Introductions

[Meredith Pizzi]

Introduce yourself to the group. Tell us about your professional experiences and what motivated you to take this course. Be sure to include where you live, if you are already doing work in early childhood and how you would like to make this information part of your practice.

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. My name is Erika Svolos. I am one of the online moderators for this training. I live in New Jersey with my husband, my 23- month old daughter, and our four cats. It is a joy to be apart of this fantastic program and to join in your Sprouting Melodies journey. I am a graduate of Marywood University and have been a music therapist in New Jersey for the past 16 years. Over that time I have worked in a variety of settings including in-patient child/adolescent psychiatry, a private clinic for autism, a large urban public school, private practice, and a private special education high school for individual’s with emotional and behavioral disorders. In August 2013 I started my own business/private practice; Music Therapy Services of New Jersey, LLC. I completed the April 2013 Sprouting Melodies online training and it is a wonderful addition to my practice. I began offering Sprouting Melodies classes in February of 2014 and I am truly enjoying working with my SM families.

I will be assisting with any questions and/or technical difficulties. I will be sending you an email with information about the online forum technology and my contact information. If you do not receive the email, please contact me at erika.svolos@gmail.com.

I am looking forward to getting to know each of you over the next ten weeks!

[Gina Greeson]

Hello everyone! My name is Gina Greeson. I live in Milford, Delaware. Milford is about thirty-five minutes north of Rehoboth Beach. I am currently not working and staying at home with my six month old son RJ. I have been a music therapist since 2007, primarily working in long term care facilities. I also received training in music together. I am a graduate of Immaculate University. I am very excited for this course for many reasons. One reason is I would like to improve/increase my knowledge of using music in early childhood. Another reason I am excited is because I would like to possibly offer early childhood music programs to my community. I feel as though I do not have enough resources in terms of music and instruments that go along with the program.

I am looking forward to learning over the next ten weeks and getting to know all of you!

[Joanna Calahan]

Hello! My name is Joanna Calahan. I am a music therapist in Southern Indiana and I’ve been working professionally for just over a year now. My clientele ranges from age 3- adult, all with I/DD or Autism. I am a music therapist for my company’s interdisciplinary preschool program in which clients receive music, speech, occupational and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapies along with typical preschool lesson plans (This week’s “theme” is trains!). I am looking forward enhancing my skill set, as well as learning new ways to provide music therapy to assist with early childhood development.

[Lauren Klimek]

Hello Everyone! My name is Lauren Klimek-Folk and I am a music therapist and licensed creative arts therapist residing and working in Long Island, NY. I hold a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Queens College and received my Master’s degree in MT at Molloy College. I am very lucky to have had Elizabeth Schwartz as a professor and supervisor when completing my degree and fieldwork training and I cannot say enough as to how wonderful and knowledgeable she is when it comes to early childhood music therapy. She is the guru here on the island, if you will! I currently left a full time position with a large hospital network here on LI to continue to pursue my own private practice and music therapy business. I currently work with children ages 2-18 diagnosed with various intellectual disabilities and ASD, in individual and group settings. I also recently joined a local social worker in my area to develop a creative arts therapy program for his in home counseling agency that works with adults-seniors. In addition to my private work, I was recently asked to submit my first contract with a local school district on the island as part of parent training in the students home. I am a new mother to a beautiful 4 month old baby girl and since becoming a mom I have realized the need for more services like this in my community and surrounding areas. I am looking to learn more from Beth and Meredith about the components and tools necessary to offer a unique and effective service such as Sprouting Melodies and can’t wait to learn from you all.

[Anonymous]

Welcome! It is wonderful to learn about each of you. Remember to come back each week and read your fellow participant’s submissions. You each will bring unique perspectives and thought that will be helpful for everyone!

[Megan Calabro]

Hi, All! My name is Megan, and I’m an MT in NJ. I currently work at a children’s hospital, where I’ve been since 2004. I completed both my undergrad and graduate degrees in music therapy through Immaculata University, and completed additional trainings in DIRFloortime through the Interdisciplnary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) as well as Jayne Standley’s NICU-MT training. I’ve always been interested in early childhood MT, and actually focused my masters thesis in early childhood 0-24 months. While I love practicing in pediatrics, I feel a great desire to do more with this age group, particularly when working with NICU grads (including drug withdrawal babies) and babies with adolescent parents. Ultimately, I would also love the opportunity to be home more with my own two kiddos (now 9 and 7). Being a working mom has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever undertaken, and having more flexibility in this regard would be a true gift. Looking forward to a great class together!

[Anonymous]

Welcome Megan! I am so glad you are here!

[Kristina Rio]

Hi Everyone! My name is Kristina Barbo and I am one of the online moderators for this course. I live in Reading MA. I graduated from Anna Maria College, and I currently work at Roman Music Therapy Services(RMTS) with Meredith Pizzi as a music therapist, Sprouting Melodies Coordinator, Sprouting Melodies Provider, and practicum student supervisor. I work with a diverse clientele from birth to end of life in various populations. I have been a Sprouting Melodies Provider for three years. I participated in the live training in NY with Beth and Meredith in June of 2012, and completed the online training in November of 2012 after I became a board certified music therapist. My online training experience was unique as I had already started to lead SM groups of my own, which was very helpful as a refresher, and gave me the opportunity to absorb the information in a more applicable way. I will be present during this entire online training course to be a resource for you throughout your experience. I am here to respond to any questions you may have and offer my support as best I can, so please feel free to contact me here on the forum! You can also contact me by email with any specific questions you may have at kristina@romanmusictherapy.com. I look forward to getting to know all of you over the next several weeks!​

[Dina Breaux]

Hello Everyone!
My name is Dina Breaux and I have been a board-certified music therapist since 2008. I live in Tempe, Arizona, having earned my MT certification through ASU. Though I am not currently working, I do teach piano lessons and share music at my granddaughters daycare. I have always loved working with young children and babies and feel that this program will be a great way to start back into my MT practice. I’m excited to learn how to help parents bond with their children using music and to bring this program into my community!
I look forward to getting to know all of you and sharing ideas and music!

[Kristina Rio]

Welcome Dina, we are so glad you are joining us!

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

A belated welcome to everyone! I am always amazed at the diversity in our training groups and in how much we all have to share with each other. You are getting to know me well through the videos, but here are a few more details. In addition to my music therapy work, I am the mother to three grown children. We had our first wedding this summer, and I am still basking in the glow of that glorious day. One thing that a long range view has taught me, is that all the hard work and effort you put in to a child’s early development is worth it! We are here to support you, whether it is through information about young children or in creating and sustaining career opportunities while still having enough time to nurture your own little ones.

[Author]

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