Adrianna is primarily responsible for providing direct clinical services through psychosocial support to children, adolescents and teens in bilingual or Spanish-speaking families who have a seriously ill parent. 

Adrianna holds Bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies and Human Development, and Family Studies with an emphasis in Early Childhood Development from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a certified child life specialist (CCLS) and has more than 16 years of experience supporting children affected by serious illness or injury. Adrianna is also an artist who loves yoga and camping with her husband and two children.   

Aleida has 12 years of experience as a certified child life specialist (CCLS), currently working at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Aleida has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Houston. She will be serving our Spanish-Speaking families in San Antonio by doing intakes and parent consultations as needed.

In addition to Aleida’s child life specialist certification, she is a Certified Passenger Safety Technician, and a Child Life Volunteer Coordinator. Aleida and her fiancé, Ernest, are big Star Wars fans and enjoy going to the movies.

Alex Gabbi is a devoted father to his three wonderful kids, Nico, Maya and Luca. After his wife died of cancer, he gave up a successful career in business to focus on making a difference for others in the community in as many ways as possible. This included teaching at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin and supporting Wonders & Worries. His career encompasses more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership positions with small and Fortune 500 companies in the high-tech, consulting, international business and software arenas. Alex is an avid traveler and enjoys games of strategy. He intends for his children to visit 40 countries and 40 states before they graduate high school. Read more about his story.

Ashley Blackmon has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for more than eight years. She graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences. She completed her internship at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho. She has worked at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, Texas and McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple, Texas. In both hospitals, her primary unit was the Emergency Department and she enjoyed helping children and families through some of their most difficult days. Her favorite part of her most recent role was as facility dog handler for the child life facility dog, Lorenzo. Ashley loves her role with the Wonders and Worries team, and looks forward to continuing to help children and their families in a different setting. 

In her free time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband, baby, and two golden retrievers. They like to hike, travel, and cook together! 

Ashley joins the Wonders & Worries Austin team with over five years of experience as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). Ashley received her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from The University of Texas at San Antonio and her Masters of Science with a major in Family and Child Studies from Texas State University. She has previously worked at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio in the Emergency Department.

Ashley is married to her high school sweetheart and has a four year old son. In her off time she enjoys traveling with her husband and son, especially when it involves going to Disney World. She also enjoys cooking, trying new restaurants around Austin and taking her son and dog to the park.

After graduating with a BA in accounting, Beth worked in accounting for a number of years. When she became a full-time mom, she continued doing bookkeeping for her husband’s business. During the 12 years of raising two daughters, Beth had the opportunity to volunteer for many different organizations and became passionate about nonprofit work. For her second career, Beth managed the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation, gaining experience in fundraising and donor relationship management while overseeing the foundation’s four charitable programs. She continues serving on the Board of Directors of Art From the Streets. Beth’s hidden talent is that she knows how to milk a cow.

Brent’s love for organizations benefiting children started in college. While at Southwestern University, he spent his summers as the boys’ camp counselor at Peaceable Kingdom, a camp for children with chronic illnesses and special needs. Brent also interned at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston with the Child Life team, getting to experience all aspects of the hospital – ER, Cancer and Hematology, PICU, NICU, and Surgery. 

After college, Brent went to work for Dell Inc in sales. During his 20-year tenure as a sales executive, he continued to give back to the community, helping create the Children’s Trust of Central Texas, serving on the board of Upper Ninety (now 4ATX Foundation), coaching and serving on the board of the West Austin Youth Association, and Wonders & Worries, where he served on the board from 2014 – 2023, with the last three years as Board President. Brent’s desire to help children and teenagers led him to join Wonders & Worries as our Director of Development for San Antonio.

Christina “Chris” Castro joined Wonders & Worries with over 15 years of experience working with diverse communities providing varied types of psychosocial support and with more than 8 years of experience working in hospital settings, including the pediatric oncology clinic. She graduated with honors earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Music Production from Cedar Crest College and LA Film School. She has worked at the top children’s hospitals in both NJ and TX.  

Chris is also a Restorative Care Manager for an anti-human trafficking non-profit organization. Chris enjoys mentoring women at her local church. She loves to read, paint, and learn about different cultures. Chris has been called a deep thinker and a great listener by those who know and work with her. 

Cindy joins Wonders & Worries with more than 28 years of experience, having served in numerous hospitals supporting the psychosocial needs of pediatric patients and their families. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and a passionate champion for Spanish-speaking communities. Cindy has her bachelor of science in Early Childhood and Family Relationships, and a Master of education in Special Education, both from the University of Texas. She is a certified child life specialist (CCLS) and recently started teaching an Introduction to Child Life course at UT.

