OUR TEAM
JANEY SHEPHERD, PT
Janey attended University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) following high school and graduated in 1990 with a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education. She then worked as a school teacher for four years in the Little Rock, Arkansas school district. She loved working with children so much that when she went back to school to become a Physical Therapist, she knew she would work in Pediatrics. After graduating from the physical therapy program at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in December 1998 she has spent the last couple of decades working as a licensed physical therapist in the state of Arkansas. Other than her work, her greatest joy in life has been raising her daughter Madeline with her wonderful husband David. Of course when listing the immediate family she simply must include their fur baby Bonnie Blue who they adopted from the Sherwood, AR animal shelter. Bonnie Blue is a very catlike Basenji mix who sometimes 'meows' at them and is quite the agile jumper! Janey loves a good steak and her favorite color is blue! If she could choose any animal to be, she’d choose a cat.
JILL CHAMNESS, PT
Jill was born in Richmond, Indiana and moved to Little Rock in 1989. Currently, she lives in Cabot, AR. She went to Arkansas State University for her undergraduate and graduate school at the University of Central Arkansas where she studied physical therapy (PT) and graduated in 1998. Jill is a certified brain injury specialist! She has always had a love for children and watching them develop and grow. As she grew up, she became captivated with PT as she watched family members go through rehabilitation. She combined her two fascinations, child development and physical therapy to begin her career. When she can, Jill donates or volunteers at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Jill enjoys cooking, baking, writing poetry and spending time with her family. She has two kids with her husband Steve, Kyle and Zach. They have two dogs, Max, and Jedi. Her favorite color is green and her favorite thing to eat is Mexican food! The best part about Jill’s workday is watching her patients face as they reach a milestone or do something they couldn’t do before, but now can! Priceless! Jill is incredible at her job and we are all thankful to have her as part of the team.
BECKY TOWNSEND, PTA
Becky is a Physical Therapy Assistant who attended California State University Fullerton and Cerritos College. She has always had a passion for fitness and helping others reach their goals! Sometimes you might even catch her teaching a patient a new dance routine. Her hobbies include leading aerobics and braiding hair. She is an excellent baker and often surprises her fellow therapists with home baked goods! We love her for it, she has definitely earned those extra brownie points! She also enjoys spending her time away from work walking her yellow lab, Rhett with her husband, Joshua and their three children Jacob, Rosie, and Violet. If she could pick any super hero to be she’d choose Wonder Woman! She loves the color pink and is a big fan of Zaza’s pizza and salad.
AUTUMN SAFLEY, OTR
Autumn is from Sherwood, AR. She graduated from UCA in 2009 with her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy. She and her husband, Addison have three beautiful children, Jas, Addilyne, & Ava. Autumn is a very busy person, besides working as an Occupational Therapist with adults she also works with children. In her very limited free time, you might find her getting creative and making t-shirts! She sells them & you very well may have seen a few of her designs being worn around our clinic by our therapists. Autumn keeps our Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants sharp and is constantly teaching them new tools to help our patients. She is very valued by our entire team, we love Ms. Autumn!
ALEXANDRIA JULIAN, COTA
Alexandria, or Alex, studied at the Baptist Health College of Little Rock. She graduated in 2021 with one of our other certified occupational therapy assistants, Bailey Volkman. She lives in Cabot, AR and enjoys road biking, playing guitar, and woodworking. Alex chose this profession not only with the hopes of playing all day but with a passion for helping people, especially kiddos, live their best life! Her passion for Occupational Therapy grew from her own Autism diagnosis & wanting to educate more parents and children so they know they’re not alone. When she’s home, she’s hanging out with her two dogs, a hound dog, Charlie, and a lab, Nebula. Her favorite way to give back to the community is by leading bible study. Alex is a very skilled & attentive therapist; we are incredibly lucky to have her.
BAILEY VOLKMAN, COTA
Bailey is from Vilonia, AR and currently lives in Conway. She studied at the Baptist Health College of Little Rock and the University of Central Arkansas. She then graduated in 2021 with one of our other certified occupational therapy assistants, Alex Julian! Her favorite color is yellow, and she spends her free time sewing and crafting. At home, she spends time with her husband, Douglas, and their son, Jude. The whole family enjoys the company of their dogs Oliver, Doc, and Raven. St. Jude Children’s Hospital and K9’s for Warriors are the two organizations closest to Bailey’s heart. When she is at work, her favorite part of the day is playing with the kiddos! Bailey saw that occupational therapy could profoundly affect people’s lives in a positive way. She has an aptitude for child therapy and that’s why she is a crucial part of our team.
BAILEY RIVERS, COTA
Bailey attended Arkansas Technical University in Ozark and graduated in 2021. She has always had a fascination with physical therapy, but when she began learning about occupational therapy, she knew where she was going to take her career. Bailey is from Monticello, AR and currently, lives in Conway, AR with her husband, Austin. She loves animals and hopes to own a farm one day. Her favorite color is blue. She loves pizza and spending time with her dogs, Oakley and Iggy. The best part of her work is watching the children succeed. Bailey is a wonderful addition to Arkansas Children’s Therapy Group, and we appreciate her valuable contribution to our team!
