About Us
Meet the Founder
Christy Papania-Jones is a lifelong resident of Lake Charles, Louisiana. She is the founder and executive director of St. Nicholas Center for Children. When she started this journey, the idea that a child diagnosed with autism or other developmental delays could receive all of the necessary therapy at one place was non-existent. By her son’s third birthday, she and her husband Chris had traveled the country seeing specialists to provide him with the best future possible. They visited therapy centers in other states but had yet to find one in Louisiana. That’s when they acted on the idea to bring one to Southwest Louisiana! Christy worked at Immaculate Conception Cathedral School for 18 years where she held many different roles throughout the years as a teacher, counselor and assistant principal.
Who We Are
We are a nonprofit therapy center that provides services to children age 8 months to 21 years old diagnosed with Autism and developmental delays and disorders in Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas. We pride ourselves on offering multiple therapeutic services under one roof so that we can meet the needs of the whole child as we work collaborative to create individualized goals and action plans.
What We Do
We offer early interventions with a wide range of services including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. Services are provided in a fun, loving environment by our talented and dedicated professionals.
Family Support
Our Approach
Progress
Our Outreach Program offers education opportunities and emotional support to all of those in the community so that we can grow together with compassion and confidence.
Our vision is to be the state model of an all inclusive therapeutic facility by providing the best pediatric therapy and affordable services to children and families facing the challenges of Autism, developmental delays, and neurological disorders.
From saying their first word to improving vocational skills, we are transforming the lives of children with Autism, delays, and disorders one milestone at a time.
Our Team Members
Board of Directors
Shayne Laughlin
President
William Rachal
Secretary
Marybeth Sonnier
Stephanie Helms
Julie Morris
Business Team
ROSALINDA BILLEAUDEAUX
TRANSPORTATION
transport@stnickcenter.org
DENISE DUKE
INSURANCE COORDINATOR
dduke@stnickcenter.org
DYNETTE HOFFPAUIR
BILLING OFFICE MANAGER
dhoffpauir@stnickcenter.org
CASSIE HUDSON
BUSINESS DIRECTOR
chudson@stnickcenter.org
DONNA LEJUENE
INSURANCE CLAIMS SPECIALIST
dlejeune@stnickcenter.org
DAWN REDD
ACCOUNTANT
dredd@stnickcenter.org
MELANIE MCMULLEN
BOOKKEEPER
mmcmullen@stnickcenter.org
CHRISTY PAPANIA-JONES
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
cjones@stnickcenter.org
CLAIRE RIDER
DONOR RELATIONS
crider@stnickcenter.org
DEBBIE PAPANIA
RECEPTIONIST
dpapania@stnickcenter.org
MELISSA PRIOLA
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
mpriola@stnickcenter.org
JANICE MORGAN
SCHEDULING
jmorgan@stnickcenter.org
Clinical Team
ERIN BRADLEY
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
ebradley@stnickcenter.org
SARAH CHAMPAGNE
BCBA TRAINING COORDINATOR/
ASSESSMENTS
sparks@stnickcenter.org
KATHERINE COLE
BCBA CASE MANAGER
kcole@stnickcenter.org
CALVIN CRYER
BCBA QUALITY CONTROL
ccryer@stnickcenter.org
SARAH FRANCE
BCBA CASE MANAGER
sfrance@stnickcenter.org
KYLIE FREEHLING
BCBA CASE MANAGER
kfreehling@stnickcenter.org
LAURA HANCHEY
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
lhanchey@stnickcenter.org
ALEYA JOSEPH
BCBA CASE MANAGER
ajoseph@stnickcenter.org
MICHELLE KRAMER
THERAPY SUPERVISOR, SLP, CCC
mkramer@stnickcenter.org
BRANDI MALBREW
COTA
bmalbrew@stnickcenter.org
EMILY MCDONALD
COTA
emcdonald@stnickcenter.org
JONATHON MOREAU
BCBA CASE MANAGER
jmoreau@stnickcenter.org
JULIE SAVOIE
BCBA SUPERVISOR
jsavoie@stnickcenter.org
ELIZABETH SCOFIELD
SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTASSISTANT
escofield@stnickcenter.org
MEGAN SHEFFIELD
BCaBA
msheffield@stnickcenter.org
GEORGE (ZACK) STORER
CLINICAL DIRECTOR
zstorer@stnickcenter.org
ALEXANDRIA VIOLA
SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
aviola@stnickcenter.org
SARAH WHITE
BCBA CASE MANAGER
swhite@stnickcenter.org