Our History

The story of Flourishing Lives started in 1982, when Sandra Glovak decided the best way she could help children would be to start her own business. She strove to create an ideal environment for occupational therapy and created Sensory Systems Clinic. Sandy was passionate in making sure there was extensive training for the staff, research of the most appropriate evaluation tools, expanding relationship based approaches, and used evidence based protocols correctly. The team at Sensory Systems Clinic have helped thousands of people of all ages, and from all walks of life, giving them the opportunity to live happier, more fulfilled lives.

Gwen Claussen brought her young son to SSC in 2012. She was amazed at the dramatic, positive change in him after he began receiving treatment. And as it turned out, Sandy needed a little help, too. In 2014, Gwen joined the team to help with business administration and management. Over the years, she had proven to be an invaluable asset by allowing Sandy to put her main focus on what she loved, treating patients and training her therapists, while Gwen managed the business. Together, with their incredible staff, they built an even more successful clinic.

As Sandy decided to plan for retirement, the time had come for her to pass her legacy on to someone she could trust to maintain the integrity of SSC. Gwen was the obvious choice. In 2021, Sandy passed the torch to Gwen and the team at Sensory Systems as they became Flourishing Lives. As always, you can continue to expect the same passion and dynamic approaches to helping you and the ones you love achieve their goals and, of course, flourish.

We may have a new name, but the passion we hold for what we do and our overall mission to help families through Occupational Therapy has remained the same. Curious about our staff? Check us out below!

The Therapy Team

Sheena Patel

MOTR/L

Sheena’s journey at Flourishing Lives started in 2009 as a volunteer. She attended Michigan State University for her undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences followed by graduate school at Baker College with a degree in Occupational Therapy.

Sheena specializes in Trauma, Attachment, Therapist Training, and Research. She has extensive training in Sensory Integration, Interactive Metronome, Cranial Sacral Therapy, DIR/Floortime/Play Project, How Does Your Engine Run, and is SIPT Certified.

Sheena enjoys traveling and experiencing new cultures which has led her to explore 12 counties and counting! She loves going on physical adventures with her two dogs, as well as culinary adventures in the kitchen.
Sheena’s enthusiasm for pediatrics directly stems from the child's ability to have no limits and thus infinite possibilities for growth. It is their passion that drives exploration and teaches us how to appreciate life.

Taylor Callen

MS, OTR/L

Taylor is the Clinical Manager and has worked for Flourishing Lives since 2020. Taylor is a Laker Alum, earning her Bachelor's of Science at Grand Valley State University and two NationalChampionship titles for women's soccer. She earned her Masters in Occupational Therapy at Husson University in Maine. Taylor was a traveling OT prior to starting her position with us working in CA and OR. She has taken continuing education courses in Sensory Integration, attachment, and is certified in Interactive Metronome.
Taylor loves traveling, spending time with her family and dog, Kona, and going to Michigan football games. GO BLUE!Taylor loves working & supporting children and their families. She enjoys celebrating their progress & watching their confidence grow each day.

Cara Clark

MOTR/L

Cara has been working at Flourishing Lives since 2014 as a therapist, and 2013 as part of the administration team while she was still in school. She went to Michigan State University for undergraduate and Wayne State University for graduate school.

Cara is one of our Lead Therapists as well as a specialist in feeding and student training.Cara is a native to Michigan with a secondary home in Florida. She is a former dance instructor, teaching a wide range of students at a recreational level, competition level, and special needs classes. She has a loving husband and they have two wonderful dogs that they love to spoil. Cara loves to read, write, and be creative with painting and makeup. She also enjoys cooking and baking, especially when she creates recipes. She loves to travel and learn new things. Cara loves music and dancing as well as to curl up on the couch with her dogs to watch a good movie. She is also a huge Disney fan. What Cara loves most about working with children is their creative minds and seeing that come to life during her sessions.

Lindsay Boks

MS, OTR/L

Lindsay started working for Flourishing Lives while it was called Sensory Systems Clinic in 2013. She attended Western Michigan University for both her Bachelor and Masters Degrees. Lindsay specializes in Manual Therapy, having taken several courses in Craniosacral Therapy, including techniques to the mouth and facial structures and SomatoEmotional Release®.

Kim Dekoski

MOTR/L

Kim started with Flourishing Lives in January of 2021. She graduated with a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Baker college in 2012. Her specialties include Neuro, feeding, and vision.

Kim has worked with children her whole career with additional experience in inpatient rehab and neuro-intensive outpatient. She loves learning and advancing in her field with the latest goal working towards a vision rehabilitation certification.
Fun fact! Kim grew up on a dairy farm. In her free time she enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and her 10 year old English cream retriever who loves walks.What she loves most about working with kids is seeing their creativity and the significant positive changes they make within each treatment round of 30 visits!

Kayla Drewes

MS, OTR/L

Kayla started working for Flourishing Lives in 2021. She went to Macomb Community College completing the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Undergraduate Program in 2017. She then decided to pursue a Graduate degree at Saginaw Valley State University completing the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program in 2020.

Kayla is a lifelong Michigander. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and watching football. Go Lions! She loves to head up north, to go on bike rides, & searching for Petoskey stones. She also has a soft spot for chocolate chip cookies & Moose Tracks ice cream. She loves reading, bowling, and cooking. She’s always down to learn a new Crock-Pot recipe!Working with kids always keeps her on her toes and a smile on her face.

