Meet our neuroBridge Staff Members
Knowledgeable, Professional, and Committed to Excellence
CO-FOUNDERS
Margaret Hopping | OTR/L
Margaret received her degree from the Medical College of Georgia (now Georgia Regents University) in 1992. With over 30 years of experience as an Occupational Therapist, she has worked in a range of settings, including physical rehabilitation, home health, and pediatrics. Pediatrics is her joy and led her to pursue a business that allowed her to work with children in independent schools in the Chattanooga area. She completed her Sensory Integration Certification through Western Psychological Services in 2012, and is certified in the administration and interpretation of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT). Margaret has her Handwriting Certification from LWT and is certified to administer The Print Tool. She has pursued and completed training courses and certification in the SOS approach to feeding, Therapeutic Listening, Handwriting Without Tears, The Astronaut Training Program, NeuroNet Learning™ Provider: Early Learners - Program 2, Primitive Reflex Integration Training, Interactive Metronome Provider, Executive Function coaching, Cognitive-Function (Cog-Fun)Intervention, Cogmed Provider and Autism courses focused on a strengths based approach. Margaret is passionate about using a team approach and loves working with children, families, teachers and administrators.
Margaret and her husband Hank have two grown children, a daughter in law and two dogs to keep them company at home. Margaret enjoys traveling, spending time with family, watching college football, being outdoors, and reading on her porch.
Sarah Powe | OTR/L
Sarah has degrees from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center - Memphis in Kinesiology and Occupational Therapy. Sarah has over 25 years of experience as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist in a variety of settings. Sarah has served children and families as a pediatric clinician in burn care, intensive care, inpatient care, outpatient care, in-home therapy, school therapy, and as a school administrator. Her presence in these areas over the years has continued to ignite Sarah's passion for serving the whole child in partnership with the multidisciplinary team. Sarah received her certification as an Executive Function Certified Tutor in 2022 from the Cliff Valley Institute. Sarah has also completed certifications in and pursued continuing education in Cogmed, Exceptional Learning Styles: Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia, Interactive Metronome Provider, NeuroNet Learning™ Provider: Early Learners - Program 2, The Therapeutic Listening Program, The Astronaut Training Program, Primitive Reflex Integration Training, and Play Based Therapy Interventions for Emotional Dysregulation and Challenging Behaviors.
Sarah and her husband Jeff have three children and a doodle. Each is wildly entertaining and a constant source of wonderment. Sarah enjoys spending time with her people, practicing yoga, gardening, reading, and the outdoors in her free time.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Brooke Baker | MSOT, OTR/L
Brooke received her Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy from Belmont University in 2012. Prior to graduate school Brooke had 10 years of experience as an Occupational Therapy Assistant providing services in a variety of settings. Brooke completed a clinical rotation in pediatrics in 2011 and has continued to pursue pediatric course work through Learning Without Tears. Brooke loves working with children to help them achieve success in their daily life at home, school, and in their community.
Brooke and her husband Daniel have two children. In their free time they enjoy time with family and friends.
Lizzie Moore | MOT, OTR/L
Lizzie received her Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with concentration in Health Promotion from College of Charleston in 2010. In 2013, Lizzie graduated from University of Tennessee Health Science Center with her Master of Occupational Therapy. Lizzie was led into the field of occupational therapy because of her passion and love for children. Lizzie has experience working in a variety of settings including home health, post acute rehab, inpatient rehab, and early intervention. Lizzie is committed to enhancing student participation, promoting social engagement and academic success at school for every child.
Lizzie lives on Lookout Mountain with her husband, Michael, and their two children. She enjoys outdoor activities, sports, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.
Carly York | OTD, OTR/L
Carly York received her Occupational Therapy Doctorate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2021. Prior to her time in Chattanooga, she attended the University of Alabama where she double majored in Dance and Human Development/Family Studies, with a minor in Psychology. Carly has over 2 years of clinical experience in outpatient and hospital-based pediatric OT, as well as additional experience in adult inpatient rehabilitation. In addition to her clinical practice, Carly has now served as an adjunct professor at her alma mater of UTC within the OT department for the last year. Carly has a passion for helping students from pre-K to graduate studies maximize their strengths to succeed both in and out of the classroom.
Carly and her husband, Ryan, have one fur baby named River. In her free time, Carly loves traveling, reading a good book, going to the lake, and visiting with friends and family.
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
Andrea Tuttolomondo, M.C.D. | SLP-CCC
Andrea received a Bachelor's of Science in Communication Disorders in 2016, and a Master's in Communication Disorders in 2018 from Auburn University. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a concentration in Special Education. She received and has maintained a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) through the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association following the completion of her clinical fellowship. Andrea has worked in a variety of pediatric settings including the public school setting, a developmental center, and most recently private practice. In these settings she has worked with children aged birth to 22 with a wide range of diagnoses including receptive and expressive language delay, developmental delay, articulation and phonological impairments, stuttering, Autism, genetic differences, and feeding disorders.
Andrea lives in Chattanooga with her Goldendoodle Paisley. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, going to the lake, hiking, and reading.
Lanie Keyser, M.A. | CCC-SLP
Lanie received her Bachelor's degree in 2004 in Speech Pathology from the University of Tennessee. In 2006, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee with her Master's degree in Speech Language Pathology, with a concentration in Aural Habilitation. Since 2006, she has had the opportunity to work with a variety of pediatric populations in the school setting, and private practice. Throughout her career, she has maintained a Certificate of Clinical Competence through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association by continuing her education and studies in speech and language. Lanie believes that parents, caregivers, and teachers play a vital role in a child's success in therapy. She strives to foster positive, and meaningful relationships with each child and family that she works with.
