Our team

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 Brittany is a registered Occupational Therapist with a Master's degree in occupational therapy. She has been an occupational therapist for 19 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University in 2000. She received her Master's degree in occupational therapy from Texas Woman's University in the Houston Medical Center in 2003. She has extensive experience with sensory integration, neurodevelopmental treatment, DIR/Floortime Approach, feeding therapy, strength, balance and coordination training, multisensory handwriting, concussion rehabilitation and yoga for children. She is passionate about empowering her patients and their families to reach their highest potential. She is devoted to bringing joy to the lives of her patients and their families.

 Yazmin has directed Empower's Educational Program for 6 years. She began her studies at Houston Community College (2000) and Texas A&M University (2001). In 2009 she received her CDA credential through Child Development Council for Professional Recognition. Her 15 years of previous professional experience were acquired in a center-based Early Childhood Education Program as a lead teacher. Yazmin led a teacher mentoring program at one of the most reputable and prestigious schools in the Spring Branch/Memorial area. As well as teaching, Yazmin served on the TUMC school board as a teacher representative and is a current member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She is CPR trained and First Aid certified with the American Red Cross. She specialized in writing a rich curriculum focusing on early literacy/math/social and emotional development/creative art/social studies/STEM/Character Building/Handwriting without Tears. Her multi-sensory teaching approach allows for each child to be supported in their individual learning style. Yazmin also assists in regulating social skills groups and handwriting classes offered at Empower. She is passionate about providing a rich learning environment that implements an individual program tailored to each child’s educational needs. When Yazmin isn’t pouring her love of teaching into the classroom she devotes her time to her amazing kids. Her daughter Arianna is currently attending Texas Tech University and will be graduating as a Business major in 2025. Her son Eduardo attends the University of Missouri with a focus on Occupational Therapy. Both of her children have been a big part of Empower's summer program and camps as Occupational Therapy Aides. Yazmin is very proud of her children and is thrilled to help each child at Empower reach their greatest learning potential while giving the needed support for a successful school year.

Jessie is a native Houstonian who graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences. After graduation she moved back home and received her Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) license. As an SLPA she worked in a variety of settings such as, home health, private practice, and an ABA clinic. Jessie gained experience alongside OTs and PTs and truly enjoyed being a part of an interdisciplinary team. Additionally, she gained medical billing and coding experience working for a large MCO making her the perfect fit as our Operations Manager! Working at Empower means she can ensure efficient daily operations and still get to interact with all our kiddos! Ms. Jessie wears many hats, and she wouldn’t want it any other way! Language acquisition and early childhood development continues to be her passion and loves giving parents helpful speech and language tips. Ms. Jessie considers herself a minimalist and loves efficiency. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her toddler and husband.  

Hanna is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) with an Associate’s Degree in Applied Sciences from Pima Medical Institute as well as an Associate’s Degree in Psychology from Blinn College. Through her high school and college education, Hanna has been interested in psychology and the brain-body connection. She is always looking for more learning opportunities when it comes to her profession and the dynamic approaches that Empower offers to their clients. Hanna has always had a heart for working with children. Through her teenage years, she volunteered in children’s ministry and was a camp counselor during her summers. Hanna has a strong background in music and views rhythm and movement as being an integral component to every child’s development. Outside of her work, Hanna enjoys yoga, golf, fishing, and spending time with her family and dogs.

 Natalie Manteca is a bilingual Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA) who received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston in Kinesiology in May of 2016. Most recently she has obtained her associate’s degree in applied science from Pima Medical Institute. Throughout her journey to becoming a pediatric COTA she has spent time volunteering and fundraising for a variety of organizations such as, the Special Olympics, Healthbridge Children’s Hospital, and the Down Syndrome Association of Houston. Natalie is a passionate, reliable, well trained young professional with 4 years medically based customer service know-how and 3 years’ healthcare experience including rehabilitation services. She cannot wait to further her knowledge and skill-set with sensory integration and processing. Natalie’s main focus is to meet the specific needs of our families and children to facilitate their success in every aspect of their lives! Natalie is thrilled to be a member of Empower Pediatric Therapy team and continue to pursue her passion of working with children! In her free time Natalie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing soccer, exercising, and traveling! 

Ms. Brooke graduated from Texas Tech University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and then, in August 2017 she graduated from Keiser University with her Associates of Science as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. She completed both fieldwork rotations in pediatric outpatient clinics which solidified her passion for working in the pediatric field. Since graduation Brooke has built her career in a variety of pediatric settings including an outpatient facility providing multi-disciplinary treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) working alongside ABA and speech therapist; her experience with children on a multi-spectrum of sensory and behavioral personalities allowed her to become a well-rounded clinician. Brooke enjoys working with a diverse pediatric population but, children with Autism have a special place in her heart. Brooke is dedicated to maximizing patients’ potential through expanding her skills and knowledge by completing continuing education courses yearly and working alongside a team with her mentor Brittany Smith, MOT/OTR. One of Brookes’ goals is to further her career in sensory processing hopefully, one day half as good as Ms. Brittany Smith! Brooke loves being her patients’ cheerleader, coach, and advocate using her bubbly, creative, and energetic personality! Every day she is grateful for the ability to be a piece of the puzzle in each life she touches and seeing their progression. In Brooke’s free time she enjoys spending time with her family, dogs, traveling anywhere- mostly being a bridesmaid in close friends’ weddings, and rooting on her alma-mater Texas Tech Red Raiders! 

Lillian Kirkpatrick is a registered Occupational Therapist, proud local Houstonian, and joined the team in September 2022. In 2018, Lillian graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from the University of Oklahoma. A few months later, she began her graduate program at Texas Woman’s University in Dallas where she earned her Master of Occupational Therapy degree in 2020. Before coming to Empower, Lillian worked at an outpatient pediatric clinic outside of Austin as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing specialized therapy services to children with developmental disorders, disabilities, or delays, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Ataxia, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, fine and gross motor delays, etc.

Lillian felt called to be a pediatric occupational therapist at the age of 13 when she spent her summer volunteering with children on the Autism Spectrum. Her passion continued to grow from that point on and led her to where she is today. Lillian’s passion is providing the highest quality of compassionate client-centered care, allowing each child to reach their fullest potential, and providing families with the resources and strategies to benefit the child across all environments.

In her free time, Lillian enjoys spending time with her family and friends, baking, tending to all of her houseplants, floating the Frio River, and playing with her dog, Poppy. 

Carly Gregory is a licensed physical therapist who received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Texas Woman's University in 2020. She specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of infants, children, and adolescents with a variety of congenital, developmental, neuromuscular, skeletal, or acquired disorders/diseases. Treatments focus mainly on improving gross and fine motor skills, balance and coordination, strength and endurance as well as cognitive and sensory processing/integration. Pediatric physical therapy assists in early detection of health problems and to provide physical therapy for disorders in the pediatric population. Carly loves spending time with her husband and new baby boy.