Meet the Expressive Therapies Staff
Whatever the season, our staff is facilitating
healing with trauma informed care.
Sara
Founder and Therapist
MT-BC, NMT™, LCSW, ICGC-II, FAMI, WMTR
Sara is owner and founder of Expressive Therapies LLC. Sara has 25 years of experience working with individuals and groups combining her passions of music and positive mental health together in her approach to optimize potential and promote wellness! Sara is a Board-Certified Music Therapist, Neurologic Music Therapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, International Certified Gambling Counselor – II, Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery, and Wisconsin Music Therapist, Registered.
Sara is passionate about providing holistic, trauma-informed care that honors each person’s unique journey. She integrates music therapy and psychotherapy to create a safe, supportive space for healing and growth. Her approach is client-centered, recognizing that no two paths to wellness are the same.
With experience working across the lifespan and with diverse populations, Sara blends creativity, evidence-based practices, and compassion to empower clients to build resilience, find meaning, and foster authentic connection in their own way.
“My training in music therapy, neurologic music therapy and the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music is a wonderful tool to diversify my verbal therapy approach and one which I have found people can learn to use on their own. I love watching the power of music when it is combined with therapy, to bring patients to a deeper level of healing!”
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Tiffany
Clinical Supervisor
MT-BC, NMT-F™, WMTR, AMTA Internship Director
Tiffany, MT-BC, NMT-Fellow became a Board-Certified Music Therapist in 1998 and joined the Expressive Therapies team in 2017. She is currently the clinical supervisor and AMTA internship director at Expressive Therapies. Tiffany has practiced music therapy with a variety of ages and populations including adult oncology, skilled nursing, memory care, early childhood, pregnancy and childbirth, autism, and developmental disabilities. Tiffany is proud to be able to offer Neurologic Music Therapy as a service, completing training in Toronto, Canada in 2017 and completing her fellowship in 2020. Tiffany enjoys playing keyboard and singing in the praise band at her church.
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“Music Therapy is an amazing tool! I love that I can use music therapy interventions to offer my clients alternate ways to communicate and socialize, facilitate mood change, and to improve cognition, speech and motor skills. It’s so rewarding to see my clients enjoy the process, make progress and feel empowered!”
Sandra
Art Therapy Team Coordinator
MS, ATR, LPC, C-DBT
Sandra joined our team in July 2021. Sandra achieved her Master’s degree in Art Therapy, with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Mount Mary University in 2021 and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Expressive and Therapeutic Arts in 2018 at Marian University. Sandra is passionate about helping individuals progress and find a better quality of life. She believes in the power of art and creating experiences to promote self-expression and build coping skills within each person’s unique situation. Sandra specializes in fiber, two and three-dimensional art, as well as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, meditation/guided imagery. Sandra has worked with adults and children, with varied mental health diagnosis such as autism, bi-polar disorder, depression, alcohol and drug addiction, and trauma survivors, in groups and individually.
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“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.." Albert Einstein
Jennifer
MT-BC, LCSW, NMT, WMTR, AMTA Internship Supervisor
Jennifer joined the Expressive Therapies team in January 2018. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with degrees in Music Therapy and English with Creative Writing. Jennifer enjoys working with a variety of clients, including: autism, developmental disabilities, hospice, Alzheimer's/dementia, Parkinson's, cancer, anxiety, and homelessness. She is passionate about both music and writing as creative, therapeutic outlets and loves being a part of the Expressive Therapies team!
"Music and language are so unique in their ability to creatively explore and express our individual thoughts and experiences. I love seeing how both outlets provide such incredible means for self-expression, processing, and growth for so many people."
JoAnna
MT-BC, NMT™, WMTR, AMTA Internship Supervisor
Joanna graduated in 2018 from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where she earned a degree in Music Therapy, with a minor in Dance. Prior to joining the Expressive Therapies team in January 2019, JoAnna worked with children and adults of all ages and abilities throughout her coursework, including those with autism, Alzheimer's/dementia, and various developmental disabilities. She also completed an internship at a children’s hospital in Dallas, Texas, where she got to experience the medical side of music therapy. JoAnna is so excited to be in Wisconsin as part of the Expressive Therapies team!
