Linsey holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and child development and a master's degree in adult learning. Linsey completed her child life internship in 1998 at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (Dallas) followed by a twenty-two year career at Cook Children's Health Care System (Fort Worth), launching child life in the ER and establishing the role of Clinical Education Coordinator. In 2021, Linsey made the brave decision to leave the clinical setting and opened Lighthouse of Hope, a child life private practice in Dallas-Fort Worth with a focus on supporting youth impacted by illness, injury, trauma, or loss. Linsey is Certified Child Life Specialist, Certified Grief Counselor, Registered Wonders & Worries Provider, TBRI Practitioner, educator, and speaker. In addition, Linsey is the founder of the Student Educator and Coordinator Think Tank and a founding board member of the SACLP.

Linsey likes wit, hilarity, and pretty things. She believes in not taking yourself too seriously and that no idea is a bad idea for ten minutes.

Laura Linville has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for over a decade and is an active member in SACLP as well as ACLP.  She holds a Bachelors in Health and Exercise Science from the University of Oklahoma and has a native fluency in Spanish. Laura has also been a Certified Brain Injury Specialist. Laura began her career in 2013 at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, and after working as a Certified Child Life Specialist on the Liver Transplant and Inpatient Rehabilitation units, she moved to Oklahoma. Laura then worked at The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma followed by INTEGRIS Children's Health in Oklahoma City. She has had the privilege to be a Practicum and Internship Student Coordinator and also assisted in creating special events, such as Fairytale Ball/Glow Ball, while also caring for children on varying units (i.e. Adolescent Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Stem Cell Transplant, Outpatient Surgery, General Medicine, Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit and Disordered Eating unit). Laura was then offered the opportunity to assist in the building of a brand-new child life program at INTEGRIS Children's at Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma while advancing and holding the position of Clinical Development Specialist for this team until the fall of 2023. Laura is excited to focus her time and efforts to continuing the strong work of SACLP to aid in the growth and development of the Child Life field within our region.

Leah discovered the field of child life as a junior volunteer at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in the 1980’s. Choosing her educational path with child life in mind, Leah received a BS in Psychology from Texas Christian University in 1993, completing both a practicum and internship at Cook Children’s, followed by an MS in Child Development from UT Austin in 1995. When life events led to areas of the US where child life positions were not available, Leah spent the next 15 years working in the field of early childhood where she taught children, parents and professionals through several non-profit organizations and the Head Start/Early Head Start program. In 2010, Leah found her way back to Temple, Texas, where she grew up, and back to the field of child life. Leah completed a second internship and fellowship at McLane Children’s Hospital, and has been there ever since. Leah has worked in various areas throughout the hospital and currently works in day surgery, special procedures, radiology and hem/onc.

At McLane Children’s, Leah is co-chair of the student committee and a member of shared governance and the bereavement committee. She is co-founder of Pawsitive Pals facility dog program and her greatest joy comes from working with facility dog Lorenzo by her side. Leah has served on the professional develop committees for both ACLP and SACLP, as well as the SACLP student committee. Leah is excited to serve as student committee chair and looks forward to continuing to support students entering the field of child life.

In her free time, Leah enjoys spending time with family and friends, singing, crafting, cooking, traveling and spending time outside.

Eli was born and raised in Houston, TX where they completed their undergraduate degree at the University of Houston in 2018, originally studying to become an educator. After teaching in public and private schools while obtaining a Master’s in Child Life, Eli completed their child life internship at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, TX in 2021. Since then, Eli returned to Houston where they work at Texas Children’s Hospital in outpatient Radiology as a child life specialist.

Before being elected as the SACLP’s Outreach Chair for the 2021-2023 term, Eli also served on SACLP’s Professional Development Committee. Eli, remaining a teacher at heart, utilizes their position as a CCLS to lead educational initiatives pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion topics for Texas Children’s Child Life department as well as engaging in student programming opportunities.

In their personal life, Eli is an avid reader and loves to go camping in Texas’ many beautiful state parks with spouse, Jordan, and their dog, Sweet Pea.

Marja holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in educational leadership and counseling. Marja completed her Child life internship and fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Following that, she worked for 2 years at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, TX. Since 1995, Marja has been at Shriners Children’s Texas in both Houston, TX and Galveston, TX. Marja has held many different roles within the Child Life department at Shriners. Her current role is as the School Services Coordinator. In this position, Marja is able to utilize her teaching certification and knowledge of the educational system to assist patients and families with continuing learning while in the hospital and establishing school-based support once they return to their home school.

Marja has served on the SACLP Conference Planning committee for the past 5 years and enjoys being able to create learning opportunities for Child Life Specialists in all stages of their careers.

In her free time, Marja enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, reading and creating art.

Originally from Boston, MA, Sami completed her education at Wheelock College. She has a Bachelor's degree in Human Development and Counseling Psychology and a Master's in Child Life and Family Centered Care. While in Boston, she worked as a CCLS at Franciscan Children's for 3.5 years, where she had the opportunity to establish and grow the role of child life in an Inpatient Mental Health Unit. She moved to Texas in January of 2021, where she worked as a CCLS at Our Children's House for 2 years. Currently, Sami is the Adolescent Health/WISH Certified Child Life Specialist at Parkland Health in Dallas, TX. She works with a skilled team of midwives to provide developmentally appropriate education and trauma-informed care to adolescent mothers throughout their pregnancy and postpartum experience. She also works to reduce stress and increase coping for young children who have experienced the loss of a sibling during pregnancy.

Katie has always had a heart for supporting kids in healthcare and originally planned to study pediatric medicine. While at Abilene Christian University, she discovered Child Life through an academic advisor when she decided to shift from a pre-med degree. She earned her B.S. in Psychology and went on to complete a practicum at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and an internship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

A Texas native, Katie returned after internship to start her career at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, where she worked for six years, primarily in the Hematology & Oncology Clinic. During that time, she also earned a Master’s Degree in Child Development from Texas Woman's University.

Eventually, the opportunity to return to her hometown of Tyler, TX led Katie to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital, where she aimed to expand a one-person Child Life program. Today, the program reaches across the Pediatric Unit, NICU, pediatric surgeries, ER, adult units, and the adult cancer center on a consult basis and recently received funding for it's second Child Life Specialist. With additional certification from Wonders & Worries, Katie has also created a program to support children whose parents are navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

While Katie loves her job, her favorite role is being a wife and mom to her two little boys. She enjoys baking, playing board games, and taking family vacations, making the most of time spent with her family.

Melissa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master’s degree in Human Development & Family Sciences from Texas State University. She completed her internship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, then moved to San Antonio where she began her child life career working at CHRISTUS Children’s in the emergency department. Currently, Melissa works as a Certified Child Life Specialist at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital (CMHH) in Houston, TX on the general pediatrics and behavioral health unit.

Melissa consistently strives to participate in opportunities and discussions dedicated to increasing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within the child life profession. She currently serves as a member of the ACLP DEI committee and a member of the DEI committee at CMHH. Melissa is excited to serve as webmaster to aid in establishing a sense of unity within SACLP by ensuring the website is easily accessible to both students and professionals.