Sarah grew up in Camden County and was a graduate of Camden County High in 1993. She then attended Mercer University in Macon, GA receiving degrees in Biology and Psychology. She went on to earn her Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Armstrong Atlantic State University in 1999.
She has since devoted her career to working with children. She has continued her education with obtaining a certification in pediatric NDT, and pediatric vestibular rehab. She has trained with Izabela Koscielny using the Therasuit method and Universal Exercise Unit. Other specializations include myofascial release, rib cage mobility, TMR, orthotic and equipment management, and developmental delays. She is passionate about working with children with multiple disabilities and neurological deficits. She strives to help each child reach their full potential throughout all areas of their lives.
Sarah returned to Camden County and began working with Advance Rehabilitation in January of 2000. She was the director of the Saint Marys’ pediatric clinic. In 2008, she purchased Advance for Kids, from Advance Rehabilitation. Her mission is for herself and the therapist at Advance for Kids to continually learn and grow as therapists to enable them to provide the best support and therapy to each child and family served. She has a strong desire that the therapists work as a team with the families, health professions, and educators in the area to allow each child to succeed.
Sarah is also passionate about the children’s lives outside of the office. She is on the Board of the Camden Miracle Field and is seen each Friday during the baseball season on the field helping children learn to play baseball. She also believes in giving back and helping others. She has been on therapy mission trips to Haiti and Belize. Advance for Kids currently sponsors a student in Haiti going to school to become a therapist, and a little girl with medical needs in foster care in Haiti.
For fun, Sarah loves to garden, hike, be on the water, travel, and to read. Being part of nature is her way to relax. Her favorite places she has traveled to so far have been Ecuador, and Maine. She is married and has 2 fun loving, caring children, and a wonderful step-son.
Genevieve grew up in Columbia, SC and she has always loved working with children. Throughout schooling she worked as a swim lesson instructor and a swim coach for a summer league swim team.
She graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA and received her Bachelors in Kinesiology in Exercise Science with a minor in Psychology in 2013. She then earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in 2016. She has continued her education by attending courses including but not limited to Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School- North America’s L1 course which is based upon Schroth Method principles and Liesa Persuad's "Therapeutic Evaluation and Treatment of Toe Walking (Pediatric Equinus Gait) from a PT and OT perspective.”
Genevieve has been working at Advance For Kids since 2016 and treats infants and children with orthopedic conditions such as joint pain, toe-walking, in-toeing gait, club foot, scoliosis, torticollis etc. She also has treated limitations secondary to neurological or auto-immune disorders such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism-Spectrum Disorder, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and more. She loves seeing her patients meeting their goals and accomplishing more than what they thought was possible!
Her hobbies include swimming, going to the beach, baking and Bravo/TLC shows. She spends most of her time with her amazing husband, two rambunctious boys, and her sweet dogs.
My family is from Caracas, Venezuela but I was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. I am fluent in Spanish and would love to learn sign language in the years to come. I have a younger sister with Cerebral Palsy and she was my motivation to become a pediatric physical therapist. I graduated from the University of Central Florida with my bachelors in Psychology and Health Sciences pre-clinical track. Throughout college, I worked at the Conductive Education Center of Orlando, a school for children with motor disabilities and my love of this field continued to grow. I became a rehab technician for an outpatient adult orthopedic clinic, eventually transitioning into being a rehab tech for a pediatric outpatient clinic in Orlando. In 2018, I was accepted into my doctoral program at AdventHealth University. Two of my clinicals were in pediatrics, one was at UCP elementary and middle school, and the other was an acute care pediatric position at AdventHealth Hospital at their main campus. I was able to work with a wide variety of patients such as: neonatal NICU babies, post-op transplant kids, infants with developmental delay, babies with torticollis, kids with cerebral palsy and more. I graduated with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy in April 2021.
I have a sweet, needy Boxer/Beagle mix that I adore, and a more stubborn clumsy and goofy English bulldog, because well “Go Dawgs”! I love to travel, play softball, flag football, or basketball, explore new places, and recently have a new found love of cooking, although that is a skill that has not emerged yet. On a weekend, you can find me at the beach, enjoying my family, reading a good book, curled up with my dogs, babysitting, pretty much doing anything and everything. While I like to relax and watch Netflix on my couch, the majority of the time I have pre-planned my entire weekend with activities and engaging with other people or animals. I am also that random person in the street chasing dogs, just so I can meet them, especially if I see a Great Dane.
I was born in Owensboro, KY and graduated from the University of Evansville in Indiana in 2009. Since I was a small child, I loved soccer, strength training and running track and cross country. My career path changed after tearing my ACL playing soccer in high school which resulted in several months of physical therapy to regain my strength and ability to return to sports. During the months following my knee surgery in Physical Therapy I became interested in pursuing PT in college instead of teaching for my career. Throughout college I worked as a rehab tech in the hospital, YMCA summer camps, and played recreational soccer.