Amanda Schatzberg

MS, OTR/L

Amanda started working at Flourishing Lives in February of 2022. She went to school at Baker College of Flint: Center for Graduate Studies. She enjoys being out in nature and being around animals. Her interests are; canoeing, hiking, exercising, bird watching, traveling, and getting together with family and friends. Amanda enjoys dry brush style painting as a hobby.

Jillian Scaramuzzino

COTA/L

Jillian started working at Flourishing Live in June 2022. She graduated in 2020 with an Occupational Therapy Assistant Associates of Applied Science Degree from Macomb Community College.

Jillian currently specializes in Cranial Sacral Therapy, Reflex Integration and Sensory Integration Therapy. In addition to treating patients Jillian is the community outreach coordinator. She is active in the community working to educate schools and local organizations to provide the support our kiddos need.Jillian has been a Saint Clair Shores resident for 10 years, she is married, has 3 daughters and enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with her family. What Jillian loves most about working with kids is the excitement from our patients and their families when they accomplish their goals.

Janice Chandler

COTA/L

Janice has been with Flourishing Lives since May 2022.

She graduated from Macomb Community College and specializes in Sensory Integration as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.

Janice would like to develop more skills in feeding therapy, attachment therapy, and Craniosacral therapy.
A fun fact about Janice is that she comes from a large family. Janice has 8 siblings that all love to spend time together. She loves to read books, spend time with her family, and workout at the gym.

Janice has been working with kids since she can remember. She loves to see the smile she can put on a child's face when they have accomplished something so small, but to them it is their greatest achievement in that moment!

Tina Staza

COTA/L

Description coming soon!

Melissa Tatu

MS, OTR/L

Melissa has been with Flourishing Lives since 2021. She has lived in many places before settling in Michigan, including Texas, Illinois, and Arizona. She met her husband here in Michigan and they now have a four year old son. She does not plan to move out of state, even if she doesn't always love the winter weather. She works for Flourishing Lives part time and is always excited to come in and see all the children and their families!

Melissa has worked with children since 2008 when she became a school teacher. She knew she wanted to continue with this when she became an occupational therapist. There is nothing better than helping a child and their family improve their quality of life, in any aspect, and to see the growth and progress that can come from what happens at Flourishing Lives is incredibly special.

Janie Patel

MOTR/L

Description coming soon!

Lexi Pawlik

COTAL

Description Coming Soon

The Admin Team

Ashley Prusinski

Office Manager

Ashley is the Office Manager and has worked for Flourishing Lives since 2015.

She grew up in Metro Detroit and has always had a love for the Great Lakes.

Ashley loves spending time with her family, especially her two young children, traveling (especially near lakes and oceans), and woodworking.

Ashley likes working with children at Flourishing Lives because we get to help those who need it the most. We often get calls from families who have been turned away from other places or have tried other therapies that didn't work and welcoming those kids with open arms and being able to help them always lifts her spirits.

Jordan Wozniak

Patient Care Coordinator

Jordan started working for the company in 2020. She is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy from Wayne State University. She has grown up in Michigan her entire life. She loves to craft and hangout with her pets in her free time. She also likes to go trail riding up north.

Jordan loves working with children of all ages because of how rewarding and fun it is. When she graduates, she plans on pursuing a career as a pediatric occupational therapist.

Hilary Young

Equipment Specialist

Hilary has been working for Flourishing Lives since April 2018.

She does the clinic's equipment maintenance and regular safety checks. She also makes some of the social media content you might have seen on our Facebook and Instagram.
She grew up in the Pacific Northwest but has been living in the Great Lakes region since 2009. She's passionate about art and music and is an avid concert setlist collector.Hilary is the 'nerd' of the FL staff and loves talking with kids about their favorite video games, cartoons, and anime. She also likes occasionally helping the therapy staff with ideas to incorporate kids' pop culture interests into treatment.

Nina Gardner

Administrative Assistant

Nina started working for Flourishing Lives in April of 2022. She is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but moved downstate to be closer to her husband's family after their son was born last year. She loves anything book or movie related and spends a lot of time fostering kittens from the local humane society. She has worked with children for many years as a nanny, pediatric sonographer, and dance teacher, and when she found Flourishing Lives, she knew it would be a perfect fit. She loves being able to to build relationships with the children and the families that we help every single day.

Vanessa Olivarez

Administrative Assistant

Vanessa started working for Flourishing Lives in December of 2022. She grew up in Arizona and California until she was 18 and has since traveled the world. Her hobbies are traveling and spending time with the many pets she has had over the years.

Our History

The Therapy Team

Sheena Patel

MOTR/L

Taylor Callen

MS, OTR/L

Cara Clark

MOTR/L

Lindsay Boks

MS, OTR/L

Kim Dekoski

MOTR/L

Kayla Drewes

MS, OTR/L

Amanda Schatzberg

MS, OTR/L

Jillian Scaramuzzino

COTA/L

Janice Chandler

COTA/L

Tina Staza

COTA/L

Melissa Tatu

MS, OTR/L

Janie Patel

MOTR/L

Lexi Pawlik

COTAL

The Admin Team

Ashley Prusinski

Office Manager

Jordan Wozniak

Patient Care Coordinator

Hilary Young

Equipment Specialist

Nina Gardner

Administrative Assistant

Vanessa Olivarez

Administrative Assistant

The Executive Team

Gwen Claussen

Owner and CEO

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