Current job: Full time occupational therapist and peer leader at Gwinnett Medical Center.
Family: "I have been married for 18 years to Tony Strickland, who is a Gwinnett County fireman. I have a 15-year-old son (Chance), who runs track and cross country with Dacula High School, and a 12-year-old daughter (Brooke), who has an incredible singing voice."
What makes a good leader?
“A good leader is someone who facilitates the needs of the team without micromanaging. They can give constructive feedback and they set the example of expectations. They lead by example and are not afraid of the dirty work.”
What are you most proud of in your career?
“I am most proud of having a career. I was a rehab aide at GMC for 12 years before I decided to go back to school to become an OT. I continued to work as an aide while I went to school and managed my family. After I graduated, I took the full-time OT position at GMC. I have been employed with GMC 16 years.”
Who has inspired or mentored you?
“I had an incredible youth leader, Harry Pickens, who was like a second father to me as a teenager. He is a CPA and one of the first professionals [besides teachers] that I met. He taught me how to put Jesus Christ first in my life and that I could be somebody. He is a very wise man.
“The person who inspired me to become an OT was Mia Fuller. I worked with her when I was a rehab aide and I was completely amazed by her skills and passion for being an OT. I loved the idea of helping people function in their everyday activities, even though something major had disrupted their life.”
What’s your favorite thing to do away from work?
“Hiking, scrapbooking, hanging out with friends and reading.”
What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
“I love to take a hot bath with a good book and a glass of wine.”
Tell us something that nobody at work knows about you:
“I had difficulty with reading comprehension in grammar school and was placed in the slow reading group.”
- Compiled by John Brieske, Pulse Plus editor
