Nurse Practitioners / Physician Assistants

Georgia is a board-certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She graduated from UMASS-Lowell with a Bachelor’s in Nursing and became a Registered Nurse in 2001. Georgia worked as a RN for three years while going to school part time for her Masters. She then graduated from Northeastern University with her Master’s in Nursing and became a Nurse Practitioner in 2005. In 2016, she finished her Doctorate in Nursing from Northeastern University, and is an Adjunct Faculty Associate Professor at Simmons College. In her free time, Georgia enjoys spending time with her husband and children.

Meghan Aldrich is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Bates College and her BSN and MSN at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. She began her career as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Boston area prior to moving to Michigan in 2013 to work at Mott Children’s Health Center, a community health center located in Flint. She continued to provide care to the children of Flint until joining Pediatrics West in February of 2019. She is excited to return to Massachusetts so she can raise her children with her extended family. She enjoys all aspects of pediatric primary care but her clinical interests include newborn and infant care, breastfeeding support, and asthma education and management. Meghan sees patients in our Groton office.

Karen Balestrieri is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who joined Pediatrics West in 2001. After graduating from Assumption College, she earned her Masters of Science in Nursing from the Institute of Health Professionals at Massachusetts General Hospital. Karen’s clinical interests include asthma management, health promotion across the pediatric lifespan, and emergency medicine. Karen is a Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C). She is a devoted medical volunteer with Operation Smile, an organization which serves children with facial deformities and has travelled internationally on several medical missions. Karen also serves as the nurse practitioner for the Groton-Dunstable school system in collaboration with Dr. Coleman.  Karen sees patients at our Groton office.

We are excited to announce that Patricia Jackson has re-joined our Pediatrics West team as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Patricia Jackson, RN, CAGS, PNP-BC, PMHCNS is Board-Certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She received her Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Northeastern University in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing as well as her Masters of Science in Nursing from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts.
Patricia (Tricia) began her career as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with us at Pediatrics West in Westford, Massachusetts. She soon began to develop an interest in Pediatric Mental Health and eventually was almost exclusively serving patients with diagnoses of ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety and body image issues. She moved to our formerly affiliated practice, the New England Center for Healthy Minds several years ago, where she continued to develop her skills. We are pleased now to welcome her back home

Sue Jensen is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Smith College in Northampton, MA, and taught 7th and 8th grade science locally for 4 years before pursing her BSN and MSN at MGH Institute of Health Professions. As a former teacher of adolescents and a current high school athletics coach, Sue’s clinical interests include adolescent health and gynecology, sports medicine, suturing, physical activity and nutrition.  Sue sees patients at our Westford office.

Susan Kelleher is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who has been seeing patients at Pediatrics West since 1989. She received her Master of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Maryland as a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Society of Nursing while she worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the Harriett Lane clinic and Pediatric Emergency Room. She had served as the nurse practitioner for many years in the Westford School system. Her clinical interests includes providing care to well and ill children, newborns through adolescents, and college health.  Susan sees patients at our Westford office.

Jayne Laurin Kinney has been with Pediatrics West since 1988. She is a dual board-certified Nurse Practitioner specializing in Pediatrics and Psychiatry. Jayne earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree (DNP) at the University of Massachusetts in 2016, where she received the Outstanding DNP Student Award. In recognition of an urgent need to address the growing mental health crisis affecting so many children, she became part of a Pediatrics West initiative to integrate mental health services into the practice.  In 2020 she earned a Post Masters Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of New Hampshire, and earned her second board certification as a psychiatric nurse practitioner (PMHNP). With over 30 years of primary care clinical experience, Jayne’s practice has shifted to focus on mental wellness and behavioral health. Jayne sees patients on our Groton office.

