SHARON LOWERY, M.A. is the founder and Director of SmartStart. She received her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in 1989 and founded SmartStart in 1992. In addition to her work at SmartStart, she is a faculty member of Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL). Sharon has been awarded her DIR certificate by Drs. Greenspan & Wieder. She trains parents, professionals and consults with schools in the implementation of DIR/Floortime in school as well as home. Sharon has two children, Madison and Jackson.

DANAKAE BONAHOOM, M.A. has been an early childhood educator since 1982. She holds a Master of Arts degree and teaching credential in early childhood special education. DanaKae is nationally recognized leader in the field of early intervention. She specializes in developmental intervention with families of young children, with primary expertise in sensory interaction, communication and socialization. DanaKae has also been awarded her DIR certificate and is a faculty member for Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders. (ICDL). DanaKae has trained parents and professionals and taught extensively at the community college level. She has one daughter, Mia.

Teachers
SmartStart has eight special education teachers on staff. Each must complete an advanced degree in special education and have a minimum of three years experience working with special needs children. Not only has most of our teaching staff exceeded these requirements; they have participated in extensive DIR training and have benefited by having two DIR faculty as their mentors.

Teachers’ assistants
There are over a dozen teacher’s assistants working at SmartStart. Most hold bachelors degrees in special education or a related field and many are in special education graduate programs.

Therapists
SmartStart’s speech pathologists and occupational therapists are fully licensed and our occupational therapists are also certified in sensory integration. Our Developmental Interventionists must have a minimum of a BA in child development or a related field.

All SmartStart staff participates in a minimum of 8 hours of training each month.

Those interested in a career at SmartStart should visit our Job Openings page.