Rod & Clarissa Stratton (He/Him & She/Her)

• The Vibe: We are a neurodivergent family dedicated to creating a space where beautiful minds are celebrated, not "fixed." We believe that true affirming care allows identity and individuality to flourish alongside the right supports.

• What Our Leadership Looks Like: Since purchasing Gather & Grow in 2025, our goal has been to steward a practice where everyone belongs exactly as they are. We focus on empowering our team to provide evidence-based, strength-based care that allows our clients to live life fully, joyfully, and on their own terms.

• Why Gather & Grow Matters to Us: Growing up in a neurodivergent family and now raising one of my own, I have spent my life loving people with beautiful ways of being. I believe affirming care empowers people to live authentically." Rod: "Receiving my own neurodivergent diagnosis as a parent made me wonder what it would have meant to have this support earlier. I want Gather & Grow to be a place where people find the clarity and connection I once went without."

• Personal "Neuro-Spark" Our Family: We spend our time navigating the joys and adventures of raising our own neurodivergent family. We love hiking, dirt biking, traveling, airplanes, and connecting with families in our community.

Jonna Arp (She/Her)

• The Vibe: I am the heartbeat of our daily operations—the person ensuring that behind every clinical session, there is a stable, organized, and neuro-affirming foundation. I believe that for our families and therapists to thrive, the systems supporting them must be built with both precision and heart.

• What My Role Looks Like: I direct the entire lifecycle of our office.  While I’m not in the therapy room, I am the one architecting the environment where that therapy happens. From leading our multidisciplinary team, to managing funding and billing, to refining our internal processes, I ensure that Gather & Grow runs smoothly so that our clinicians can focus entirely on you. If you have a question about how we work, I’m your person.

• Professional Expertise: I hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Redlands and bring over 15 years of healthcare leadership. My specialized background in music and professional performance gives me a unique lens for creative problem-solving and innovative communication. I am dedicated to building evidence-based systems that don't just "handle" logistics but actively champion the needs of our neurodivergent community.

• Personal "Neuro-Spark": I love singing, dancing, roller skating, and catching as many live concerts as I can. Adventure: I’m a former surfer who traded the waves for a snowboard! Most of my time away from the office is spent with my 7 and 9-year-old, paddle boarding, or exploring Colorado’s trails.

Molly Forney, M.S., OTR/L (She/Her)​​

• The Vibe: I am an OT passionate about empowering teens and adults to navigate life transitions and explore tools and strategies to assist with engaging in desired everyday activities 

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: I provide a low-pressure space where individual’s goals lead the way. Whether we’re exploring community engagement, executive functioning, regulation tools, setting up your work schedule, completing forms, or completing laundry laundry our work is grounded in what matters to you. I focus on working with you to identify what works for your brain and how to implement those strategies into real life situations. 

• Professional Expertise: I earned my Master’s in OT from the University of Missouri and gained deep experience at the Thompson Center for Autism. There I was a graduate assistant on their autism diagnostic team and provided support guided by my mentor for 1:1 OT sessions. I am passionate about post secondary transition—focusing on exploring options around employment, college, independent living, and identity. As an IN! Young Professionals Board member, I’m also a dedicated advocate for inclusive higher education across Colorado and supporting alumni from these programs to transition into life after school. I am also a founding member of the Front Range Adapted Triathlon which is dedicated to creating a fun, safe, and inclusive community for kids and teens with disabilities to engage in sports. 

• Personal Neuro-Spark: I love mountain adventures with my husband and dog, traveling, and photography. If I’m not at work you can find me outside hiking, climbing, skiing, camping, or playing sports. I’m always up for discussing strategies for board games or why Chicago has the best pizza.

Jessie Gortsema, M.S., CCC-SLP (She/Her)

• The Vibe: I am an ADHD SLP, passionate about helping to better understand your communication profile, improve communication in your relationships, and build self-advocacy skills from later adolescence through adulthood.

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: I focus on making therapy functional and meaningful for your real life. We might work on understanding your communication profile, navigating differences in how you and your loved ones communicate, building confidence in advocating for your desires within relationships, or learning about your nervous system’s connection to communication. My goal is to help you advocate for your needs and connect to others in a way that feels authentic to you.