Cindy volunteers with Operation Smile on international medical missions and serves on the Standish Foundation advisory board. Cindy has been married 25 years and enjoys spending time on the lake and running.

Danielle is a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) at the Houston office. Danielle has over 10 years of experience supporting children and families at Wonders & Worries as well as Texas Children’s Hospital. Danielle holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas State University. 

Danielle and her husband have two beautiful children. Their oldest daughter was adopted at birth and their younger son was born just eight months later. They value family time outdoors either camping, hiking, or bike riding. 

Deanna Smith has been a child life specialist (CCLS) since 2005. She graduated from Lubbock Christian University. Deanna started professionally at Children’s Medical Center Dallas as a child life fellow and then permanently on the GI unit. Most recently, she worked at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio on the cardiac unit before joining Wonders & Worries in 2017. Deanna lives in San Antonio, but oversees the Austin, Houston, and San Antonio programming! 

Deanna also teaches yoga. With spare time, she enjoys relaxing with her husband and two little girls—whether it’s hiking, reading, traveling, or just being outdoors! Deanna’s favorite indulgence is anything chocolate! 

Denee joins Wonders and Worries with 16 years of hospital child life experience.  She worked at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth & Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio for most of those years. There she fell in love with and worked with HEM/ONC & BMT Pediatric patients. One of her favorite things about working with this population was helping the patients feel comfortable in their new everyday “normal” activities outside of the hospital. She is passionate about making children feel joy in the midst of hardships, even if its just a small smile. She has a BA in Child Psychology from UTSA. 

Denee is married and has two children; a daughter who loves to cook and swim, and a son who loves reptiles & making others laugh.  In her off time she enjoys reading, listening to music, and working on any craft she can get her hands on. Her idea of a perfect night would be playing board games with her family & eating take out!

Francine has been a Certified Child Life Specialist since 2011. She joined the Wonders & Worries team in 2019. Previously, Francine worked at Christus Children’s hospital in the Surgical unit and Emergency Department. She received a BS in Education and a MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UTSA. She obtained her temporary license and is working towards becoming an LPC.  

Francine spends her downtime going on hikes, trying new breweries, and restaurants. She enjoys reading, drawing, yoga and spending time with her dogs Russell and Rex.

Haleigh joins Wonders & Worries with 5 years of experience as a Certified Child Life Specialist in Houston. She has hospital experience from Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital, where she worked with families in both the emergency department and the pediatric intensive care unit. Haleigh holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Millsaps College and a Master of science in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas State University.  

Haleigh values time with her husband and family. In her free time, she enjoys CrossFit, traveling, baking, and exploring new Houston spots with friends.

Heike comes to Wonders & Worries with more than a decade of marketing experience in the retail technology industry. A German native, she received her degree in Business and Marketing in Berlin, Germany. She has had the unique opportunity to work in diverse markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, collaborating with global teams to devise and implement effective marketing strategies. 

Apart from her corporate experience, Heike is also a passionate entrepreneur who has successfully run a photography business in recent years. Her creative eye and ability to connect with people allow her to capture captivating moments and convey stories through her lens.  

Heike has found great joy and purpose in volunteering at her kids’ school and through various local service organizations. This passion for helping and making a difference in people’s lives has ignited her desire to join Wonders & Worries to help grow their mission and extend their services into a larger territory.  

Heike has called Austin home for the past 25 years but considers herself a global citizen. When she’s not busy with her family or behind the camera, you will probably find her somewhere outdoors; gardening, exercising, running at one of the many local parks, or playing with her two rescue pups. She loves traveling and always has a growing list of destinations on her bucket list.  

Jacquelyn is a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) and has over 16 years of experience providing psychosocial support to bereaved children and families as well as children who have an adult in their life with a serious medical illness. Prior to coming to Wonders & Worries, Jacquelyn directed the children’s bereavement program at the Christi Center, providing therapeutic support groups, activities, and events for children and teens and parental support to parents in grief.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from St. Edward’s University and a master’s degree in Family and Child Development from Texas State University. 

Jacquelyn is honored to come alongside families during their illness journey and learns as much from the beautiful families served as they do from her…that together we can do hard things and overcome. She has also authored the organization’s first published children’s book in the Wonders & Worries book series “I Wonder What It’s Like When a Parent Has Cancer: Max’s Story.” 

