Shea Beshara, M.S., OTR/L, founder and director
Shea is originally from Baton Rouge, LA and moved to Birmingham in 2015, with her now husband, Brian Beshara. Shea earned an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Louisiana State University and then went on to receive a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Shea received the Outstanding Student Award in her graduating class for her passion for the field of OT, excellence in academics, and work ethic. Shea completed her pediatric level II fieldwork at Children’s of Alabama, in their outpatient clinic. Shea then worked in outpatient pediatric clinics in Texas and Birmingham before opening BOOST Kids in the spring of 2018.
Shea has certifications in Integrated Listening Systems, Safe & Sound Protocol, Handwriting Without Tears, and children’s yoga from the international Kidding Around Yoga program. In addition, Shea has taken several in-depth continuing education courses on the topics of sensory integration, sensory diets, and feeding therapy.
Shea is passionate about caregiver education throughout the occupational therapy process and loves watching parents co-regulate and connect with their children. Shea and her husband, Brian have 3 young children and enjoy traveling whenever they can!
Chelsey joined the BOOST Kids team in November of 2020. She is originally from Franklin, TN (only a few miles south of Nashville). Chelsey fell in love with the career of occupational therapy at an early age, and her personal mission is to promote physical, emotional, spiritual, and occupational wellness by empowering the children and families. Additionally, she is passionate about promoting feeding across the lifespan and has experience working with children with oral motor delays, sensory processing challenges, behavioral barriers, and combinations of the previously mentioned factors to expand their dietary repertoire. Chelsey earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Harding University, during which time she spent her summers as a full-time caretaker for a family with twins on the Autism spectrum. After graduating from Harding, Chelsey and her husband moved to Wuhan, China, to teach English for one year before returning to her home state of Tennessee to pursue their graduate degrees. She earned her Occupational Therapy Doctorate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, after which she worked in an outpatient pediatric setting in the DC Metro area before moving to Birmingham in the fall of 2020. Chelsey believes in the importance of providing a positive and supportive environment for children to learn and grow, which is why she is so excited to be joining BOOST Kids! She has a certification in Therapeutic Listening. When not at work, Chelsey enjoys running, yoga, experimenting in the kitchen, reading, volunteering, traveling, and above all, spending time with her family and friends.
Elizabeth is from Oneonta, AL and has grown up around the Birmingham area throughout her life. Elizabeth graduated from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2018 with her Bachelor’s degree in Health Care Management. After working in the field for a few years, she felt a calling for a career charge in her future. She has always enjoyed lifting others up and helping those in need, and knew occupational therapy was the perfect career. Elizabeth attended Wallace State Community College in Hanceville to obtain her Associate in Applied Science as an Occupational Therapy Assistant where she graduated in August of 2021. After passing her national board exam, to become a COTA/L, she began searching for a career in pediatrics, which is where her heart is. She is very thankful and excited to be a member of the growing team at Boost! In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family and friends, exercising, being outdoors and watching Alabama Football (Roll Tide!). Elizabeth is looking forward to her future with her fiancé, Dalton and their cat, George. Elizabeth joined the Boost team in December of 2021.
Emily is originally from Pascagoula, MS and moved to Birmingham in August of 2020. Emily earned an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Mississippi and then went on to receive a Masters in Speech-language Pathology from the University of South Alabama. She completed her Clinical Fellowship as a Speech-language Pathologist in the Birmingham City School District with The Stepping Stones Group, LLC , where she continued to work until June 2022. Emily joined BOOST Kids as the Lead SLP in summer of 2022.
Emily has always known she wanted to work with pediatrics and is passionate about helping children communicate and believes the best way to achieve this is through play and making them feel like they are being understood. Emily is excited to be a part of the BOOST Kids team and share her passion with her clients and their families. When not at work, Emily enjoys reading, watching movies, traveling, being active and spending time with her family and friends.