The majority of my career in physical therapy has been in Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky with adults and athletes in inpatient rehab, and outpatient orthopedics. I moved to Kingsland GA in September of 2017 and fell in love with the area while staying home with my daughter for a couple years before coming to work at Advance for Kids.
My hobbies are playing with my daughter, running, photography, any kind of exercise, traveling, gardening, games nights with friends and family!
Jessica was born in New Jersey and moved to Jacksonville, FL at the age of 2. While in high school Jessica was a competitive swim coach for children. Jessica was a competitive swimmer for over 10 years.
Jessica attended the University of North Florida and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelors in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training. She then attended University of Florida and graduated with her Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2005. Jessica has worked in a variety of settings as an Occupational Therapist including outpatient pediatrics, skilled nursing facility, home health, inpatient rehab and acute care rehab. Jessica’s true passion is with the pediatric population.
While attending the University of Florida, Jessica met her husband Pete. In 2013 Jessica and her husband Pete welcomed their daughter Madison while living in Tallahassee Florida. They soon after relocated to the Jacksonville area to be closer to family. In her spare time Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, being outside at the pool, and watching Gator Sports. She has recently started to complete 5K races around Jacksonville.
Jessica’s true passion is working with the pediatric population at an Occupational Therapist. Jessica joined the Advance for Kids team in 2016. Jessica has a passion for working with children with feeding difficulties. She has taken many continuing education courses in feeding including the SOS Approach to Feeding, the Beckman Oral Motor Assessment. She also has an interest in treatments of children with tethered oral tissue.
Jennifer was born in Atlanta GA, but grew up in Pittsburg, PA. Jennifer has always aspired to work with children and was inspired to become an occupational therapist following serious illness as a child. Jennifer graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Rehabilitation Science.. During this time she volunteered at The Children’s Institute (a school for children with Autism), taught swim lessons, and worked as a camp counselor at the local JCC. Jennifer Graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Master of Occupational therapy in 2014 and has worked in several settings including skilled nursing, assisted living, and outpatient. Jennifer had always wanted to return to working with children and moved back to Georgia to join the Advance for Kids team in 2018.
Jennifer enjoys working with children of a variety of ages and diagnoses, from infants with developmental delay, to children and teens with impairments related to Autism, dyslexia, agraphia, spinal cord injury, and more. Jennifer has experience in treating hand and upper extremity disorders, as well as splinting of hand/upper extremity. Jennifer is certified in Therapeutic Listening, a program utilizing specialized music to address a variety of deficits (attention, self regulation, emotional regulation, etc). This program is available at Advance for Kids, including the Therapeutic Listening and Quick Shifts programs. Jennifer is working towards a functional vision specialist certification.
Jennifer now resides in Yulee, FL. Jennifer enjoys many hobbies, including swimming, art, and yoga. Jennifer obtained a minor in studio arts from the University of Pittsburgh and enjoys painting, drawing, jewelry making, and more. Jennifer regularly utilizes her creativity and love of art to design activities and crafts for her clients. Jennifer loves yoga and attends classes every chance she gets.
While she was born and raised in western NY, her family has been long term residents of Camden County. While Tiffany completed her Masters of Science at Gannon University in Erie, Pa, her husband was stationed at Kings Bay. Upon graduating she quickly joined him in 2003 where they were able to enjoy southern east coast living from 2003-2015. During that time they started their family, began their careers, and started to make Camden County their home.
Tiffany has always known she wanted to work with children who had special needs and their families, so she was beyond excited when she joined Sarah at Advance for Kids in 2003 and began her career as a pediatric Occupational Therapist. She has enjoyed working with individuals in multiple settings throughout Camden and Charlton County including outpatient rehab, early intervention, and the school system. In 2009 Tiffany transitioned to working exclusively for Camden County School System until the military had other plans for her family. Since then they have moved to Hawaii where Tiffany had her last 2 kiddos and then eventually Virginia Beach she enjoyed working with Virginia Beach City Public Schools. When it was finally time for her husband to retire they found themselves returning to Camden County once again, this time to stay.
It is no secret that Tiffany loves working with the pediatric population. She has a special interest in sensory integration techniques and modalities including interactive metronome, astronaut training, and is currently pursuing her functional vision specialist certification. She loves puzzles of all kinds (neurological and physical) and will never stop dancing. She looks forward to raising her small team of kiddos here while continuing to enjoy traveling, exploring, and always learning new things.
