Meet Our Staff

Tricia McConnell

M.S. CCC-SLP & Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist

Tricia received her Masters Degree in 2012 from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. She is licensed to practice in Iowa and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She has experience treating a variety of communication disorders, including: speech and language delays, apraxia, articulation disorders, phonological disorders and pragmatic/social language disorders. Tricia is trained in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy, Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding approach, Therapeutic Listening, and PROMPT level 1 for children with Apraxia, Oral Motor and Articulation difficulties. Tricia likes to incorporate family into her treatment sessions and enjoys working on a multi-disciplinary team to develop the best plan of care for her patients.

Lisa Wilson

M.A. CCC-SLP

Lisa holds a Master's degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2012. She is also certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She has 4 years of experience in outpatient pediatric speech therapy. She specializes in speech/language delays, articulation disorders, phonological disorders, pragmatic/social disorders, use of augmentative communication devices, and apraxia. She is specialized in PROMPT level 1. Her interest in this field developed after participating in a pediatric speech therapy observation.
When not caring for patients, she can be found spending time with family and friends, playing piano, fishing, and boating.

Kayla Brown

PTA

Kayla received her Physical Therapist Assistant in Applied Science Degree from Black Hawk College in 2009. She is licensed to practice in both llinois and Iowa. Kayla is a Physical Therapist Assistant that works with Braaten Health's Midwest Therapy Centers. She has 7 years of experience in outpatient and pediatric physical therapy. She has experience working with children of all ages and diagnosis. Her interests in physical therapy developed after participating in pediatric physical therapy observation.
When not caring for patients, she can be found spending time with family and friends, fishing, boating, kayaking, and cheering on her favorite football team the Chicago Bears.

Gia Roldan

COTA

Gia received her Occupational Therapist Assistant in Applied Science from Kirkwood Community College in 2011. She is licensed to practice in both Illinois and Iowa. Gia is an Occupational Therapist Assistant that works with Braaten Health's Midwest Therapy Centers Pediatric and Long Term Care divisions. She has 5 years of experience in outpatient pediatric occupational therapy in addition to a wide variety of settings including hospital based inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, and in extended care facilities. She has experience working with children and adults of all ages and a vast array of diagnosis. Her interest in pediatrics developed after doing a clinical fieldwork rotation in the school system.When not caring for patients, she can be found spending time with family and friends, playing softball, participating in various 5k's, and cheering on her favorite baseball team the Chicago Cubs and of course the Hawkeyes!

Mary Alice Seaba

M.A. CCC-SLP

Mary Alice holds a Master's degree from the University of Kansas in 2014. She is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Mary Alice is a Speech-Language Pathologist. She has 2 years of experience working with pediatrics in the school setting. She specializes in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), social skills, and pragmatics. Her interest in this field developed when she received speech therapy as a child for her "R" sound. When not caring for patients, she can be found riding horses, reading books, and spending time with family and friends.

Mercedez Nelson

OTR/L

Mercedez holds a Master's degree from St. Ambrose University in 2015. She is licensed to practice in Iowa and Illinois. Mercedez is an Occupational Therapist. She has 1 year of experience in outpatient pediatric occupational therapy. She is trained in Handwriting Without Tears and Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding approach. Her interest in this field developed after completing pediatric field work and always having a love to work with children.When not caring for patients , she can be found spending time with family and friends, exercising, baking, and being outdoors.

Stefanie Munro

COTA

Stefanie graduated with an Associates of Science degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant from Kirkwood Community College in 2016. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree from St. Ambrose University. She is licensed to practice in the state of Iowa. Stefanie is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. She has 4 years of experience working in pediatric care. Her interest in this field developed after working with children and realizing the positive impact Occupational Therapy can have in their lives. When not caring for patients, she can be found running with her dog, attempting to cook, crafting, and spending time with family and friends.

Jackie DePeralta

OTR/L

Jackie is an Occupational Therapist and received her Master's Degree in 2014 from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She is licensed to practice in Iowa and Florida. She has 2.5 years of experience of working with pediatrics in school and outpatient settings, in addition to a variety of other settings including hospital based inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, and long term care. She is trained in Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding approach. Jackie has always had a passion to work with children and her interest in the field developed after volunteering at the hospital and observing other occupational therapists. When not caring for patients, she can be found exercising, cooking, playing with her pets, and spending time with her family and friends.

Kara Lovik

Kara received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. She is licensed in the state of Iowa. Kara is a Physical Therapist. She has pediatric experience through her clinical experience and specializes in developmental delays and movement system impairments. Her interests in physical therapy developed after working various jobs with children over the years and attending a pediatric clinical. When not caring for patients, she can be found spending time with family and friends, reading, exercising/training for half marathons, being outdoors, and cheering on the Hawkeyes.

Holly Luther

Insurance Billing Manager

Holly received her Associates in Business Management with a certification in Billing and Coding. When Holly isn't working, she loves spending time with her three children and her husband!

LaTonya Clark

Front Office Lead

LaTonya holds an Associates degree in Medical Assisting from Kaplan University and a CNA certificate from Scott Community College. LaTonya is a front office lead that works at Braaten Health's Midwest Therapy, Bettendorf. She has 10 years of experience working in medical settings and management roles.

Bethany Nelson

M.S. CCC-SLP

Bethany received a Masters degree from Western Illinois University in 2016. She is licensed to practice in the state of Illinois and Iowa and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She has experience treating a variety of communication disorders, which include but is not limited to, speech/language delays, phonological disorders, pragmatic/social disorders, dis-fluency disorders, and use of alternative/augmentative communication devices. Her interest in the field developed when her younger brother received speech therapy during his years in elementary school. When not caring for patients, she can be found spending time with family and friends, boating, biking, golfing, and watching sports.

Becky Bailey

Front office coordinator

Becky is a front office coordinator that works at Braaten Health’s Midwest Therapy Bettendorf. She has been with in the medical field for the past 6 years. She specializes in customer service, billing, claims, insurance, data entry, and Microsoft Office/Excel. She discovered a passion for the medical field after undergoing cancer as a small child. She then later started her own child care facility to pursue her love for children and fulfill her passion to nurture and educate. Becky holds and Associates of Arts degree which she obtained at Scott Community College as well as a CNA certificate. Outside of caring for patients at Braaten Health she loves to cook, knit, entertain family/friends but most of all spend time with her loving husband, daughter, two sons and her 3 dogs.