Arlene Schwartz, OTR/L is a Licensed Occupational Therapist and the Chief Executive Officer at Professional Therapy Associates. Arlene has worked in the field of Occupational Therapy for 35+ years in a variety of settings and founded the company after discovering a need within her community for a sensory gym and rehabilitation clinic for pediatrics. Arlene is passionate about Pediatrics, Early Intervention, Sensory Processing, Schools, Management and Administration. Outside of work, Arlene is active within the Brick Morning Rotary Club and has served as President. She is also a trustee for Gift of Life Rotary District 7505. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. And she prides herself in sponsoring local children who are involved in Racing for the Nascar Youth Series. Arlene is an active AOTA and NJOTA Member.
Congratulations and welcome to our Team. Professional Thearapy Associates LLC is a privately owned therapist operated pediatric sensory gym and rehabilitation facility. We have a great interdisciplinary team at PTA and I look forward to meeting and working alongside all of you.
Liz DeMaria, COTA/L is the Clinic Manager at our Brick location. She is a certified Registered Behavior Technician and a Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant. Liz has worked for PTA for 2 ½ years and has been in the field for over 5 years. She began her journey in ABA in North Carolina prior to moving back home in 2019. Liz is our Handle with Care and CPR instructor for all locations. She is a member of AOTA and NJOTA. Outside of work, Liz enjoys spending time with family and friends whether it is laying on a beach somewhere, going for a hike, or having a game night. She also enjoys playing sports, and going to concerts. A few of Liz’s favorite aspects about PTA is the teamwork mentality of the company and really seeing each child grow in their own individual ways.
Tom Mirabella is the Chief Executive Officer of Wingman Planning. He founded Wingman Planning in 2009 at his dining room table. Wingman now provides web and marketing services to over 450+ businesses across the U.S. Tom is very involved in giving back to the community where he works and lives. Over the last 5 years, Wingman has helped local organizations in the community. We manage and run with the Brick Morning Rotary a perpetual food drive, we run a toy drive to benefit multiple recognized 501c3 organizations and the company runs Cornhole for a Cause event to spread awareness about mental health. In both business and philanthropy, Mirabella enlists local businesses to work together, and he is an active member of several Chambers of Commerce.
Sarah Meyer
Program Coordinator
Sarah Meyer, MSEd, BCBA, LBS, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds the position of Program Coordinator at Professional Therapy Associates. She has worked in the field of special education, Autism, and Applied Behavior Analysis since 2014 having worked as a teacher for children with Autism, an RBT, and a BCBA in public schools, in-home settings, and now with PTA in a clinical setting. Sarah’s specialties and interests include: working with children, teens, and adults with challenging behaviors, toilet training and hygiene procedures, and functional living skills. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys volunteering with Autism on the Seas, spending time adventuring with her Border Collie Maddie, and creating new memories with friends and family. Sarah says her favorite part about working at PTA is the “family” mentality and getting to collaborate with other disciplines!
Bri Walker, M. Ed is the Assistant Program Coordinator, Circle Time Leader, and ABA Therapist who works out of our Toms River office. Bri has worked in the field of ABA for over 6 years and has been with PTA for 2 years. Bri is a certified preschool-8th grade teacher in NJ. She completed undergraduate & graduate school at TCNJ, and an advanced graduate certificate in ABA through Arizona State University. In the area of ABA, Bri’s interests include: nonverbal communication & communication devices, play based learning, social and emotional learning, and family involvement. When not at work, Bri enjoys spending time at the beach with her family and friends, working out, cooking, and traveling. Some interesting facts about Bri include that she is pursuing her BCBA certification.
Lisa Wall, MSED is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the Vice President of Operations at Professional Therapy Associates. Lisa completed her Undergraduate degree in Elementary and Special Education and Graduate degree in Educational Leadership at Monmouth University. While at Monmouth, Lisa also completed post graduate certificates in Early Childhood Education and Supervision and completed the BCBA coursework at Georgian Court University. Lisa has 18 years of experience and has been with PTA for 5 years Prior to becoming a BCBA, Lisa taught preschool disabled and worked in Early Intervention as well as being an ABA therapist. Lisa is a member of NJABA. She is passionate about educating everyone on compassionate ABA services as well as Practical Functional Assessments as well as the PEAK assessment. Outside of work, Lisa enjoys spending time with her children and husband, going to the beach, and reading.
