Larry Zier, OTD, OTR/L, earned his clinical doctorate degree from Creighton University. He has received training in the areas of sensory...
Our Team
Therapists
Amy Zier, MS, OTR/L, Ph.D
Founder, Supervisor
Dr. Amy Zier founded Amy Zier & Associates, Inc. in 1997 in response to the limitations of traditional therapy settings...
Emma Fricke, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Working with an adaptive fitness group in Madison, Wisconsin inspired Emma‘s career as an occupational therapist. She loved finding ways...
Vasilios Niphoratos, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Vasilios is a Senior Occupational Therapist who started his OT career at Amy Zier & Associates over five years ago....
Sophia Mendoza MS, OTR/L
Clinical Manager, Occupational Therapist
Sophia’s path to occupational therapy was heavily influenced by events in her own life: Becoming a parent to preemie twins...
Jessie Simkins, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
The day Jessie learned about OT, she knew it was her dream profession. Occupational Therapy combines physical and mental health...
Karen Dilfer, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Karen has a bachelor of science degree from Calvin College and a masters of science degree from Washington University in...
Eliana Sigel-Epstein, MSW, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Eliana graduated from Tufts University in Medford, MA, and received her Masters of Social Work from the University of Chicago. She has experience working with children and parents in a variety of contexts...
Paulina Pei, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Paulina received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and her Master of...
Lauren Ship, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Lauren has experience working with children of all ages and various diagnoses in school and clinical settings. Her goal is...
Leah Forsythe, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Leah was drawn to the field of occupational therapy by its holistic approach, which involves diving deep to comprehend the...
Administrative Staff
Erin Gilmore
Operations manager
Erin has become an integral part of AZ+A’s team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Art and Psychology. Her favorite thing about being AZ+A’s operations manager is getting to talk to the kids when she does work in the playhouse. Sometimes when fixing or install things with a hammer or drill, it is to show whoever may be playing in the clinic what is going on.
Her time at the clinic and working with the OTs may be the catalyst for an occupational therapist career of her own one day! Erin finds the work and the AZ+A environment fun and exciting. At some point, she thinks she has discovered everything, and then one day she notices something entirely new, like an exciting toy that may have been hiding previously. If she has her dream superpower of telekinesis, she’d be able to move all the toys around with her mind!
During her time away from AZ+A, Erin creates illustrative artwork, some for herself and some for people to buy. She also likes to rock climb, bike, hike, read, and explore different cities (as well as Chicago)