enjoys working with children of all ages and ability levels and has experience treating many diagnoses including, but not limited to, cerebral palsy, torticollis, spina bifida, Down’s syndrome, and a variety of metabolic/genetic disorders as well as rehabilitation post selective dorsal rhizotomy. Post-graduation education has included extensive neurodevelopmental training (NDT) including Advanced Baby Training, pediatric vestibular treatment, spasticity management, pediatric orthotics and prosthetic care, and proper selection and fit of durable medical equipment (including TheraTogs). Betsy is a credentialed clinical instructor with the American Physical Therapy Association as a clinical instructor.
Raised in Venezuela and having lived in Japan (as well as medical trips to Italy, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Haiti), Betsy has a passion for global health. As a member of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, she strives “to enhance the quality of life, and promote and protect the rights and dignity of people with disabilities through local, national and global efforts” by supporting “general community development for rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities and social inclusion of all people with disabilities.” Betsy is conversational in Spanish. Having lived in several countries where the language was new and unknown, she is very comfortable navigating languages and working with translation services and/or applications.
Outside of work, Betsy loves to be outside with her husband, son, and dog. She wants to be good in the garden, but in spite of a lot of hard work, it remains a challenge (but that doesn’t keep her from trying)! She loves to cook new foods, meet new people, travel to new places, and explore new ideas.
Bio coming soon!
Bio coming soon!
Mary Ellen received her Bachelor of Science Physical Therapy degree at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. She completed the pediatric Certification course for Neuro-Developmental Treatment in Plantation, Florida. She has worked with both adult and pediatric clients in various settings in Florida, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. She has worked with children of all ages in outpatient settings, and in public school schools. She has 20+ years experience with the birth to three population in several Early Intervention settings. She has worked with children with both orthopedic and neurological diagnosis’, including Torticollis, gait abnormalities, and significant prematurity.
Her favorite part of working with infants and toddlers is watching the joy they show when they become independent with a gross motor milestone (rolling, creeping, walking, jumping, etc). It is fun to watch how they use their new gross motor ability to move and play within their homes and daycares. Activities she enjoys in her free time include: creating mosaic art, practicing Bikram yoga, cooking, walking the family dog, exploring beautiful and historical places in South Carolina.
South Carolina Occupational Therapists:
Bernadette has over 35 years experience in Occupational Therapy. Thirty of those years have been in pediatrics. She has been self-employed for many years contracting services to schools, home health agencies and outpatient clinics.
She has provided therapy for varied disabilities such as cerebral palsy, head injuries, learning disabilities, autism, and other developmental delays. She developed visual motor software called Focus VME that encourages proper tracking and exercise.
Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting and crafting (jewelry, knitting, crocheting).She enjoys traveling and cruising.
Caroline is an occupational therapist in the Greenville, SC area. She graduated from Winthrop University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She then went on to receive her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Caroline has always enjoyed working with children and was able to participate in MUSC's Camp Hand to Hands for children with cerebral palsy.
Caroline grew up in Clemson, SC and has returned to the upstate after working for 3 years at an pediatric outpatient clinic in Lexington, SC. Caroline lives with her husband and labradoodle, Milo. She likes to spend her free time at the lake, baking, and hiking.
Beck has been with Southland Therapy since June of 2022 and recently decided to come on board full time. Becky graduated with a MS, in Occupational Therapy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Beck said she loves being an OT because it is so rewarding to see kiddos make progress, become more independent, and develop self-awareness. I love being outside in nature camping and hiking with my two boys and husband.. Going to the beach, swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking. I also love yoga, sewing, reading, and snuggling with my two kitties. Fun Fact: I lived on Okinawa, Japan when I was in elementary school and I don't really like desserts, but I love dark chocolate.
Colleen graduated from the U of Florida (Go Gators!) with a Masters Degree in Health Science in Occupational Therapy in 2009 after completing her bachelor's degree there in 1992. She completed a specialty pediatric internship and was recruited to work at a state-of-the-art facility in New York State for individuals with multiply-handicapping conditions requiring residential care. In addition to working with complex medical issues (cerebral palsy, autism, genetic disorders), she managed the occupational therapy portion of the on-site early intervention program there.
Colleen is the mom of a once very tiny premature infant who spent 3 months in the University of Florida-Shands NICU. In addition to parenting a special needs infant requiring lots of early intervention, Colleen volunteered with the NICU Parent Support Group there and with the Children's Hospital of. Philadelphia's NICU.
Colleen has had a 30 year career in occupational therapy with pediatric experience in home, school district, daycare, seasonal bungalow and facility settings. She has extensive experience with positioning, adaptive equipment, feeding and sensory issues. As occupational therapy is such a holistic discipline, Colleen enjoys supporting children in the natural environment and providing and collaborating with caregivers for education and hands-on teaching. In Charleston, Colleen is a member of the Fort Sullivan chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In addition to a love of history and genealogy, her favorite leisure activities include gardening, camping and hiking, cooking, music, writing and spending time with family.
Bio coming soon!
Southland Staff:
Dee Dee and John are the owners of Southland Therapy Services. Southland has been serving the children of Georgia and South Carolina since 2006 and is proud to help change the lives of so many in the Low Country.
They are parents to TWO sets of twins and a proud grandparents of two. Dee Dee's favorite candy are M&M's and John is our financial and excel sheet wizard!
They live in Savannah with and their jack russell, Juliette while their college aged daughters are enrolled at the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs!
Regina has been with Southland Therapy Services since we opened our doors in 2006. She loves meeting new families and treats all patients with the utmost attention and love.
Her hobbies include shopping with her daughters, going to Bingo with her mother and enjoying the beach on Tybee.
Regina is a mother and wife and lives in the Savannah area with her two daughters and husband, Larry. She's also a proud new grandma to grand-baby Greyson!
Heather graduated from The University of Georgia with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. She has worked in several areas of finance including personal finance, Corporate Finance and small business.
She is married and has two beautiful children, Everett and Claire. Her family enjoys staying active! They love boating, fishing and enjoying almost anything outdoors.
Laura has been with Southland since 2015. She graduated from Curry College in 2009 with a degree in Communication and a minor in Public Relations. She attended Armstrong State University and received her post-bacc certification in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Her favorite part of the job is seeing what a difference the therapists make everyday. Her favorite hobbies include photography, traveling, camping, and hiking with her husband Jake, daughter Abigail, son, Owen and Black Labrador, Tessie. She and her husband are originally from Maine and miss snow and New England seafood! She loves cookie dough ice cream, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.. and sweets of any kind!
BIOGRAPHY
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BIOGRAPHY
COMING
SOON!