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“Two of my biggest passions in life are music and helping others. I’m so thankful to be in a field where I get to pursue them both. There is something so special about making music that is also making a difference in someone else’s life.”
Alyssa
MT-BC, NMT™, WMTR
Alyssa is a board-certified music therapist who joined Expressive Therapies in April 2021. Alyssa graduated from University of Evansville in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a minor in psychology. Alyssa has experience working with groups and individuals in various settings and populations including pediatrics, inpatient mental health, schools, and geriatrics.
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"" Music acts like a magic key to which the most tightly closed heart opens" ~ Maria von Trapp
Jamie
LCSW
Jamie joined our team as a mental health counselor in May 2023. She received her bachelor's degree in social work from Olivet Nazarene University in January 2019 and her master's degree in social work at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in May 2023. In March 2024, Jamie completed 30 hours of training in Trauma-Informed Creative Arts Therapy. Jamie has experience working with various ages and abilities. She believes in a strengths-based and person-centered approach to mental health care.
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“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
sabra
MT-BC, NMT™
Sabra completed her BA in psychology with a music minor in 2018 at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis where she returned to in 2019 for a second bachelor’s degree in music therapy. After living in central Indiana her whole life, she moved to Oshkosh to complete her internship and degree program. She is excited to meet and work with so many new people and hopes that she can make a difference in the community.
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"Therapists must convey to the patient that their paramount task is to build a relationship
together that will itself become the agent of change.” ~ Irvin D. Yalom
Maddie
MT-BC, WMTR
Maddie joined Expressive Therapies as a board-certified music therapist in November 2025. Maddie graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 2023 with a bachelor's of science in music therapy. After completing her internship in Florida, Maddie continued working in the Sunshine State providing services to youth and teens of all abilities, including autism, developmental disabilities, and mental health. Maddie is excited to join the Expressive Therapies team and continue sharing her passion for music therapy with the community!
“It’s not failing if you’re learning, right? That means every day is a success!” –Bob Belcher
ray
ATR-P, LPC-IT
Ray is an Art Therapist who joined Expressive Therapies in June 2024 after graduating from Edgewood College in Madison, WI, with a Master of Science in Art Therapy. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy in 2019. Ray is specifically interested in contemplative art therapy, believing that art can tap into our instinctual ability to self-regulate and self-actualize through a strong connection between the mind and the body. However, she understands that all clients have specific needs, which requires her to base every therapeutic approach on the needs of her clients. Ray integrates art into every therapeutic approach, realizing that art, music, and movement were our original communication styles well before literacy was invented. Using this expressive approach allows for the whole person to be involved in the therapy session, mind, body, and soul, as they are all interconnected and influenced by one another.
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"You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave
is a function of what the whole ocean is doing." ~ Alan Watts
McKenzie
ATR
McKenzie joined Expressive Therapies in February 2026 and holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Art Therapy from the University of Wisconsin–Superior. She has experience working with older adults experiencing brain changes, using creative expression and reminiscence to support emotional connection and self-expression. McKenzie believes everyone deserves a welcoming space to explore their thoughts and feelings, especially when words are hard to find. She is passionate about helping clients express themselves beyond traditional talk therapy through creative processes that feel supportive, meaningful, and accessible. Her approach focuses on the experience rather than the final art piece, honoring the insights that naturally emerge along the way. Outside of the office, McKenzie enjoys being outdoors, traveling, and finding joy in everyday moments—values she brings into her work through warmth, curiosity, and genuine connection.
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""We don't make mistakes, just happy accidents." - Bob Ross
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Gretchen
MA, LPC-IT, ATR-P
Gretchen received her Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling from Edgewood University in Madison, WI. She offers a holistic, integrative, arts-based approach guided by a compassion-focused, person-centered process. She creates a calm, supportive space where individuals can explore emotional challenges and personal narratives through creative expression and conversation. Gretchen has experience working with individuals of all ages supporting them in reconnecting with their inner strength while fostering motivation, purpose, and a sense of empowerment.
