ATRA SoCal : 2026 Session Description

Jamie Sympson is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Clinical Leader within Clinical Therapies Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH), where Jamie plays a key role in advancing workforce development, clinical supervision, and professional practice within pediatric behavioral health and TR services. Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree in Recreational Therapy from the University of Toledo and earned a Behavioral Health specialization designation through the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) in 2021. Jamie joined NCH in 2017 and provides clinical leadership and direct supervision to Therapeutic Recreation and Speech-Language Pathology team members across multiple behavioral health and specialty care programs, supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and quality practice standards. Jamie currently serves as a Clinical Lead and HUB member for the Pediatric Chronic Pain Foundations ECHO at NCH and has contributed to knowledge dissemination within the ECHO model for the past four years. Jamie is also an active member of the Ohio Recreation Therapy Association and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association, with a professional interest in advocacy, career development, and advancing the role of therapeutic recreation within clinical care.

MA, CTRS-Pediatrics

Kristin Greenlee, MA, CTRS, completed her undergraduate from Slippery Rock University and graduated from University of Minnesota with a Masters of Arts in Infant and Early Childhood Education. Kristin works as part of a multidisciplinary team to promote leisure and recreation to help individuals meet their functional goals and increase their overall quality of life. Kristin’s primary care roles have included pulmonary, outpatient therapy services, and nephrology. Kristin currently serves as the acute care clinical leader for Therapeutic Recreation, working to continuously advance the field. Kristin is a member of the NCTRC Item Review Committee and the ATRA CPT code subcommittee. She has served on a multitude of conference committees, presented at national conferences, and holds a specialty certification in pediatrics through NCTRC.

MOT, OTR/L

Megan McKim is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with a minor in Disability Studies and a Master’s degree of Occupational Therapy with a specialization in Pediatrics. Megan currently serves as the Program Manager for Clinical Therapies Behavioral Health and Therapeutic Recreation at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) in Columbus, OH. Megan has experience providing clinical care across a variety of different settings in pediatrics, including in inpatient psychiatry, crisis care, chronic pain day treatment, disordered eating partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient, acute care, and rehabilitation. Megan is an affiliate member of the Ohio Recreational Therapy Association (ORTA) and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) as well as the recent recipient of ATRA’s Individual Citation Award (2025). Megan is passionate about a variety of topics specific to pediatric healthcare and development of the healthcare professional. She has enjoyed presenting on subject areas such as trauma-informed care, patient access and health equity, patient and provider safety, leadership development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

MA, CTRS-BH

Valerie Lazzara Mould, MA, CTRS is a graduate of the University of Toledo with both a Bachelor of Science in Recreational Therapy (2007) and a Master’s of Art in Recreation Administration (2008), and has been a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist since January 2018. She received her specialization in Behavioral Health in June 2023. She began her career working in both inpatient physical rehabilitation and geriatric psychiatry and has worked with pediatric psychiatry since 2012. She is currently employed full-time at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. There, she serves as a therapist on the Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit and as the Evidence-Based Practice Coordinator for the behavioral health team (OT, SLP, TR) and inpatient acute TR teams. Additionally, Valerie is an instructor for SMART CEUs Hub and serves as the SMART CEUs Hub marketing manager. Valerie was a contributor to the 12 Steps to Sober Leisure Revised Edition workbook. She is a member and current treasurer of the Ohio Recreational Therapy Association where she also serves on two committees. Valerie received the Outstanding Professional award in 2021. She has given many presentations over the years on topics such as mindfulness, family leisure participation, behavioral health programming at NCH, marketing TR, behavioral activation, and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy. In her personal time, Valerie serves as a member of the American Heart Association Young Professionals Board and enjoys reading, photography, and spending time outdoors with family and friends.