Meet Our Team
Our eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic Team is multidisciplinary and includes providers who have significant expertise and truly understand X&Y chromosome variations. Our team includes:
- Developmental Pediatrics: Nicole Tartaglia, MD, MS
- Genetic Counseling: Susan Howell, MS, CGC, MBA
- Endocrinology: Shanlee Davis, MD, PhD
- Occupational Therapy: Syd Martin, MA, OTR
- Speech and Language: Jackie Bolders Frazier, MA, CCC-SLP and Lindsay Cohen, MA, CCC-SLP
- Neuropsychology: Jennifer Janusz, Psy.D., ABPP-CN
- Clinical Psychology: Rebecca Wilson, PsyD and Adrienne Villagomez, PhD
- Research Team: Talia Thompson, PhD; Karli Swenson, PhD, MPH; Alexa Carl, MPH; Natalia Klamut, BS; Kayla Nocon, MS; Lidia Grzybacz, BS; Kayla Molison, BS
Nicole Tartaglia, MD, MS
“Dr. T” is a Developmental Pediatrician and the Founder and Director of the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic. She has seen more than a thousand patients with all varieties of X&Y chromosome variations during her tenure. She often spends several hours with families, and sometimes over two separate appointments.
As a medical doctor, she will review the medical, developmental and behavioral history, address questions and concerns about the child and their diagnoses, and make recommendations for the medical and developmental care of the child being seen. With older children, she will often request to spend time with the child as well as the parents separately. She conducts and oversees developmental testing for infants and toddlers with a prenatal diagnosis to monitor development and determine the initiation of therapies that may be needed.
Susan Howell, MS, CGC, MBA
Susan Howell is a board-certified Genetic Counselor and she serves as the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic, Clinic and Research Coordinator. She provides prenatal genetic counseling and serves as the initial contact for families coming to clinic. She can address general questions and concerns about the conditions, make recommendations for evaluations, and facilitate getting you ready to be seen in our clinic.
As a Genetic Counselor, she will gather information about the family history and interpret any implications, explain the genetics of your child’s condition and any implications, and counsel families and children about what X&Y chromosome variations are, what it means to you, how to talk about the condition, and concerns you may have about the diagnosis. In addition, should you choose to participate in our research, she will direct you into the appropriate study and facilitate any referrals necessary.
Rebecca Wilson, PsyD
Dr. Wilson is a child psychologist with a special interest in children with genetic disorders including X&Y chromosome variations, Fragile X syndrome and 22q deletion.
Evaluations with Dr. Wilson focus on early child development and social-emotional development, including assessment for anxiety, depression, mood disorders and autism spectrum disorders.
She has expertise in considering the learning, speech, and emotional aspects of X&Y chromosome variations when evaluating behavioral and social emotional problems in children and adolescents.
Adrienne Villagomez, PhD
Dr. Villagomez is a child psychologist with specialized training in development and genetic disorders, including sex chromosome variations and fragile X syndrome.
She earned her doctorate in school psychology at UNC Chapel Hill and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she first began working with children with X&Y chromosome variations.
Dr. Villagomez enjoys working with young children and their families in developmental assessments and behavioral play-based therapy.
Syd Martin, MA, OTR
Syd Martin is an occupational therapist specializing in pediatric neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders.
She is a specialist in the evaluation and treatment of children with autism, X&Y chromosome variations, ADHD, and other developmental delays. Her master’s thesis included evaluation and comparison of motor skills and visual motor integration in children with X&Y chromosome variations.
She evaluates and treats problems including fine and gross motor skills, self-care skills, sensory processing problems, and self-regulation disorders.
Jackie Bolders Frazier, MA, CCC-SLP
Jackie has worked as a speech-language pathologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado since 1975 and currently serves as the Diagnostic Coordinator for Speech Pathology at Children’s Colorado.
For the past 30 years, Jackie has been involved in a variety of activities including participation in “Brain Stars”, a grant targeting children with head injuries which involved working on a comprehensive manual for parents and teachers that describes the ramifications of a head injury and offers suggestions for dealing with the consequences of a head injury; served as a consultant for legal evaluations through the Rehabilitation Department traumatic brain injury team since 2000; initiated and managed a clinic for children with swallowing disorders since 1986; worked with a multidisciplinary outpatient diagnostic rehabilitation team since 1976 that assesses children with a variety of diagnoses including traumatic brain injury, learning disability, and cognitive impairment; and has served as the Speech-Language Pathologist for the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic since 2008.
