Corinne Barnickel moved to Texas to become a program facilitator at a camp for children with special needs. During camp, she heard of Wonders & Worries and signed up to be a volunteer. After completing her child life internship at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, she excitedly accepted a position at Wonders & Worries. Corinne is now a full-time child life specialist. She provides therapeutic support for individuals and groups of children coping with a parent’s illness. She is also a facilitator of the monthly teen group which provides peer support to adolescents dealing the loss or illness of a parent. She is passionate about her work and loves that this community setting allows her to have relationships with the families she serves.

Corinne graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor’s in Family and Child Studies, concentrating in Child Life. She received her graduate degree from Louisiana Tech in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Family and Child Development. Her graduate work focused on the influence of parental cancer on school-children and their families.  Corinne decided to continue her education further and attended St. Edwards University to complete a Master of Arts in Counseling.  Gaining a marriage and family therapy degree allows Corinne to continue her passion for making sure families build resiliency in the midst of grief and loss.  She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate in part time private practice.

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.

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. 

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.

Ali Houshmand was born in Teheran, Iran, and grew up in Europe. He studied in Belgium and finished his university studies in Bordeaux, France. In 1991, he moved to the United States and went back to college in San Francisco, California. Ali worked for 18 years in the high-tech industry and finished his career at IBM Corporation.

He has traveled the world extensively, speaks several languages, and prides himself in approaching everyone from a multicultural and unique point of view. He is a graduate of St. Edward’s University with a Master’s degree in Counseling and is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT).

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!

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.

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.   

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.

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! 

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.

Crystal completed her Bachelor’s degree in Family and Child development from Texas State University in 2003, and then earned her certification as a child life specialist (CCLS). Crystal worked for 12 years in hospitals, providing developmental and coping support to children impacted by illness, hospitalization and trauma. In 2013, Crystal completed her Master’s degree from the University of North Texas in Counseling, and obtained her License in Professional Counseling (LPC) and Registration in Play Therapy. (RPT) Crystal recently worked as the play therapist at Dell Children’s Medical Center and continues providing play therapy and counseling support at Austin Stone Counseling Center.

Crystal’s superpowers include her ability to recall dance routines from her childhood and the power to identify an episode of Friends that may provide wisdom for just about any situation. She is more at home on the lake than anywhere else on the planet.