At Shining Stars Therapy, we take pride in providing the best Pediatric Therapy Services for your child. Read below to learn more about our team!
Abbey LaCastro, OTR/L
Abbey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreational Therapy from East Carolina University in 2008. She continued on at East Carolina to earn her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy in 2010.
Dawn Solomon OTR/L, Owner
Email: dawn@shiningstarstherapy.com
Dawn received her degree in Occupational Therapy in 1997 after attending Downstate Health Science Center at Brooklyn, NY.
Jenna Swanson, DPT
Jenna received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. She moved to the Raleigh area in 2010 and has been practicing exclusively in the field of pediatrics since 2011.
Amy Balfour MA, CCC-SLP
After receiving a Bachelor of Art in Psychology from the University of Michigan, Amy went on to complete Post-Bachelor studies in Communication Disorders at Wayne State University. Over the next 4 years, Amy worked in a skilled nursing facility, high school autism program and an adult autism program. She went on to Central Michigan University where she completed her Master of Art degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
Karen Cardillo ADM
***For all billing and financial concerns, please contact Karen Monday-Thursday from 9am-4pm.
Karen received her undergraduate degree in Business Management from SUNY-Binghamton in upstate New York. She worked for several years in Human Resources then went on to get her graduate degree in elementary education from Adelphi University.
Amber Stevens, MOT, OTR/L
Amber earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012. She continued her education at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earning her Master’s of Occupational Therapy degree in 2015.
Lesley Petee, MPT
Lesley graduated from the University of Michigan with her Masters in Physical Therapy in 1996 and began working with children in a hospital based clinic a few years later. Since that time she has worked with children in both the clinical, school, and home setting. Lesley is experienced in treating children with many diagnoses including: Down syndrome, Torticollis, Seizure Disorders, Visual Motor impairments, Cerebral Palsy, low tone, and Neuromuscular diseases. She has extensive experience working with premature infants.
Mary Giro, PT
Email: mary@shiningstarstherapy.com
Mary graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science/ Pre-Physical Therapy from Rutgers University in 1989 and a Masters in Physical Therapy from University of California in 1993. Mary has over 20 years of experience in the field of Physical Therapy.
April Nelson M. Ed. CCC-SLP
April attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she received a BS in Communication Disorders afterwards, she continued onto the University of Georgia where she earned her M.Ed. in Speech Language Pathology.
Suzanne Knight, PT
Email: sue@shiningstarstherapy.com
Suzanne Doser Knight has been a Physical Therapist for over 40 years and the majority of that time has been in pediatrics. She has worked with children 0-21 in Early Intervention, with physically and otherwise health impaired children, visually impaired as well as the spectrum of developmentally delayed.
Taylor Baker
Taylor grew up in Harnett County, North Carolina. She graduated in June 2014 from Harnett Central High School.
Laura Carr MS, CCC-SLP
After completing her Bachelor’s of Arts in Child Development and Family Studies, in 2000, Laura went on to receive a Masters of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a focus on Pediatrics in 2002.
Felicia Lisewski, MS OTR/L
Felicia received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Ithaca College in 2009. After college, Felicia always knew she wanted to work with children and became a child life specialist. As a child life specialist, she worked on a pediatric inpatient unit of a hospital providing ongoing emotional support. Felicia decided she wanted to go back to school to earn a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. In 2014, she graduated with a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from Bay Path College in Massachusetts.
Julie Burke, MS, OTR/L
After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, Julie moved to North Carolina where she worked with young children with fragile X syndrome and their families for three years. She graduated with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from East Carolina University in 2008.
Emily Hoyle, MS, OTR/L
Emily earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreational Therapy from East Carolina University in 2005. Following graduation, she moved home to Raleigh and worked as an ophthalmic technician until returning to East Carolina University to obtain her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She graduated in 2008 after completing her fieldwork experiences in acute care, subacute rehabilitation, and the burn center.
Katie Charron, MS, OTR/L
Katie grew up in Raleigh, NC. She attended NC State for an undergrad degree in Biology and worked in a DNA sequencing lab for 3 years before going back to for her Master’s in OT at ECU. Along the way to her current career, Katie was inspired to work with children by her counseling position at City of Raleigh’s Specialized Recreation department and as a Habilitation Tech at A Small Miracle. Katie’s favorite pastimes are playing music, walking her dog, drawing, and rock climbing. Katie also is passionate about teaching special needs piano and regularly volunteers with Duke Adaptive Climbing, ask her about these awesome experiences!
Brittany Zinkow, MS
Brittany received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Services Management from East Carolina University. She completed her Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at North Carolina Central University with a concentration in Augmentative and Alternative Communication.