BECKY DEARWORTH, SLP
Becky attended Ouachita Baptist University for her undergrad and graduated from UCA. She decided to pursue Speech Language Pathology after she found the introductory class to be so fun, and she never looked back! She moved a lot as a child but eventually when she was a teenager her family settled in Cabot, AR. Since then she has stayed in the Central AR area. Ms. Becky’s favorite color is purple & her favorite food are Fajitas, yum! She enjoys spending time with her husband, Jeff and their children, Avery, Ethan, Evan, and Eli. Becky also enjoys reading, camping, and snuggling with her dog, Kieko. If she could be any superhero she would be Elastigirl from the Incredibles because who wouldn’t want to be able to reach something on the other side of the room! We love our Ms. Becky!
LEAH BURSON, OFFICE
Leah enjoys organization & data entry. Luckily this is a perfect fixation for our office and keeping things straight for everyone. She currently resides in Cabot, AR but grew up in Bentonville, AR. Her favorite hobby is photography. She loves the color green. She and her husband J.T. are the proud parents of a fur baby named Fett, a rescue that turned out to be a Saint Bernard mix. Her favorite part of each day is when patients stop by the office to show off the crafts they have completed or say hi. Her favorite superhero is Iron Man… who doesn’t love when genius is used for good?! A favorite memory from childhood was the time spent on her grandparents’ horse farm riding horses.
SHELBY COWGER, SLP
Shelby’s hometown is Cabot, Arkansas, where she currently lives. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a master’s degree in 2011. When she took a sign language course at university, her interest in speech pathology blossomed and it became her passion. Getting to know the local families and watching their children learn is the best part about her work. Shelby is also an immense help to families that are managing Dysphagia because her own child has this diagnosis. She loves the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Augmentative and Alternative Communications (AAC). Shelby and her husband, Nick, have two children together, Katie & Caroline. They also have a golden doodle, Lucy and an aussiedoodle, Ramsey. Her favorite thing to do is hang out with her family whether they’re shopping, grabbing a coffee, or being outside together. Shelby is a therapist with a true love for helping others. That’s why we are so grateful to have her as part of the ACTG team.
KIM RICKETT, SLP
Kim chose to become a Speech Language Pathologist because she loves working with children and helping them. She graduated in December of 2006 from Arkansas State University. Her hometown is Sheridan, AR but currently she resides in Cabot, AR with her husband and 4 daughters along with an Aussie doodle, Moose and 3 bunnies, Peaches, Rue, and Lulu. When she’s not painting the world pink or eating one of her favorite foods, pizza or sushi, her hobbies include reading & spending time with her family. The best part of her day is seeing children make a progressive leap and reach goals! The accomplishment Kim is most proud of is successfully homeschooling her 4 girls for the past 11 years. Her favorite cause are missions through Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, where Kim also teaches a preschool/kindergarten class.
EMILY ANGYAL, OFFICE
Emily is from North Little Rock, AR. She graduated from Southern Illinois University with a BA in Classical Studies & Mythology in 2024. She chose to work for ACTG to put her organizational skills to use and to try something new that was a little out of her comfort zone. Her favorite color is light blue, favorite food is her dad’s chili (or coffee), and she has two cats, Berry & Persey. In her spare time, Emily enjoys going to the gym, bullet journaling, & reading. She’s also a traveler! She has been to four different countries, her favorite being Ireland. Emily says the best part about her job is hearing the funny things the kids have to say, seeing how special their personalities are, and how much they improve in therapy. We’re so grateful for our Ms. Emily!
JIM LUSK, SLP
Jim became a speech therapist because he felt it would be very rewarding to work one - on - one with children to improve their language and speech abilities which he feels are very important to one’s quality of life. In 2020 he completed his graduate program at the University of Central Arkansas after first attending the University of Mississippi for undergrad. Though he now resides in Conway, Arkansas Jim made his way here all the way here from his hometown, New Albany, Mississippi. Jim collects vintage vinyl records and was voted most likely to succeed in high school. If Jim could be any animal, he would be a monkey. They are fun and silly but still highly intelligent. He will eat anything grilled and his favorite color is purple.
MERIE RYAN, SLP
Merie (pronounced meh-ree) attended Delta State University & University of Central Arkansas. Her hometown is Clarksdale, MS but she now lives in Cabot, AR. She has three children, Michael, Elizabeth, and Scarlett. She enjoys raising her children and taking them to band practice & ball games! When she’s not busy taking her kids to after school activities, she enjoys a DIY project or eating a good steak. Her favorite colors are purple & blue, but she loves a good neutral color to compliment, too! She is an animal lover & has quite a few pets, this includes two horses, three cats, and five dogs! The charity she is most passionate about is St. Jude’s. Merie’s favorite part about her job is watching kids grow! We love having Ms. Merie be a part of our Speech team!
BRENNA STEFANOV, OFFICE
Brenna considers her hometown to be North Little Rock, but she was born in Japan! On the Yokota Air Force Base, both of her parents were in the military. She graduated in 2020 from Gould’s Academy for Esthetics. One of her hobbies is doing her nails and her favorite color is green! She also enjoys cooking and her favorite thing to eat is ramen. If she could be any animal, it’d have to be a cat, that way she could lay out in the sun all day with her own cat, Clove. Brenna’s favorite part about coming to work is the general atmosphere of the clinic and being around her coworkers. We value Brenna’s hard work; she always keeps the schedule and paperwork in tip top shape!