Archives: Committee Members

Brandt Perry is a native of Arizona, where he and his wife Krya raise three energetic children – Austin (10), Brayden (8) and Sydney (6). First encounter with Feeding Matters came in 2016 when 18-month-old Brayden was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) and severe food allergies, when the Perrys were searching for information to navigate the new path in front of them. Brayden eats 100% through his G-tube, but that doesn’t slow him down. Brayden’s younger sister, Sydney was diagnosed with Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES) and numerous food allergies. She also has a G-tube but eats orally as well, which challenges Brandt and Krya to expand their culinary creativity. Fortunately, big brother Austin provides great support to the whole family. Brandt’s service on Feeding Matters Family Advisory Council began in 2018 with volunteering as a Power of Two Coach following in 2019.

DISCLOSURES
Financial: None
Non-financial: Member of the Feeding Matters Family Advisory Council

Dr. Kay Toomey is a Pediatric Psychologist who has worked with children who don’t eat for over 35 years. She has developed the SOS Approach to Feeding as a family centered program for assessing and treating children with feeding problems. Dr. Toomey speaks nationally and internationally about her approach. Dr. Toomey helped to form two hospital based transdisciplinary Feeding Clinics prior to entering private practice. Dr. Toomey acted as the Clinical Director for Toomey & Associates, Inc.’s Feeding Clinic, and then the SOS Feeding Solutions @ STAR before shifting into clinical consultation in order to focus on her teaching. Dr. Toomey is currently the President of Toomey & Associates, Inc. and an Adjunct Research Fellow at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.

DISCLOSURES
Financial: PESI company – paid speaker and receives royalty payments
Non-financial: None

Dr. Raquel Garcia is a trained craniofacial speech-language pathologist who is a core member of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Craniofacial team. She works in the acute care setting in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She graduated with her M.S. in communication disorders from Nova Southeastern University and her doctorate of speech-language pathology from Northwestern University. Her clinical interests include upper airway disorders, infant feeding, neonatal care, and dysphagia.

DISCLOSURES
Financial: None
Non-financial: NANT Conference Committee member

Dr. Sarah Smith-Simpson is currently a Principal Scientist of Child Development and Physical Safety for Nestle Nutrition Gerber Baby Food.  In her current role, she is responsible for helping guide the development of innovative products and services that assist parents with enjoyable and successful mealtimes where all children eat foods that meet their nutritional needs and encourage the development of feeding skills.  Sarah holds a PhD degree from Rutgers University in Food Science, an MS degree in Food Science from Michigan State University, and a BS degree also from Michigan State University in Nutritional Sciences.

DISCLOSURES
Financial: None
Non-financial: International Association of Food Protection Welcome Committee

Danielle is pediatric occupational therapist with 15 years of clinical experience. She is currently employed at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital Rehabilitation as a satellite manager.  Ms. Petrozelle is Board Certified in Pediatrics through the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).  She is also a Certified Kinesio Taping Practitioner and Certified Educator of Infant Massage.  Ms. Petrozelle uses these certifications to provide holistic treatment, using adjunct modalities to improve general and feeding development. Ms. Petrozelle previously worked on a Multidisciplinary Feeding Team and in the Level II NICU. She is currently the Co-Coordinator for the Pediatric Special Interest Section of Ohio’s Occupational Therapy Association.  In this role, she serves to advocate for feeding education (among other topics) to practitioners in the state of Ohio.  Ms. Petrozelle has experience providing education to families, students and medical professionals at state and national venues. Notable lecture titles have included, “Positioning and Adaptive Equipment for the Hypertonic Feeder (2018), Feeding Intervention: Groups, Peers and Sibling Involvement (2017), OT Lunchbox: Tools and Techniques for Treatment and Evaluation (2021), and Feeding in the Virtual Paradigm and Generalization of Skills to Home (2021). In 2020, Ms. Petrozelle co-authored “Sibling Supported Feeding Intervention,” which was published in OT Practice. Ms. Petrozelle is also Feeding Matters’ AOTA PD Consultant.

Bri is an SLP and certificated lactation counselor whose clinical focus is with infants and medically-complex children with feeding and swallowing disorders. She is also working on her PhD in Communication and Information Sciences through the University of Alabama with a research interest in dissemination of pediatric feeding research and misinformation on social media. When she isn’t working or studying, she enjoys taking pictures of her fur babies and making reels like a true millennial!

DISCLOSURES
Financial: None
Non-financial: ASHA SIG 13 Professional Development Committee, 2024 ASHA Convention Business and Practice Management Topic Committee, President of Pediatric Feeding Disorders Foundation

Elizabeth is a parent advocate for children with pediatric feeding disorder.

DISCLOSURES
Financial: None
Non-financial: None

Dr. Tessa Gonzalez is a pediatrician and mom of two in Columbia, SC.  Her older daughter Ana Sofia has a rare genetic mutation which caused feeding difficulties from infancy. Ana Sofia had a g-tube placed at 18 months of age which ended up being a huge benefit to Ana Sofia and her entire family.  Tessa is passionate about educating families and medical providers about pediatric feeding disorder and is especially passionate about empowering families to advocate for themselves and their children.  In addition to her work with Feeding Matters, Tessa works as a general pediatrician and medical director of a non-profit pediatric therapy clinic and is a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST).

DISCLOSURES
Financial: Receives compensation for webinar from SpeechTherapyPD.com
Non-financial: Feeding Matters Power of Two Program family coach

Ruth has a clinical background as an occupational therapist in pediatrics with a speciality area of feeding, eating, and swallowing. She received her bachelors degree in Psychology at Spring Hill College and a Master’s in Occupational Therapy from the University of South Alabama both in the Mobile, AL. She currently works at the Children’s Hospital in Savannah, Ga on both the feeding team and the occupational therapy team. She has experience in hospital, outpatient clinic,  and home based settings. She has enjoyed volunteering with Feeding Matters since 2019.

DISCLOSURES

Financial: None

Non-financial: None

Susan is an occupational therapist, master coach and pediatric feeding specialist.  Throughout her 35-year career, she has dedicated her practice to pediatric feeding, eating, and swallowing within a variety of settings, including the NICU, outpatient clinic, home-based and teletherapy services.  Under her guidance as the Director of the Comfort Feeding Clinic at Desert Valley Pediatric Therapy in Phoenix, AZ, she maintained a clinical caseload and developed several programs including a multidisciplinary feeding team, a training program for speech and occupational therapists in the feeding domain, and the conceptualization, development, and execution of multiple feeding groups with a strong emphasis on parent/caregiver education.  Her expertise has been shared through in-person workshops, virtual and web-based learning at the local, state, and international levels. She has extended her passion with volunteer work at Feeding Matters and is part of their PFD Alliance and executive council.  She was humbled to be the recipient of the Feeding Matters 2022 PFD Healthcare Champion award. She considers herself fortunate to have worked with and learned from the many culturally diverse families she has been privileged to partner with in the Midwest and Southwest regions of United States.

DISCLOSURES
Financial: None
Non-financial: None