O U R T E A M
Lambert Wellness prides itself on the quality services provided by our incredible team. The team is made up of a group of highly trained, experienced occupational, and speech therapists with the mission of providing a supportive environment to foster the growth of each child to meet his or her potential.
Lambert Wellness therapists are trained to be mindful and respectful of the sensory, physical, emotional and psychological needs of each individual. Each therapist believes and understands that growth is continued outside of the four walls of the facility and understands the importance of teamwork between the caregivers, family and education system.
When you join the Lambert Wellness family you are not only receiving quality skills and support, you are joining a community that advocates for you and your child.
Casandra L. Lambert, OTR/L Founder
Casandra is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Lambert Wellness. She has been a practicing therapist since graduating Kean University in 2016, but her experience began many years prior working with children of ages 3-21 with a variety of developmental disabilities including developmental delays, cerebral palsy, autism, and other medical complexities.
Not only is she a licensed professional, but she personally understands the family dynamics of advocating for and providing as many opportunities as possible to an individual with special needs. One of her proudest accomplishments includes creating and leading an adaptive yoga program for ambulatory and non-ambulatory children while studying at Sacred Heart University. Her Master thesis was completed in examining sensory processing, learning styles, and academic performance among our youth. WIth experience including outpatient pediatrics, mental health/substance abuse, sub-acute/ skilled nursing, and home care from young children to elderly adults she is driven to provide an inclusive atmosphere for all to live their lives with no limits. Her interests include sensory processing/integration, motor learning as well as NDT (neuro-development techniques), community integration and preventative health.
Mia Valente, M.A. CCC-SLP
Lead Speech-Language Pathologist
Mia is a certified speech-language pathologist through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed in the state of New Jersey. She also maintains certification by the New Jersey Department of Education as a Speech-Language Specialist. Mia earned a Master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Kean University and is a former graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor’s of Science in Communicative Disorders. She also holds a certification in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies.
Mia’s experience working within various treatment settings, including school aged children in a public school setting, outpatient pediatric services and adult inpatient rehabilitation, has provided her with a well-rounded background equipped to evaluate and treat a wide range of communication disorders across the lifespan.
Mia provides effective ways to promote functional communication to support speech and language development outside of the therapy room by prioritizing family and caregiver involvement in treatment.
She believes that family and caregiver involvement is of utmost importance as it increases communicative opportunities therefore maximizing the effectiveness of treatment, decreasing communication breakdowns and encouraging carryover of goals into different settings.
Laura Jerlinski
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Laura is a certified occupational therapy assistant who graduated from Eastwick College in 2015. Laura has had years of experience working with individuals in settings including outpatient pediatrics, mental heath, substance abuse, and working with older adults in a sub-acute setting. While working with a variety of individuals, she has mastered the ability to utilize her skill set to work with multiple populations and guide them in overcoming their difficulties in order to help them to achieve their goals and live life to the fullest.
At a young age, her passion in helping people of all ages and abilities began motivating her to pursue the path of growing within the profession. Laura thrives by collaborating and learning details of each person she works with including their likes, dislikes, passions, and goals in order to implement motivating functional activities to make the journey of services not only effective and relevant but fun! Her multi-dimensional approach of understanding the developmental, cognitive, physical, social, emotional, sensory, or self-esteem allows her to work specific to the client’s individual needs in order to utilize the best way to achieve their goal. .
Alexandra Ross COTA/L
Alexandra is a licensed Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant who graduated from Rutgers University in 2019 and has a Bachelor’s of Psychology from Stockton University. Her professional experience includes working with public school students ages 3 – 15, outpatient pediatric facility, sub-acute and long-term care; hippotherapy, recreation coordinator, outpatient hand therapy, and traumatic brain injury treatment facility.
Alexandra is passionate about helping others and believes through Occupational Therapy she can help others live life without limitations.
Manny Garcia COTA
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Manny has been a certified occupational therapy assistant for four years. He has a Bachelor’s in Disability Studies and has been working with the pediatric population for 10 years, primarily with children who have autism and other disabilities, ages 3-21. His clinical experience has been working in long-term dementia care, traumatic brain injury, outpatient pediatrics, and ABA-based and school-based occupational therapy services. He has been awarded New Jersey Kids Favorite Docs’ in 2019 and 2020 as well as therapist of the year, 2023. His current certifications are in crisis prevention, safety care, and the listening program.
Manny utilizes a multi-sensory approach for his interventions and uses his keen clinical observation skills when assessing a child’s sensory processing abilities. Currently, he is in school and on route to obtaining his masters in occupational therapy.