Jordan joined Wonders & Worries with over 6 years of experience as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS), supporting pediatric patients and families in the hospital setting. She graduated from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and began her career as a CCLS at McLane Children’s Hospital Baylor Scott & White in Temple, Texas before moving to Austin, supporting the trauma population at Dell Children’s Medical Center. Since 2019, Jordan has helped spread awareness and educate the community about Wonders & Worries’ services and the benefits of child life support through her role as Outreach Manager. Outside of work, Jordan enjoys teaching barre classes and spending time with her husband, family, and friends! 

Julie joined the Wonders & Worries team with more than 15 years of clinical experience supporting children and their families as they navigate the medical journey. She treasures her many years as a child life specialist at Baylor’s Our Children’s House in Dallas, Texas, serving families in need of medicine and rehabilitation services. For the past seven years, Julie served in a senior leadership role on the child life team at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. She holds a bachelor of science in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin.

Julie is also known as “Mom!” to four crazy kiddos of her own. She and her husband enjoy camping and exploring the awesome hill country with their children and silly golden retriever. Julie has a knack for repurposing old furniture, which led to the creation of her own furniture design company, Firefly Skies. Climber of trees and often covered in paint, Julie is always up for an adventure.

Kim has been a child life specialist for more than 30 years. She started her career at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and worked with seriously ill children and their families for nine years. Kim moved to Austin and joined the Wonders & Worries team in 2003. Kim now serves as national program director, a role that provides her the privilege of overseeing our national Helpline 844-WE-WONDER, supporting our growing network of Registered Wonders & Worries Providers (RWWP’s), facilitating WonderChats for Parents, and promoting Wonders & Worries many resources. Kim holds a bachelor’s degree in Family Relations and Child Development and masters’ degrees in both Human Development and Family Studies and Counseling with a play therapy emphasis. 

Kim is married to her high school sweetheart, who proposed underwater while they were scuba diving. They have a young adult daughter, young adult son, and an Australian Shepherd. Kim is adventurous and loves the outdoors. She is a certified scuba diver, avid hiker, snow skier, water skier, and has jumped out of a plane. She also enjoys watching college football and relaxing with a good book. 

Kira March has been a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) since 2014.  She started her career as a CCLS supporting patients and families at Texas Children’s Hospital on an inpatient general pediatrics unit after completing an internship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She joyously joined the Wonders and Worries team in 2022 where she is able to purse her passion for play and empowering children.  Kira graduated from The University of Texas with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Sciences, focusing on child development. Kira is an avid reader, always outside, and never turns down a good meal.  When not at work, she can be found barefoot in the sunshine with her two children and husband.

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, Lara Strickland joined Children’s Medical Center of Dallas as the Outreach Coordinator in pediatric oncology before entering the specialty field of child life. She received her Master’s in Human Development and Family Studies in 1997 at the University of North Texas and became certified as a child life specialist (CCLS) in 2002. Lara served as a child life specialist in hematology/oncology and worked with children coping with cancer and sickle cell anemia – as well as their siblings.

Lara joined the staff at Wonders & Worries part-time in 2005. She provides individual support in the playroom and school environments for children coping with illness in the family. She has facilitated weekly teen groups and parenting classes. She is married and has three children.

Leslie comes to us from Houston where she managed special events for the American Red Cross. She is married to her college sweetheart and has two adult children. Leslie graduated from the University of Houston and is very active in the Cougar Austin Alumni Group.  Leslie enjoys traveling and spending time with family. If you can’t find her doing any of those things, she will probably be by the pool reading a book or visiting her favorite winery in Fredericksburg. 

During her children’s school years, she was very active in the PTA as well as the classroom, and volunteered with multiple organizations. That time spent helping others solidified her love of philanthropies and desire to work for a non-profit.

Lori Novitski has 20 years of experience as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) and as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS). She graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration with a Therapeutic Emphasis. Lori completed her child life internship at CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, where she was then employed full-time for 15 years and PRN for five years.   Her primary units were Special Medicine and the Emergency Department. While working inpatient on the Special Medicine unit, Lori developed a passion for working with patients on physical rehabilitation and patients with Cystic Fibrosis. Lori also developed a love for the unpredictable and action-packed pediatric Emergency Department.  

In her free time, Lori enjoys family game nights and traveling with her husband and twin daughters. 

Maria Patiño graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2013 with a degree in Human Development and Family Sciences. She completed her child life practicum with Wonders & Worries, and is applying for her child life internship, the next step to becoming a certified child life specialist (CCLS). Maria volunteers with Dell Children’s Medical Center, the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas and El Buen Samaritano. Maria is fluent in English and Spanish, and her superpower is creating delicious vegan baked goods.

