Boost's founders and professional educators are deeply interested in developing innovative and effective programs to serve the needs of preschool age children with learning challenges. We bring together a team with experience that includes speech language pathology, occupational therapy, special education,  family counseling, and curriculum development. 

Jennifer has worked in the field of communication disorders for almost fifteen years.  She graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in communication disorders and received her M.S. degree in Speech and Language Pathology in 1996 from Worcester State College.  Jennifer has professional experience in a variety of settings including skilled nursing facilities, private practice, public and nonpublic school settings, head injury rehabilitation centers, early intervention, and day programs for developmentally and emotionally disabled adults.  Her interests include, but are not limited to, the following: auditory processing disorders, feeding and oral motor disorders and stuttering.  Jennifer is also a certified Hanen speech-language pathologist.

In addition to her private practice, Jennifer Katz, Inc., Jennifer is a board member of the Autism Social Connection and has worked as adjunct professor at San Francisco State University and supervises graduate student clinicians working toward their degree in speech language pathology.

In 2003 Amory combined a lifelong interest in cultures with her focus on children and learning by founding Language in Action, a language immersion preschool offering Spanish and Mandarin programs.  Through her work as an educational entrepreneur she has seen the effectiveness of early childhood programs in teaching children a second, or third, language. Amory conceived of Boost after her family's experience raising a child with learning challenges, when it was difficult to find an approach that integrated developmental therapies and preschool educational programs.  Prior to her work in education, Amory was on the founding teams of successful educational and technology companies. Education and technology first intersected in her career when she worked at Knowledge Adventure, where she produced award winning educational software for children.  She subsequently joined the launch team at CNET, where she was responsible for reviews of new software and websites.  After starting a family, Amory pursued her interest in creating learning opportunities for children as a board game inventor and designer with USAopoly.  Amory completed her Electrical Engineering degree at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Amy Heller received her M.S. degree in communicative disorders from San Francisco State University and her B.S. degree in human development with a minor in linguistics from University of California, Davis.  Amy has worked both with adults and children in a variety of settings, ranging from in-home care to clinic based treatment.  Prior to joining the team at Jennifer Katz, Inc. and Boost Preschool,  Amy worked at Children's Hospital Los Angeles where she worked with children on both an inpatient and outpatient status. She worked with a wide variety of children including those with craniofacial anomalies, hearing impairment, traumatic brain injury, tracheotomies, speaking valves and feeding, swallowing and oral motor difficulties.  In addition, Amy has worked with children with a variety of speech and language disorders, including those using augmentative and alternative communication devices. She has enjoyed working with and treating those with special needs for over eight years.  Amy is dedicated to and passionate about working with her clients and their families.

Ashley has been working with children for the past 5 years while working towards her degree in Early Childhood Education, Ashley has a strong passion for nurturing, encouraging, and educating children. She has worked closely with parents, teachers, and therapists to achieve ideal environments where children can thrive. In addition she has had the privilege of being a part of the Theraplay team at Jennifer Katz's office.  Ashley has always been fascinated in the cognitive behavior of people and is especially drawn to children in this respect.  “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” - Maya Angelou

Elisabeth Meikle graduated from Westmont College with a B.S. in Kinesiology and received her M.S. in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State in 2010.  Elisabeth has experience in a variety of settings including acute rehabilitation, skilled nursing facilities, pediatric private practice, public school settings, early intervention, a homeless shelter, and an after-school program for teens with developmental disabilities.  She has been trained in various coursework for children with a variety of delays and/or diagnoses, including Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Difficulties, developmental delays, and fine motor/visual motor skill development.  Additionally, Elisabeth is trained in the Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) program and has conducted research in this area.  She has been a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Occupational Therapy Association of California since 2008.  Elisabeth enjoys using a play-based and family-centered approach to therapy in order to maximize every child's potential.  She has extensive cross-cultural experience and is fluent in Spanish.  In addition to her work at Boost, Elisabeth currently works at OT 4 Kids, a pediatric private practice in Belmont, CA.

El Beh has worked with kids, music and cognition for over fifteen years and she has a deep passion for learning through play and playing with music. She has taught everything from private piano and cello lessons to early childhood developmental music classes to university-level West-African drumming. She places special emphasis on an integrated curriculum that develops the whole child.   She creates a rich music environment that encourages the emotional and mental stabilization necessary for children to grow and play to their full potential. El holds a BA in Theater, Dance and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley and is a certified Music Together®  teacher, currently teaching many classes in San Francisco. She continues her study of the mental, physical and emotional effects of music with Education Through Music taught by the Richard’s Institute of Music and Research and Brain Gym. She is a professional actor and accomplished cellist and singer working with many notable Bay Area theatre companies.