Whitney was born in Jacksonville, FL but moved many times, including overseas, while growing up in a military family. She lived in some of her favorite cities including Savannah, GA and Asheville, NC. In 2021,n she returned to Jacksonville to be closer to family and longtime friends.
As a student, she participated in a wide variety of extracurricular activities including sports, student government, drama, High Q, and Best Buddies. Her experience with the Best Buddies program and Special Olympics during high school was a big influence on the love she has for working with children with disabilities. As a kid, she frequently volunteered to work with younger children with my grandmother who was a kindergarten teacher. She loved these experiences and continued to engage with children as an art teacher and summer camp director as a young adult.
She graduated from Florida State College at Jacksonville with a A.A.S. degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. As a COTA/L, she loves cultivating authentic relationships with the kids she works with and their families. She is passionate about helping children to reach their full potential through play, hard work, and connection.
Her hobbies include exploring nature, traveling to new places, anything related to water, tennis, pickleball, learning to play guitar, art, cooking and eating good food. She spends most of her free time making memories with my son and family while doing the things she loves.
Jenna was born in Hawthorne, New Jersey where she graduated from Hawthorne High School in 2013. Growing up she was always very active in sports playing everything from softball, soccer, volleyball, karate, cheerleading, and dance. After high school, Jenna went on to attend undergrad at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre PA where she played collegiate softball all 4 years. During her time in undergrad, she also was a mentor for incoming freshman, was the major event chair for a club called programming board where she got to plan the concerts for the student board and had a year long internship with Luzerne County Juvenile probation. In 2017, she graduated receiving a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminology.
Upon completing undergrad, Jenna got a job at an outpatient rehab center called Rehabilitation Specialists where she worked as a functional life skills trainer with adults with traumatic and acquired brain injuries. During this time, Jenna got the opportunity to work alongside an amazing rehab team consisting of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists which inspired her to pursue her path as an OT.
In 2021, Jenna made the move down to Jacksonville Florida where she began attending the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. Upon completing the didactic portion of the program Jenna started her level 2 fieldwork experience where she got the opportunity to work in the acute care setting and then was fortunate to be placed at Advance for Kids. During her experience working in outpatient pediatrics, Jenna’s love for working with children grew, leading her to return in the fall of 2023 where she completed her doctorate research focusing on advocating for sensory integration. Jenna graduated in December of 2023 where she obtained her doctorate in occupational therapy and has since joined the Advance for Kids team in the beginning of 2024.
Alex was born in Gauntanamo Bay, Cuba at the naval base before moving to Jacksonville, Florida. In high school, Alexandra worked every summer at Camp I Am Special, a camp for those with varying diagnosis and needs, where she first found her love of working with children. Alex later attended the University of Florida where she earned her bachelors of Science in Psychology. At UF, Alex continued to grow her passion of assisting others by serving on the board of student directors for Relay for Life, and PSO, a public health professions service organization. It was also during undergraduate school that Alex became a caretaker for a young boy with down syndrome. Alex attended each of his many appointments, including occupational therapy, and immediately fell in love. Alex later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Temple University, receiving her Master of Occupational Therapy in 2023.
Alex has worked as an Occupational Therapist in assisted living facilities, memory care, home health, inpatient neuro and outpatient orthopedic rehabilitation, before joining Advance for Kids in 2024. Alex’s true passion lies with helping children achieve their fullest potential and is excited to be part of a team that gets to do this every day. Alex has experience working with various neurological conditions, specifically TBI and SCI, as well as down syndrome, autism, and hand/upper extremity injuries and disorders, along with splint fabrication.
During her free time, Alex tries to spend as much of it at the beach as possible. Growing up in Cuba and later in Jacksonville Beach, Alex has always been close to the ocean. She loves to surf, go on long beach runs, and play with her dogs in the water. She also enjoys a good book and needlepointing to wind down after a long day. Alex has always been a fan of art, creating it and appreciating it, and loves that she can bring her creative side to work each day.
Kacy is originally from the Chicagoland area, but moved to Amelia Island, Florida in 2017 and now to Camden County Georgia in 2023. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for undergraduate school in communication sciences and disorders and Northern Illinois University for graduate studies in speech-language pathology and graduated with her master’s in 2016. During her undergraduate and graduate studies, Kacy participated in research in the areas of linguistics and language development. Her graduate level thesis was on the study of novel word learning in children with autism and specific language impairment. She later continued working on her research and published multiple papers about how children with autism learn new words. During her graduate studies, Kacy also became passionate about augmentative alternative communication (AAC) assessments and later became LAMP certified (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) to help children with developmental disabilities communicate with technology.
