Team

Kids in Motion has assembled an exemplary team of outstanding professionals to work with your child.

Physical Therapists: Marcie Rhee, DPT, PCS Marc Wojtkiewicz, MSPT Natalie Nazeley, DPT Thérèse Willis, DPT Occupational Therapists: Michelle Kuwabara, OTD, OTR/L Evan Morris, MA, OTR/L Carly M. Rogers, MA, OTR/L Hugues "Ronin" Sato, OTR/L Shawna Townsend, OTR/L Speech-Language Pathologists: Andrea Anderson, MS, SLP Lori Beauchamp, MA, CCC-SLP Darla Darty, MS, CCC-SLP Kelly Sullivan, MS, CCC-SLP

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PHYSICAL THERAPISTS:

MARCIE RHEE
Marcie Rhee, DPT, PCS is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1999 with a clinical doctorate in Physical Therapy. Marcie is a board certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric physical therapy, a distinction she earned in 2005. She started her Pediatrics career at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center evaluating and treating children on the acute rehabilitation service primarily with brain injuries and spinal cord injuries and broadened her Pediatric experience while at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach on the inpatient acute service, acute rehabilitation service and outpatient clinics including the rehabilitation clinic and cystic fibrosis clinics. Marcie has dedicated the last 6 years to early intervention and is the founder and director of Kids in Motion Pediatric Therapy. She has evaluated thousands of infants and toddlers in the surrounding community to assist with eligibility determination and service coordination for the Early Start program and is passionate about helping every child meet his or her full potential using an evidence based, family centered approach that focuses on parent participation and an emphasis on play.

MARGARET WOJTKIEWICZ
Marc Wojtkiewicz, MSPT, is a physical therapist with 32 years of experience. She graduated from Boston University with her bachelor’s in Physical Therapy in 1977 and earned her master’s degree in Neuromuscular Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990. Marc has worked with infants, toddlers, children and adolescents with a broad range of neuromuscular, rheumatic, musculoskeletal, genetic, hematologic/ oncologic, and cardio-pulmonary diagnoses through her experiences at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Duke University Medical Center and Miller Children’s Hospital.

NATALIE NAZELEY
Natalie Nazeley, DPT is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. She graduated from the University of Southern California earning her clinical doctorate in physical therapy. She has been providing home and clinic based services to infants and toddlers between birth and 3 years of age since the time of her graduation and incorporates the principles of evidence based practice and family centered care into her daily practice as a physical therapist.

THÉRÈSE WILLIS
Thérèse Willis, DPT is a Doctor of Physical Therapy.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science with an emphasis in Pre-Physical Therapy from the University of Kansas in 1995 and her clinical doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California in 2000. She has been working in the pediatric setting for the past 10 years. She has worked with infants, toddlers, children and adolescents with varying developmental, neuromuscular, orthopedic, genetic and cardiopulmonary diagnoses in a clinic setting and as a staff physical therapist with California Children Services. In addition, she has provided in-home physical therapy intervention to infants and toddlers through Regional Center’s Early Start Program. She joins the Kids in Motion Pediatric Therapy team with enthusiasm to work closely with children and their families to assist each child in achieving his or her optimal potential.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS:

MICHELLE KUWABARA
Michelle Kuwabara, OTD, OTR/L is a Doctor of Occupational Therapy. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in Occupational Therapy and continued her education obtaining her master's degree and clinical doctorate of Occupational Therapy in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Michelle has spent her occupational therapy career thus far working with children and their families and is passionate about making a difference in each and every child’s life. Michelle completed the Sensory Integration training course and Sensory Integration Praxis Tests (SIPT) certification course at USC and Pediatric Therapy Network in Torrance in 2005.

EVAN MORRIS
Evan Morris, M.A., OTR/L, graduated with a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California in 2006. Evan has experience with the provision of occupational therapy services in a wide variety of treatment settings including clinic based, hospital based and school based environments. His clinical interests and expertise, however, focus on children with feeding/swallowing impairments and/or neuromuscular deficits. He has earned an Advanced Practice Certification (SWC) for the evaluation and treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders by the California Board of Occupational Therapy (CBOT).  He has spent his career thus far at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach, CA, where he has treated patients in acute care, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab, and the Hypertonicity Clinic.