Jennifer Janusz, Psy.D., ABPP-CN
Dr. Janusz is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist with expertise in the neuropsychological features of genetic disorders including X&Y variations, neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and 22q11 deletion syndrome. She also works with children who have other neurologic conditions.
Dr. Janusz’s research interests include examining the impact of neurocognitive deficits on a child’s social, adaptive, and behavioral functioning. A neuropsychological evaluation with Dr. Janusz includes a thorough assessment of a child’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, academic achievement profile, as well as other domains such as attention, memory, executive functions, and visual-spatial abilities. Results of these assessments are used to establish diagnoses, and provide recommendations for interventions and strategies to be used at home and in the school setting.
Shanlee Davis, MD, PhD
Dr. Davis is a Pediatric Endocrinologist in the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic and co-director of the eXtraOrdinary Kids Turner Syndrome Clinic. She has had the opportunity to help care for children with X&Y chromosome variations since 2004 and values being a part of the care team in the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic.
In the clinical setting Dr. Davis provides evaluation and management of growth, puberty, hormone treatment, and screening for other medical conditions including thyroid, liver, and metabolic function.
Dr. Davis is also passionate about conducting meaningful clinical research that will make a difference in the lives of children with X&Y chromosome variations. She is currently funded by the NIH and leads studies for boys with XXY and adolescent girls with Turner syndrome.
Talia Thompson, PhD
Dr. Thompson is a nationally certified school psychologist with a special interest in neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders.
After working as a psychologist in the public schools for five years, she returned to the University of Denver where she earned her doctorate in child, family, and school psychology with a focus on research methods. While there, she also taught graduate level coursework in special education and low incidence disabilities. She holds a certificate for early childhood school psychology with specialized training in the assessment of young children and ecological interventions aimed at supporting families and improving developmental outcomes.
Dr. Thompson’s research interests are focused on enhancing quality of life and promoting psychological thriving for children with developmental differences.
Karli Swenson, PhD, MPH
Dr. Swenson is a postdoctoral fellow with the eXtraordinarY kids clinic with training in fetal development and environmental exposures in pregnancy. She received her PhD in Integrative Physiology and her MPH in maternal and child health from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. As a researcher, Dr. Swenson is excited to understand different aspects of how chromosomal variations affect development, and to work with kids and their families to better understand how these changes will affect kids in the long term.
Alexa Carl, MPH
Alexa Carl is a senior Research Services Professional on our team, working on both the INSIGHTS and GALAXY Registries, the Turner Syndrome Anxiety Project, and other studies as needed. She received her B.S. in Neurobiology and Life Sciences Communication from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her Masters in Public Health from the University of North Carolina.
She has previous experience as a research assistant on a study addressing sugary beverage communication towards parents in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina. She is excited to take this experience and be a part of the eXtraOrdinarY kids research team!
Kayla Nocon, MS
Kayla Nocon is a research assistant and study coordinator for the eXtraordinarY Baby research study. She received her B.S. in Biology from University of Denver and her Masters in Biomedical Sciences from Regis University. She first became involved in research as an undergraduate research assistant in 2019 and joined the eXtraordinarY Baby Study as an intern in 2021.
She has previous experience as a laboratory research assistant in an ecology lab studying the evolution of species interactions at the University of Denver. She is excited to be working with infant participants, rather than being in a laboratory setting, and be part of the eXtraordinarY kids research team!
Kayla Molison, BS
Kayla Molison is a genetic counseling assistant and research assistant supporting the eXtraordinarY Baby Study and the INSIGHTS and GALAXY registries. She received her B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
She has previous experience as a biochemistry laboratory research assistant studying immune dysregulation in Down syndrome. She is excited to be supporting families through clinical assistance and research and to be part of the eXtraordinarY kids team!
Julia Byers, BA
Julia Byers is a Research Services Senior Professional that supports regulatory processes for all research studies of the eXtraordinarY Kids Program. She received her BA in Psychology from University of Northern Colorado and continued her schooling at Metropolitan State University of Denver to include additional education in medical sciences and healthcare. Julia has around five years of previous experience working as a Clinical Research Coordinator for CU Anschutz. She loves supporting research and is happy to continue her experience with the eXtraordinarY Kids team.