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"""The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change."" - Carl Rogers
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morgan
MSW, CAPSW, CGP
Morgan joined Expressive Therapies in September 2023 as a counseling intern and transitioned into her role as a Mental Health Counselor after graduating with her Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, emphasizing in clinical mental health. During her journey, Morgan developed a profound passion for supporting individuals dealing with grief and loss, as well as supporting clients in fostering healthy relationships with themselves, their bodies, others, food, and nature. Her dedication to her clients' well-being and her holistic, person-centered approach to therapy ensure that each individual receives personalized support tailored to their unique needs.
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Most human suffering is related to love and loss, and the job of therapists is to help people acknowledge, experience, and bear the reality of life, with all its pleasures and heartbreaks. -Elvin Semrad."
Leah
Experiential Therapist
Leah is an experiential therapist who joined Expressive Therapies in 2025. Leah obtained her bachelor’s degree in art therapy with a psychology minor from Edgewood College. During her last semester, she studied at the University of Legon in Ghana, West Africa where she created art workshops around recycled materials, for children at an NGO school. Post-college, she spent time working with individuals with differing abilities and disabilities. Wanting to add more individualized and accessible art to the community around executive functioning, she started her own adaptive and inclusive art workshops through her LLC. Her favorite life practice is the theory of “the art process is greater than or equal to the art product,” as her goal is to share the benefits of art-making and art as a therapeutic outlet to any and all populations.
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“Art is the way we tell the collective story of all humanity, but it’s also one of the most powerful ways we connect with one another here on earth. To deprive ourselves of this connection is shortsighted and costly. To ignore art is to deprive ourselves of all the light.” -Laura Lynne Jackson
Avery
Music Therapy Intern
After completing her coursework at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) in the spring of 2025, Avery joined Expressive Therapies as a music therapy intern in January 2026. Avery is from southern Indiana, where she spent time volunteering/making music at a nursing home and occasionally in a preschool classroom. Avery still serves on SMWC’s Music Therapy Student Association executive board as the organization’s Historian. In her free time, Avery loves making music, exploring nature, reading, thrifting, trying coffee shops and perfecting her own coffee, making crafts, and spending time with friends both virtually and in person.
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““There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be,” – Lennon & McCartney
Melissa
Billing Team Lead- BS/ACC
Melissa has been overseeing all administrative functions as Office Administrator with Expressive Therapies since April of 2018 and has now transitioned into the role of Billing Team Lead. Along with her bachelor’s in accounting, she brings over 20 years of customer care experience, an ability to achieve thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing tasks, and a personal passion for art and music. Melissa is also a yoga teacher and reiki master; you can find her sharing her gifts at yoga studios in the Fox Valley and Green Bay areas. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, adult children, and close friends. Some of her favorite activities are walking her 2 dogs, going to yoga classes, live music events, traveling locally and afar, exploring local restaurants and shops, and spending time at home with her family.
“When you live with an open heart, unexpected, joyful things happen.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
Jo (Joanne)
Billing Specialist
Jo (Joanne) joined Expressive Therapies in May 2016 as the Billing Supervisor. She has many years of experience working in the mental health field along with billing within the outpatient, inpatient, and day treatment areas. Jo loves the mission of Expressive Therapies and the benefits it brings to so many people through the creative arts.
""Appreciate where you are in your journey, even if it’s not where you want to be. Your destination is still ahead."
Julie
Director of Operations/HR
Julie joined us in September 2022 as Human Resource Generalist and transitioned to the role of Director of Operations/HR. She has over 20 years of experience as a leader as well as human resource support. Julie is passionate about helping others succeed and our team grow, as well as Expressive Therapies’ mission. Julie enjoys spending time outside work with her family and friends.
I am thankful to work in an atmosphere where you never have to “leave your heart at home”
and your work is your passion. ~Julie
Kandace
Intake Specialist
Kandace joined Expressive Therapies in March 2023 as Intake Specialist. She is currently pursuing her associate degree in early childhood education and has previously worked in therapy for children with Autism. Kandace is passionate about music, helping make a positive change in people’s lives and is also passionate about her foster dogs she helps find loving homes for!
“Music is the strongest form of magic.” – Marilyn Manson
Kendal
Receptionist
Kendal joined Expressive Therapies in July 2023 as a receptionist. Along with a passion for music, Kendal loves baking, photography and spending time with her dog, and family. She loves traveling to new destinations and her bucket list includes Hawaii, Italy, and Ireland.
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"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." – Winnie the Pooh
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