CARLY M. ROGERS
Carly M. Rogers, MA, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist specializing in sensory integration. Carly earned her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2004 at the University of Southern California and is currently working towards her Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD), at USC as well. She has completed advanced coursework in Sensory Integration and is Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) certified. Carly has worked for Pediatric Therapy Network of Torrance where she specialized in Early Intervention, School-based Intervention and individual clinic-based services. For the last four years, Carly has been working for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. Carly provided both clinic-based and school-based services for children aged 3-17, but her focus was facilitating occupational therapy intervention at the preschool level and supporting parents and children during this critical transition phase. Carly was considered the Sensory Specialist for the district and provided lectures and training on the subject for parents and teachers alike. Outside of traditional pediatric intervention, Carly is the Program Director for the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation where she facilitates a therapeutic surfing program she created called Ocean Therapy. The program facilitates improved self-efficacy and self-esteem in At-Risk Youth and Injured Marines and Veterans. Her philosophy centers on the “whole child” as an individual. She believes that each child is a puzzle to unravel, each with specific strengths and weaknesses, as well as specific motivations and preferences. Her goal is to use intrinsic motivation to strengthen a child’s areas of need in efforts of increasing independence and functional participation in their daily lives.

HUGUES "RONIN" SATO
Ronin Sato, OTR/L earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy at McGill University - School of Physical and Occupational Therapy in 1994. McGill's Occupational Therapy program is the top 1 or 2 ranked programs in Canada. Ronin has worked with kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders for more than 12 years in a wide variety of practice settings including home based, clinic based , gymnastic centers, self contained classes and pull out school settings. He also has been working with his own 8 year old son with Autism. Ronin has completed extensive continuing education over the past 15 years including the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT) administration course, intervention course, and perspective course, a seminar called “Picky Eaters versus Problem Feeders:  The SOS Approach to Feeding" and a 1 week intensive training course on the Son-Rise Program (an intervention program for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders). Ronin is adept at using his physical self as a tool for sensory integration work with kids, drawing on 3 years of applying the Son-rise program at home, his 8 years of competitive gymnastics experience, and 19 years of martial arts training.

SHAWNA TOWNSEND
Shawna Townsend, OTR/L earned her Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from California State University Dominguez Hills in 2003. Shawna began her career at Pediatric Therapy Network where she had extensive training in sensory integration and processing, and was the co-coordinator for the summer camp. Shawna has also worked at Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center gaining experience with various populations including, brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, and pediatrics. Shawna has trained in the neonatal intensive care unit and is completing an Advanced Practice Certification (SWC) for the evaluation and treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders by the California Board of Occupational Therapy (CBOT). In addition, Shawna is completing her Master’s degree in occupational therapy with an additional graduate certificate in low vision rehabilitation from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS

ANDREA ANDERSON
Andrea Anderson, MS, SLP, earned her Master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Redlands in 1995. Her pediatric speech therapy experience has been gained across varied settings including a pediatric internship at Rancho-Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Andrea has provided clinic based therapy for children to adults and home based therapy as a part of early intervention programs for many families in Santa Monica and the South Bay for the past 12 years. She has been a presenter for the Infant Development Association, “Edu-play”, and Regional Center on the topic of Language and Play. She developed a social skills program for children with Autism and emphasizes targeting functional communication exchanges across settings. Andrea’s therapeutic approach focuses on each child’s unique profile of strengths and needs while incorporating evidence based practices. She finds joy working with children and supporting them in reaching their greatest communicative potential.

LORI BEAUCHAMP
Lori Beauchamp, MA, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist who provides services for children with speech and language delays, childhood apraxia of speech, developmental delays, and articulation / phonological disorders. She is PROMPT trained and provides a fun and integrative approach to therapy that addresses all of the individual's speech and language needs. Lori earned her master’s degree in Speech-Pathology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan in 2000. She was a speech-language pathologist at Pediatric Therapy Network in Torrance from 2001-2008.

DARLA DARTY
Darla Darty, MS, CCC-SLP, graduated with a Master’s degree in Speech Pathology from the University of Alabama in 1998. She has provided pediatric speech and language therapy services for 12 years in various settings to include pediatric centers, schools, private practice and home-based intervention.  Her varied experience serving children with communication deficits includes articulation/phonological disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, language delays, stuttering and various developmental delays.  Darla has facilitated parent child communication intervention groups, provided trainings for parents and teachers, and consulted with center-based early intervention programs and private preschool programs. She strives to empower and educate the family on ways to facilitate the child’s communication daily in a functional manner. Darla believes that a strong collaboration between parent and therapist is key to maximizing the child’s success.

KELLY SULLIVAN
Kelly Sullivan, MS, CCC-SLP, graduated with a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Missouri. She was previously employed at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego in the Developmental Services department and also through the First Five Grant Children’s Care Connections program. Kelly has a broad range of experience including the evaluation and treatment of children with speech and language delays, developmental delays and articulation/ phonological disorders. She has facilitated parent and child intervention classes focused on speech and language development in the clinic and also in community settings. Kelly has instructed parent lecture classes and preschool staff training on speech and language development and remediation techniques to be implemented in the home and community environments. Kelly is passionate about the importance of parent-professional collaboration and emphasizes parent participation in the therapeutic process to maximize outcome.

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