Julie Bonner Leonhardt, CPNP is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and joined Pediatrics West on January 3, 2018. She received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology from Stonehill College in 2000 and her a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Nursing from the Regis College. After graduating with her BSN in 2004, Julie worked as a staff nurse at both Franciscan Hospital for Children and Regis College Health services while also completing her Master’s in Nursing. Since graduating with her MSN and becoming board certified in 2005, Julie worked in primary care pediatrics practices in Newton/Wellesley and Concord, MA. Julie is a member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and enjoys all aspects of primary care. She has a special interest in newborn medicine and specifically breastfeeding education and new parent support as well lifelong health and wellness. Julie completed training to become a Certified Lactation Consultant in December 2017. She sees patients at our Westford Office.

Dana Oliver is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She grew up locally in Sudbury, Massachusetts and worked at Westwood Mansfield Pediatrics before joining Pediatrics West in December 2015. Dana holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and a Master of Science degree in Nursing with a concentration in Pediatrics from the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Her clinical interests include newborn care, concussion management and general well and ill child care.  Dana sees patients at our Fitchburg office.

Kayla Simard is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She received her BSN from the University of Massachusetts and completed her Masters degrees at Regis College. She is a member of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau. In addition, Kayla is a Certified Lactation Counselor and offers lactation services in our Groton location. Her clinical interests include providing care to well and ill children, infancy through adolescence, as well as breastfeeding. Kayla sees patients at our Groton office.

Christine is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who joined Pediatrics West in June 2019. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and earned her Master’s in Nursing at Vanderbilt University in 2008. Christine previously worked 10 years as a Nurse Practitioner in primary care pediatrics as well as a pediatric nurse in Brookline, MA. She is also adjunct faculty at Simmons University teaching Nurse Practitioner students. Christine’s clinical interests include general pediatrics, acne management, and helping new parents navigate the transition into parenthood. Christine lives locally and loves hiking, skiing, and being outdoors. Christine sees patients at our Westford office.

Jessica Wright is a board-certified Physician Assistant. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire, she earned her advanced degree at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Prior to working at Pediatrics West, Jessica worked in adult and pediatric emergency medicine and pediatric primary care.  Jessica sees patients at our Groton office as well as at our Allergy West office.

Ashley Triehy-Kreitler is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Fitchburg State University in 2012. She practiced as a family and pediatric nurse for 6 years before pursuing her MSN at Massachusetts College of Pharmacology and Health Sciences. Ashley enjoys all aspects of pediatric care but her interests are in adolescent health, gynecology, and psychology. In her free time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her children and husband, crocheting and hiking.

Emily is a board-certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who started as an RN in 2012 working with medically fragile children before moving on to Post-partum/Special care nursery/Pediatrics at a local community hospital. She received her RN from Lawrence Memorial /Regis College before going onto receiving her BSN from Regis College and continuing on to her MSN/NP at Regis College, graduating in 2021. She enjoys helping parents transition into their new role while supporting and meeting the health needs of their growing child. In her time outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband.

Kendra is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Certified Lactation Consultant. She graduated from UMASS Boston with a degree in Biology. She found a passion for patient care while working as an Emergency Medical Technician, leading to the pursuit of a nursing degree. Kendra graduated from the Massachusetts General Hospital of Institute of Health Professions with a Bachelors and Masters in Nursing. Prior to joining Pediatrics West, Kendra has worked in home health care, caring for medically complex children, camp nursing and as a primary care pediatric nurse for four years at MGH. Kendra enjoys all aspects of pediatric are, but has a special interest in newborn care and lactation education and support. She sees patients out of the Westford and Groton offices.

Devin is a board-certified Physician Assistant. She received her Bachelors in Biology from St. Joseph’s College of Maine. She then graduated from Pace University in NYC with her Masters in Physician Assistant studies. Before starting at Pediatric West she worked for Connecticut Children’s Hospital as a pediatric inpatient and NICU PA at Danbury hospital. She then transitioned to pediatric primary care working for Sumner Pediatrics in Springfield Massachusetts. Devin enjoys all aspects of pediatrics and general wellness but has special interests in newborn medicine, NICU graduates, as well as adolescent health and emotional wellness. She will be seeing patients in the Westford and Fitchburg locations.