Helen Brown, B.S., ACC is the Billing Manager at Professional Therapy Associates. She has worked within the field of medical billing for 10 years and has been a part of PTA for 2 years. Helen enjoys assisting parents in understanding their insurance benefits and out of pocket costs as well as using her analytical skills to resolve billing issues with insurance companies. Outside of work, Helen enjoys spending time doing outdoor activities with her family such as bike riding, going to the beach and the park.
Rebecca Heider, M.S., CCC-SLP is a Speech and Language Pathologist and the Robbinsville Office Clinic Manager. Becca attended graduate school at Baylor University in Waco, Texas and completed her CF within the New Jersey public schools system. Becca has worked in the field of Speech and Language for 3 years and joined the PTA family 2 years ago! Becca’s favorite part of the job is working on both receptive and expressive language with her clients. She enjoys teaching children to use their words appropriately to request and express their wants, needs, and desires. In her free time, Becca enjoys traveling to new countries and baking.
Dana Van De Vaarst, MOT, OTR/L is a licensed occupational therapist and the Student Fieldwork/Clinical Program Coordinator at Professional Therapy Associates. Dana completed her last level II fieldwork experience for grad school at PTA and fell in love with the company! She then started working at Professional Therapy Associates in September of 2019 running a dance social group before receiving her license in OT in November of 2019. She has now been practicing OT for 3 years at Professional Therapy Associates. She is a member of AOTA and NJOTA. Dana has many interests in the pediatric field including sensory processing disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and motor planning and orthopedic deficits. She is currently taking courses on becoming a Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist and taking courses in American Sign Language. When not working as an OT, you can still find Dana working with children, teens and young adults with various abilities. Dana has been an assistant dance instructor for an inclusive dance program, Unique Kids, since 2017, where she helps teach dances to perform at local recitals, competitions and community events. Dana also became a volunteer for Autism on the Seas in 2022, a program for cruise lines that helps families with kids and other family members who have disabilities enjoy vacations. Dana's favorite hobbies include dancing, traveling, hiking, boating/sailing, going to the beach, hanging with friends and family, and enjoying downtime with her dogs. Dana enjoys being a part of Professional Therapy Associates as she gets to watch children meet their goals and make a huge positive impact on the child's and family's lives.
Samantha Evans, M.S. Ed, RBT is a licensed Registered Behavior Technician and the Clinical Manager of Professional Therapy Associates Toms River location. Sam has worked for PTA for 5 years and her specialties/ interests include social skills and functional communication training. Outside of work, Sam is busy studying for her BCBA exam and enjoys spending time with her two dogs and family. Sam is an avid New York Rangers fan and enjoys spending time going to watch their games with her boyfriend!
Randi Bucca, M.S., CCC-SLP is a Speech and Language Pathologist and holds the position of Vice President of Clinical Operations at Professional Therapy Associates. She has been an SLP for 10 years and has worked for PTA for 11 years. Randi started at PTA as a Therapy Tech when the company first started and while completing her internships. She then worked through her Clinical Fellowship Year and continued as a per diem employee until 2022. At that time, Randi joined PTA as a full-time employee as the Vice President of Clinical Operations. Randi notes that within the field of Speech-Language Pathology, she absolutely loves working with children on their receptive and expressive language skills, including social skills. In her current position however, she loves working and collaborating with all of the various therapists in all three locations! Her favorite part is helping them brainstorm ideas and come up with unique ways to help their clients learn.Outside of work Randi enjoys spending time with her husband, Scott, and their two children, Colin and Isabella. They love to travel, go to Jenkinson's Arcade, and spend time with their families.
Sergio DeAlmeida, OTR/L is a Licensed Occupational Therapist and the Director of Clinical Services at Professional Therapy Associates. He began his journey at Professional Therapy Associates as a student volunteer in highschool and then quickly came aboard as a therapy tech. It was then that he fell in love with the field and decided to pursue Occupational Therapy for his career. Sergio graduated in 2021 from Kean University and continues to work at PTA. His specialties include pediatrics, mental health, and managing challenging behaviors. In his free time, Sergio enjoys traveling, going to the boardwalk, watching tv, going out to eat, and spending time with friends, family, and pets. Sergio chose to work in pediatrics so that he can do his best in helping the next generation learn and grow to be the best they can possibly be.