Lanie and her husband have two children, and live in the Ooltewah area. They enjoy being outside, going to the beach, playing with their dogs, hiking, and camping as a family.
Karen Long, M.A. | CCC-SLP
Karen has an undergraduate degree with a double major in Psychology and Human Services from Mercer University and an M.A. degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Karen has enjoyed working with children for 25+ years in a variety of settings including home, school and clinic locations. Karen believes it is essential to identify each child’s unique strengths in order to utilize their areas of interest and success in helping them become effective communicators. Over the years, Karen has worked with students with a wide range of diagnoses, implementing multi-sensory techniques to facilitate whole-brain learning and strengthen communication skills. The emphasis of Karen’s recent continuing education has been on developing strategies to improve speech and language deficits related to weak executive functioning skills/ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety and emotional regulation issues. She considers family education to be one of her primary roles in serving children and she appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with any caregivers involved including parents, teachers, siblings, and/or grandparents.
Karen and her husband have two older daughters who are doing interesting things in the world and one 10-year-old daughter who keeps them busy at home with lots of animals! On Sundays, Karen can be found in a quiet circle on the floor, teaching Godly Play to our young children and learning from the purest of heart.
Meredith Thomas, M.S. | CCC-SLP
Meredith received a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Furman University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She then went on to Southern Connecticut State University where she received a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. While she initially became an SLP to specialize in voice therapy, Meredith fell in love with the pediatric population in graduate school and went on to work in the public school sector after graduation. During this time, she received and has maintained her ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence. Since moving to the Chattanooga area, Meredith has been a stay-at-home parent and has loved getting to experience the speech and language development of her own children first hand.
Meredith lives on Signal Mountain with her husband Paul, their two children, and their new puppy. In her free time, Meredith enjoys traveling, going on adventures near and far with her family, enthusiastically starting new craft projects that she likely will never finish, leading parent-child Musikgarten classes for young families at her church, and singing in her church choir.
COACHING/ SUPPORT
Rachel Blanton M.Ed | MCC, Empowerment Coach
Rachel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Auburn University in 2014 and a Master of Education in Counselor Education from the University of Virginia in 2016. She has completed additional training in the Seeing My Time approach to supporting executive functions and received certification as an online executive function specialist. Supporting executive function and social-emotional skills is a passion for Rachel. She has worked as a school counselor in elementary schools, both public and private, for the last 7 years. She believes the best way to support students is strengths-based and through a team approach. In her free time, Rachel loves to spend time with her husband, daughter, and pets, preferably outside either going for a stroll or working in our garden. She also loves to be in the kitchen, baking treats or experimenting with new recipes.
Dr. Julie Gersch | Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Julie Gersch is a Clinical Psychologist and Health Service Provider licensed in the states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas. Julie completed her Doctoral degree at The University of Akron in Ohio with pre- and post-doctoral training in St. Paul, Minnesota. She completed an additional postdoctoral fellowship in health psychology in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Julie has enjoyed a diverse professional work history as both a provider and a healthcare leader/administrator. Her varied career has allowed her to gain expertise in a wide range of psychological assessment and intervention services spanning all age ranges (children to older adult). She has worked in varied treatment settings including schools, private practice, hospitals, residential care settings (subacute rehab and long- term care), and in small and large businesses/organizations, including nonprofit. Julie is passionate about the intersections of psychology and career/vocation. She holds deep experience working with individuals to better understand how their thinking, feeling, and behaving translates to stellar performance and best possible outcomes in academics and work life. In addition to working locally in Chattanooga, Julie is currently the national Chair of the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee of Psychologists in Long Term Care.
Outside of work, Julie and her husband have raised three children who are now young adults creating their own exciting educational and work-life adventures. In addition to traveling out of state to unite with family, Julie spends her free time volunteering, gardening, and sailing on the Tennessee River.
Lauren Gilbert Ph.D. | Developmental Psychologist
Dr. Lauren Gilbert is a Developmental Psychologist and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Lauren completed her doctoral degree at the University of Kentucky, where she specialized in a range of topics, including parenting, emotion regulation, stress, and sleep, amongst others. Following graduation, Lauren worked as an Assistant Professor in a private, liberal arts college in Nashville before moving with her family to Chattanooga.
Lauren is passionate about translating science to general audiences in ways that are engaging and easy to understand. She believes that empowering individuals through education in psychology can help them live with greater intentionality, connection, and well-being. Lauren is particularly passionate about supporting and educating parents, teachers, and school administrators in the day-to-day work of raising happy, healthy, and well-adjusted kids.
Lauren and her husband, Blake, have two young daughters: Josie and Penny. When she is not working, Lauren enjoys yoga, reading, hiking, and exploring in and around Chattanooga with her family and their two golden retrievers.
Kim Hays | Empowerment Coach
Kim received a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Vanderbilt in 1980 and a Masters in Special Education from UTC in 2001. Kim has worked as an Exceptional Educator, Social Emotional Learning Coach, Diversity Trainer, Technology Coordinator and Department Chairperson with Hamilton County Department of Education. In her role as Exceptional Educator, Kim was integral in the establishment of the partnership for preschool inclusion between the Hamilton County Department of Education and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Children’s Center. In recent years, Kim’s work has focused on educational consulting, SEL group work, and parent advocacy. Kim’s life mission is to help kids.
Kim lives in Chattanooga with her two dogs. Kim enjoys gardening, birdwatching, and photography. She loves spending time with her traveling great nephew.