Professionally, Kacy has experience working in geriatrics and pediatrics, from working in skilled nursing settings, to schools, and private practice. It was in private practice that Kacy really felt she hit her “sweet spot.” She enjoys collaborations with other professionals, working with a wide variety of children/teens, and working with parents and caregivers on how to implement language and speech strategies in the home. She feels that private practice offers a unique solution to help children who are struggling at home or in school and not quite reaching their full potential due to limited resources, time, or consistency.
Kacy enjoys spending time with her husband, Clay, and their Australian Shepherd mix, Lulu. They are expecting their first child in June, 2024. Kacy and Clay enjoy volunteering through their church, being active outdoors, and traveling internationally.
Growing up, Anita had every intention of following in her Mother’s footsteps and becoming an elementary school teacher. It was not until the summer of 2006 after she shadowed a Speech-Language Pathologist at The Language Learning Center, that a spark began which led her into the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Anita graduated Summa Cum Laude from Valdosta State University with her Bachelor’s degree in Education in 2011. She went on to earn her Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, completing graduate school in 2013. Anita has spent the last ten years increasing her knowledge in speech, language, and learning in order to help her clients reach their highest potential. She has contracted in private clinical, school, and skilled nursing settings, finding her home in private practice for the last eight years. She became a part of Advance for Kids recently during its merger with The Language Learning Center and is looking forward to a team based approach with OT and PT. Anita enjoys working with a wide variety of ages and diagnoses, from toddlers with speech delay, to children/teens with articulation disorder, language disorder, learning based impairments and more. She is a certified Interactive Metronome Provider (IM), which is a research-backed treatment program that helps improve timing through exercise and practice to address a variety of deficits (sensory processing, working memory, attention and concentration, processing speed, etc). This program is available at Advance for Kids.
When asked the question, “What is the one thing you like most about your work,” Anita responds as follows: “The relationships...as student clinicians we were reminded that one of the most important steps to progress in establishing trust and rapport with out clients. I love to see the relationship grow from the initial evaluation, where I am just a stranger, into becoming an integral part of the child’s developmental process. Being “Miss Nita” and receiving a big hug is the most rewarding gift I can imagine.”
Anita currently resides in Folkston, GA with her husband, Nick, and two children, Ansleigh and Gideon. In her down time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, and visiting new places.
Samantha Faircloth grew up in small town Cochran GA and graduated from Bleckley County High School in 2003. She attended Middle Georgia College for 2 years and after graduating with her Associates Degree, headed to Valdosta State in 2006 to pursue a degree as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Samantha always had the desire to work with children and her mother was the person who encouraged her to look into this career path. After shadowing a local speech-pathologist, she knew that this was the career path for her.
Samantha attended Valdosta State University and graduated in 2009 Magna Cum Laude with a Masters in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Over the last 16 years, Samantha has worked in multiple private settings and the Houston County school system. She also has had the pleasure of being a stay-at-home mom to her two boys. Brody who is 8 and Ezra who is 10. Samantha has always enjoyed her place in the private sector and couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of Advance for Kids. She values her collaboration with parents and feels she is able to connect and make a difference with her kids and families in this type of environment. During her time in this field, Samantha has evaluated and provided treatment for speech and language disorders in the primary, elementary, middle and high school levels. In the private sector, she has provided therapeutic services for the pediatric population including autism, articulation, fluency, sensory feeding aversion and swallowing disorders as well as services for the adult population including adult autism, language, voice and cognitive-linguistic deficits. As a Speech-Language Pathologist diagnostic tests were administered and informal measures for pediatrics and adults were used to develop treatment plans for feeding aversion, articulation, language, fluency, voice and cognitive-linguistic deficits.
In her spare time, Samantha enjoys spending time with her husband Ross and her boys Ezra and Brody, especially at the beach. She also has been involved in her boys' school when opportunities have been provided. You will also find her enjoying thrift and antique stores. Samantha participates in the Girls Gone Picking Vintage Market sale, children's consignment sales and Facebook marketplace sales. She loves taking unique things and giving them homes as well as repurposing items that may seem broken.
Noelia has worked for Advance For Kids since 2016. She enjoys working and interacting with the patients and helping in any way she can. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband, her 2 boys, her precious grandbaby and her doggies. She also loves traveling, shopping and sports.
Colleen was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA where she married her husband, Robbie, where their adventure began. We have lived in Virginia, Japan and moved here to Camden County in 2015 all thanks to the military. She has previously worked in the hospitality industry and had worked as a receptionist at Advance for Kids since July of 2020. Colleen spends her free time crafting, reading, volunteering and supporting her beautiful daughter in her activities. Colleen loves greeting all the kiddos with a warm smile!
Lisa has worked at The Language Center since 2008, She serves as front desk receptionist, maintains the speech medical records and speech scheduling. She loves working with the kids and helping them out.
