Holland Connections Staff
Jennifer Larson
Owner, CEO
Jennifer Larson
Owner, CEO
Jennifer Larson is the mother of a young man with regressive autism. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with degrees in marketing, psychology and speech communication and a graduate of the OPM program of Harvard Business School. Jennifer is the owner and CEO of Vibrant Technologies, incorporated 1998. She is also the owner, founder and CEO of the Holland Autism Center and Clinic, the Founding Board Chair of the non-profit Children with Autism Deserve Education (CADE), and Director and founder of the non-profit Health Choice. Jennifer has been honored with several business and media awards during her career including the Minneapolis Business Journal’s 2007, Forty under Forty award and 2008 Women to Watch award. She has been interviewed by Brent Bowers of the New York Times (“Out of Adversity an Opportunity“, “Entrepreneurs Press On, and Obstacles Fall“), and wrote “Is He High Functioning” on the Age of Autism.
Jenna Barbeln, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapy Trainer
Jenna Barbeln
MOT, OTR/L
Jenna attended Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she received a Bachelor’s of Science in Child Development and Family Studies, with a minor in Psychology. She then attended the University of Minnesota, where she received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. Jenna’s areas of special interest include trauma informed care, emotional regulation, and feeding therapy. She has received additional training in the SOS (Sequential-Oral-Sensory) approach to feeding. Jenna enjoys working with the wonderful multidisciplinary team, clients and families at Holland Connections!
Sophie Wilmshurst, COTA/L
Billing Specialist
Sophie Wilmshurst
COTA/L
Sophie attended the Health Science Institute in Kansas City, where she received her Associate’s degree to become a COTA. Before that, she attended the University of Kansas, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in Community Health. Sophie’s areas of special interest include Feeding Therapy and using a movement-based approach to therapy. She has also received training in S.O.S (Sequential- Oral- Sensory) Approach To Feeding and The Art of Crumbing.
Marina Underberg, COTA/L
Team Lead – Minnetonka and Eden Prairie
Marina Underberg
COTA/L
Marina has been working as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant since 2017 after earning an Associates degree from St. Catherine’s University. Her areas of special interests are cognitive and visual impairments and sensory integration. Marina is passionate about discovering her clients personalities and watching them gain confidence through their independence.
Abby Bloch, MOT, OTR/L
Team Lead – Rogers
Abigail Bloch
MOT, OTR/L
Abby attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where she received a Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology, with a minor in Neuroscience. She then attended the College of St. Scholastica, where she received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. Abby’s areas of special interest include brain body connection, regulation, and executive functioning. She is a certified Spelling to Communicate practitioner. Abby enjoys working with clients and their families to improve their everyday lives.
Kaitlyn Shoults, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Therapy Trainer
Kaitlyn Hirvela
M.S. CCC-SLP
Kaitlyn attended the University of North Dakota, where she received her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She also has minors in Special Education and Psychology. Specific areas of interest include articulation and phonological disorders, as well as feeding therapy. Kaitlyn is certified in the Beckman Oral Motor assessment and intervention protocol, which focuses on mechanical muscle responses to increase oral motor function. She enjoys working with children and teaching them to communicate their wants and needs and having fun while doing so.
Janna George, M.A., CCC-SLP
Team Lead – Mendota Heights
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Janna George
MA, CCC-SLP
Janna attended the University of Minnesota where she received her Master’s of Arts in Speech Language Pathology. Before that she attended the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University where she received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology. Her interests include early language development, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and gestalt language. She loves incorporating music and art into her sessions, and enjoys working with clients of all ages and their families to help them be effective communicators in all areas of life.
Nikki Stahlberg, COTA/L
Occupational Therapy Assistant
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Niki Stahlberg
COTA/L
Nicole (Niki) graduated from Anoka Technical College in 2019 with an AAS degree – Occupational Therapy Assistant. Niki started her COTA career in post-acute rehabilitation, working with adult clients with various conditions and diagnoses for two years. After always having a passion for the pediatric population, Niki was looking for a change and found Holland Center where she began in June of 2022. Niki is looking forward to learning and growing in her career as a COTA here at Holland Center!
Megan Matteson, COTA/L
Occupational Therapy Assistant
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Megan Farley
COTA/L
Megan attended St. Catherine’s University to become a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. Before that, she attended Augsburg University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Psychology. She has a passion for helping the pediatric population reach their full potential through all of their occupations. She is very excited to work at Holland Center and is ready to continue learning new ways to enhance independence in children’s lives.
Cassidy Hall, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
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Cassidy Hall
MS, CCC-SLP
Cassidy attended Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Bachelor’s of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. This is Cassidy’s first job as a Speech-Language Pathologist since graduating with her Master’s degree in May of 2023, and she is excited to build relationships with each client and help them communicate their wants and needs. Specific areas of interest include early childhood language development, literacy, and Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC). She loves working with children with Autism and helping them find multiple ways to communicate in order to promote independence in their everyday lives.
Paige Mann, OTD, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
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Paige Mann
OTD, OTR/L
Paige attended the University of North Dakota, where she received her Occupational Therapy Doctorate and a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology. Paige‘s previous experience includes fieldwork experiences at an outpatient pediatric therapy clinic, outpatient neurological rehabilitation, and a Head Start preschool program. Special interests include emerging literacy and emotional regulation. Paige‘s favorite part of being an occupational therapist is getting to help her client’s gain independence and exploring how much they are capable of!
Ellie Lenarz, M.S., CF-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
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Ellie Lenarz
MS, CF-SLP
Ellie attended Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Bachelor’s of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. This is Ellie’s first job as a Speech-Language Pathologist after graduating with her Master’s degree in May 2024. She enjoys dedicating herself to each of her clients, spending quality time with them, and building their confidence through multimodal communication. Specific areas of interest include Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), gestalt language, and phonological disorders.
Emmy Budz, COTA/L
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Emmy Budz, COTA/L
Emmy has over 20 years of experience serving children and adults in acquiring life skills. She has an Occupational Therapy Assistant Degree from St. Catherine’s University, and a Bachelor’s in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Colorado State University. Emmy enjoys identifying unique strengths of the individuals she serves and building upon those strengths in ways that are meaningful to that individual.
Laney LeMere, M.S.,CF- SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
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Laney LeMere, M.S., CF – SLP
Laney attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where she received her Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders in May 2025. Prior to graduate school, she attended the University of Minnesota where she received a Bachelor of Science in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. Specific areas of interest include early language development, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), aphasia, and speech sound disorders. She enjoys working with clients of all ages and their families to help promote language development and develop multimodal communication skills.
Emily Sikkink, M.A.,CF- SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
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Emily Sikkink, M.A., CF – SLP
Emily attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth where she received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. This is Emily’s first job as a Speech-Language Pathologist since graduating with her Master’s degree in May of 2025, and she is excited to build relationships with each client and help them communicate their wants and needs. Specific areas of interest include Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), gestalt language processing, and articulation.
Erin Braaten, COTA/L
Occupational Therapy Assistant
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Erin Braaten, COTA/L
Erin graduated with my associates in occupational therapy in December 2018 and began her career as a COTA in 2019. She spent 4.5 years in a private pediatric outpatient clinic and 2 years in a school district. She began working at Holland Connections in August 2025. Her special interests are in sensory integration, executive functioning and feeding therapy. She enjoy connecting with our clients and celebrating all of their small wins. Everything deserves to be celebrated!