Mindy Scales, M.S., CCC-SLP

Originally from New York, Mindy is a seasoned Speech-Language Pathologist with over 25 years of experience supporting individuals across a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and settings in both education and healthcare. Her true passion has always been in working with children—helping them connect, communicate, and succeed in the world around them. Mindy specializes in areas including delayed expressive and receptive language, articulation and phonological disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, and autism spectrum disorder. She is especially committed to empowering parents, caregivers, and educators with the tools they need to support each child’s communication journey. Her therapeutic approach blends evidence-based practice with play-based strategies that make learning both meaningful and fun. She believes strongly in focusing on functional communication—meeting kids where they are and helping them make real-world gains. Outside of work, Mindy loves spending time with her husband and three young adult children, running outdoors, and soaking up the Carolina sunshine.
Mindy Scales, M.S., CCC-SLP
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Meet The Rest of our team

Mindy Scales, M.S., CCC-SLP
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Mindy Scales, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lead Speech Therapist
Irene Salema
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Irene Salema
Patient Care Coordinator

Bio Coming soon!

Genie Tucci, MS, OTR/L
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Genie Tucci, MS, OTR/L
MS, OTR/L

Genie graduated from Milligan University with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and has dedicated her career to supporting children in reaching their full potential.

Alexis Aldridge, MS, OTR/L
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Alexis Aldridge, MS, OTR/L
MS, OTR/L

Alexis is a pediatric occupational therapist with a Bachelor’s from UNC Chapel Hill and a Master’s from Lenoir-Rhyne University. She specializes in sensory processing, fine motor skills, emotional regulation, and feeding therapy, with an SOS Feeding certification earned in 2023.

Ashley Heiligenstadt, COTA/L
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Ashley Heiligenstadt, COTA/L
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Ashley is an Occupational Therapy Assistant at Thrive Therapy. She has a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from James Madison University and earned an A.A.S in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at CPCC in 2020.

Tori Southerland, M.S., OTR/L
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Tori Southerland, M.S., OTR/L
Owner & Occupational Therapist

Tori is the owner and primary Occupational Therapist at Thrive Therapy. Tori has over 10 years of clinical experience in various pediatric settings.

Michelle Pelletier, B.S., OTR/L
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Michelle Pelletier, B.S., OTR/L
Lead Occupational Therapist

Michelle has a bachelor's degree in Psychology, a master's degree in Education, and a post-baccalaureate certification in Occupational Therapy from Xavier University.

Susan Waters, COTA/L
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Susan Waters, COTA/L
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Susan is an Occupational Therapy Assistant at Thrive Therapy with 25 years of OT experience.

Logan Tafur, COTA/L
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Logan Tafur, COTA/L
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Logan is an Occupational Therapy Assistant at Thrive Therapy.

Christine Giesbrecht, COTA/L
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Christine Giesbrecht, COTA/L
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Christine is an Occupational Therapy Assistant at Thrive Therapy. She earned an A.A.S in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at CPCC in 2018.

Emily Cliber, CPC, CPB, CPPM
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Emily Cliber, CPC, CPB, CPPM
Billing/Insurance Specialist

Emily grew up in CT but now lives outside of Richmond, VA. She has her bachelors in Business Administration and certification in coding, billing and practice management.

We're Hiring!

We are always looking to add to our dynamic team of therapists. See our open positions and apply today!

Ready to Join the Thrive Family?

We specialize in helping children develop essential skills for daily life, including communication, language, and social interaction; sensory processing and emotional regulation; fine and gross motor coordination; self-help skills like feeding and dressing; and visual-motor abilities such as handwriting—all through engaging, play-based therapy.