• Professional Expertise: I earned my Master’s from Florida State University, specializing in autism research and transition programs. I am a Certified Neurodiversity Sexuality Professional and lead our Relationships and Sexuality program, where I support clients in achieving safe, healthy relationship goals. My background also includes extensive work with Assistive Technology (AAC) and career exploration.

• Personal Neuro-Spark: I love getting lost in a good book, watching scary movies, and hiking or camping across Colorado with my dog. I’m always up for learning about your latest passions and sharing recommendations!

Rhyan Furbish, MSW, LCSW (They/Them)

• The Vibe: I am an autistic therapist dedicated to helping neurodivergent teens and adults explore their identity, recover from burnout, and build self-acceptance through a liberation-health lens.

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: Therapy is tailored to your connection style—whether that’s traditional talk, playing games, info-dumping about special interests, or taking walks outside. For OCD, ARFID, and anxiety work (ERP), we move at your pace with full informed consent; exposures will not be used to encourage sensory desensitization, suppress stimming, or for any form of masking neurodivergent traits.

• Professional Expertise: I earned my Master of Social Work from Boston University and have completed additional training in ERP, DBT, ACT, and CBT-AR. I specialize in treating anxiety, OCD, ARFID, and depression experienced by neurodivergent folks. I adapt skilled-based and behavioral approaches for neurodivergent processing, pulling in polyvagal and somatic interventions to support nervous system regulation. 

• Personal "Neuro-Spark": I’ve loved books my entire life, and spend hours reading, sorting my books, and cataloging my reading through book lists, statistics, and graphs. If I’m not reading, I’m probably role playing with my Dungeons & Dragons group or outside, hiking and climbing.

Haley Musack, COTA/L (She/Her)

• The Vibe: I am a compassionate advocate with over eight years of experience supporting Autistic kids and teens through a lens of safety, inclusion, and empowerment.

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: I focus on creating a supportive environment where your unique strengths are the priority. Having grown within the Gather and Grow community, I prioritize building strong, trusting relationships and ensuring every session feels like a safe space to grow and be yourself.

• Professional Expertise: I earned my Bachelor’s in Kinesiology from Oregon State University before obtaining my OTA degree from Pima Medical Institute. My background is deeply rooted in neurodivergent-affirming practices, with a specific focus on tailored volunteer work and hands-on experience supporting individuals with unique abilities.

• Personal "Neuro-Spark": I love relaxing at home with my husband, our cats, and our dog. I’m always up for a game night with friends, testing out a new Pinterest recipe, or hitting the tennis courts!

Natalie Ruiz, M.S., CCC-SLP (She/Her)

• The Vibe: I am a person-centered therapist who thrives on adventure and collaboration. I believe in celebrating the unique qualities of every individual through meaningful and engaging therapy.

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: I prioritize strengths-based, individualized care. My approach is all about bringing a diverse range of strategies into the room to ensure therapy is both functional and personalized to your life. I love working within a multidisciplinary team to make sure we are supporting the whole person.

• Professional Expertise: I earned my M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Texas Tech University. My clinical expertise includes articulation, pragmatic language, and executive functioning. While I began my career working with adults, I have spent the last several years specializing in supporting individuals with autism.

• Personal "Neuro-Spark": I am a dedicated dog mom to my Golden Retriever, Holly. In my free time, you’ll find me baking sourdough bread, playing pickleball, puzzling or planning my next travel getaway. I also love staying connected with my two younger sisters!

Ron Mitchell, MSW, LSW (He/Him)

• The Vibe: I use a neurodiversity-affirming approach that recognizes neurological differences as a natural part of human diversity. Rather than trying to change who a child is, I help children and families understand their strengths, reduce stress, and build practical tools for everyday life. Parenting can be both rewarding and challenging, particularly when navigating autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma, or systems that don’t always fit your family’s needs. My approach is collaborative and compassionate, grounded in the belief that parents are the experts on their children.

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: Sessions are engaging, relationship-focused, and tailored to each child and family. I actively partner with parents and caregivers because children make the greatest progress when the important adults in their lives also feel supported and equipped. Whether we’re addressing emotional regulation, anxiety, executive functioning, trauma, behavioral concerns, or family relationships, my goal is to offer strategies that work beyond the therapy office. Families appreciate my ability to explain complex situations clearly while helping them feel hopeful and confident about moving forward.