Melissa has been a child life specialist for over 30 years with her primary area of clinical expertise in the oncology arena. Prior to co-founding Wonders & Worries, she worked at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Maryland and the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In addition to hospital-based practice, Melissa has also worked in private practice/consulting as well as being a psychosocial program director for Camp Sunshine in Atlanta, GA and a school counselor.  Melissa has also served on several non-profit Board of Directors. In addition to chairing many committees and a task force, Melissa has been the President of the Association for Child Life Professionals (ACLP), a Director on the ACLP Board, and the Child Life Certification Chairperson.   She was honored to receive the Child Life Council Distinguished Service Award in 2010.

Melissa earned a BS in Individual and Family Studies from the University of Delaware and a MS in Counseling from Georgia State University. She was awarded the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement (2001) and the Outstanding Alumni Award for the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (2002) at the University of Delaware.

She has published in journals and textbooks on the topics of children impacted by cancer, coping with chronic illness in children and child life practice in alternate settings. Melissa has presented on these topics at the university level, professional conferences, to medical staff and to parents.

Melissa is a certified child life specialist, a licensed clinical mental health counselor and a registered play therapist & supervisor. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and teenage daughter. In her free time, she enjoys watching her daughter ride horses and spending time on Cape Cod.

Former Executive Director and Co-Founder Meredith Cooper envisioned, launched, and grew Wonders & Worries from its beginnings in 2001. Following 15 years of success, Meredith stepped into a founder role in 2017, where she continues providing strategic direction for national growth. Meredith has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Child Development. She is a certified Child Life Specialist and a Licensed Professional Counselor who has been involved with children’s healthcare in the Austin community for more than 30 years, including being the first pediatric oncology child life specialist for Austin.

Michele Martin has over 20 years of experience providing emotional and developmental support for children and families in health care environments. Michele has worked as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) for the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas; as a mental health consultant for Head Start; and as a middle-school science teacher at Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of North Texas. She is and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Abilene Christian University. She also has her teacher’s certification for the 4th – 8th grades. Her husband, four children, and grandson are her pride and joy!

Nayeli joins the San Antonio Wonders & Worries team as a bilingual child life specialist with 20+ years experience in the field. Nayeli received her Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master’s degree in Education. She has worked at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, and currently works at Methodist Children’s Hospital.

Nayeli likes to unwind by staying in to read, watch movies and anime, play video games, listen to music, and cuddle with her dog Mei Mei and her cat Lilo.

Nicole Halder is passionate about helping organizations create outstanding services for children in challenging environments. Nicole’s focus is developing partnerships to help Wonders & Worries expand. After completing her Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Operations from Georgetown University, she earned her Master’s in Elementary Education from Columbia University.   

Nicole currently serves on the Steering Committee for Leadership Westlake. She previously served as President of the Board of Directors of Wonders & Worries and is a former board member of the Lake Travis Education Foundation. She enjoys cooking, “playing” in her garden, traveling, and raising her three children with her husband Rob in Austin, Texas. 

After a career supporting nonprofits in the private sector, Nikki Rosenberg is thrilled to join the team at Wonders & Worries. While she loves her current business and working with a variety of clients, she feels most fulfilled when furthering a mission in which she believes. She intends to utilize her skills from working in various roles over the years to implement a successful development plan for the Houston market, including a robust (and incredibly fun) events program.

Born in South Africa, Rosenberg thanks her parents for getting her to Houston as quickly as possible. She attended St. John’s School for 13 years, followed by St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. Presently, she resides at Park St. John condominiums and plans to retire to the Isle of St. John.

As a former client of Wonders & Worries, Suzi is passionate about its mission. Having battled breast cancer in 2014, Suzi found that her daughters’ experiences attending Wonders & Worries group sessions were a silver lining in the cancer battle. She is excited to serve Wonders & Worries as the Donor Relations Manager and help further its mission of making sure no family struggles alone with parental illness. 

Suzi and her college sweetheart Brian have two beautiful daughters, one in high school and one in college. Suzi enjoys traveling with her family, snowshoeing in the mountains of Colorado, exercising, volunteering, playing with her two adorable dogs, and getting creative in her craft room.

Whitney Dubuisson has been a certified child life specialist since 2009 in both Dallas and Houston. She previously served families in the inpatient oncology unit at Children’s Health: Children’s Medical Center Dallas. A graduate of Baylor University with a bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies, she completed a master’s degree in education from Texas Woman’s University and now teaches as an adjunct professor in the child life program. A native Austinite, Whitney is honored to expand the mission of Wonders & Worries into Houston—the city she has made home with her husband and two children. In her free time, you may find Whitney searching for antiques, reading historical fiction, walking her spaniel Rosie, or cheering her kids on!