• Professional Expertise: I earned my Master of Social Work from Colorado State University and have more than three decades of experience serving children, adolescents, and families. My background includes child welfare, home-based services, residential treatment, administration, and statewide program leadership. Today, I direct statewide programs through the Kempe Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, focusing on strengthening systems of care for children and families affected by trauma and neurodevelopmental differences.

• Personal "Neuro-Spark":  My understanding of neurodivergence is also deeply personal. Growing up with an autistic brother and later becoming the father of two autistic children gave me firsthand insight into the joys, challenges, advocacy, and uncertainty many families experience. As the proud father of a transgender son, I also understand the importance of creating spaces where young people feel safe, respected, and free to be themselves. These experiences continually remind me to approach every family with curiosity, humility, compassion, and a belief in the power of genuine connection.

Erica Tohtz, MOT, OTR/L (She/Her)

• The Vibe: I lead with curiosity and compassion and believe that therapy should be a place where you can feel supported and be authentically yourself. My approach centers on building trust, honoring sensory needs, and celebrating the unique ways your mind and body experience the world. 

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: I employ a collaborative approach where your goals, or your child's goals, drive our time together. Sessions are strengths-based, functional, and deeply personalized—whether we are working on sensory regulation, executive functioning, community engagement, identifying environmental supports, or managing stress. I balance engaging in activity (the "doing") with time for connection and processing. 

• Professional Expertise: I earned my Master’s in OT from Colorado State University and have worked with children, teens, and adults throughout my career. I have expertise in supporting people navigating postsecondary transitions and those whose occupations are impacted by ARFID and other eating disorders, anxiety, trauma, depression, and sensory processing differences. I earned my 200 hour yoga teacher certification and often incorporate yoga, mindfulness, and interoceptive awareness into sessions to support nervous system regulation and help people feel more able to do what they want and need to do.

• Personal "Neuro-Spark":  I try to get outside as much as possible in my free time, exploring hiking trails with my husband and son, biking around town, planning weekend getaways, and looking for quiet spots to watch mountain sunsets. I am an avid podcast listener, I rewatch Deep Blue Sea, Jurassic Park, and Anaconda (originals only!) at least twice a year, and I am always up for strategizing fantasy football decisions.

Brenna Netzky (She/Her)

• The Vibe: I am an autistic MSW intern dedicated to helping kids and teens explore their neurodivergent strengths, find their voice, and create a foundation of safety and belonging they can build from.

• What Sessions With Me Look Like: Therapy is highly relational in nature, built off the therapist-client relationship. I use neuro-affirming practices pulling from play therapy modalities, nature-based therapy, and traditional talk therapy. The process is driven by each client's needs, pace, and communication style.

• Professional Expertise: I am in my final year of my Master of Social Work at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. I have had training in CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and polyvagal theory. 

• Personal "Neuro-Spark": I love spending time with my wife and our two cats. When I'm not relaxing at home, you'll find me practicing my drum set, paddleboarding, snowboarding, or exploring somewhere in nature

Ali Cook (They Them)

• The Vibe: I am a community-driven advocate who believes everyone deserves access to the accommodations they need to thrive. As a neurodivergent individual myself, I’m honored to be the first person you connect with and to help make your journey into therapy as smooth as possible.

• What My Role Looks Like: I handle the "moving parts" of your experience—from scheduling and billing to navigating insurance. I know these tasks can sometimes feel overwhelming, so I’m here to provide a low-pressure, supportive space to help you advocate for the resources you need to feel successful.

• Professional Expertise: I hold an Associate's degree in Fine Art from Aims Community College and have a deep professional background in HR, billing, and scheduling for small therapy practices. I specialize in neuro-inclusive communication and love working in small settings where I can truly get to know the people and the community I serve.

• Personal "Neuro-Spark" Loves: Playing guitar and baritone, metalsmithing, and hanging out with my fiancé and our two cats. Always up for: Appreciating birds and bugs on a hike, or hearing about your special interests—I love learning about the things that bring others joy, so please don't be afraid to say hi!