Meet Our Instructors

Kristie Snape: Owner and Program Developer

ksnape@adaptedswim.com

Kristie Snape is a special education teacher with 8 years experience in the public school system in Gwinnett County from 2005-2011 and Forsyth County from 2011-2013. Kristie currently works for Forsyth County Schools. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Interrelated Special Education from Georgia Southern University in 2005 and her Master’s Degree in Special Education from Walden University in 2011. She has taught kids with many different disabilities ranging from mild to severe including Autism, Asperger’s, Learning Disabilities, ADHD, Emotional/Behavior Disorders, Intellectual Disabilities, Cerebral Palsy, Rhett’s Syndrome, and Significant Developmental Delays. Kristie started Neverland Aquatics the summer of 2013 and has been growing the program ever since. She is a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor and is CPR, First Aid, and Aqua Kriya Yoga Certified.

Kristie’s Story:

“After enrolling my 2 year old son, Eli, in an infant swim program, I was immediately impressed with what he was able to do in the water within such a short period of time. Prior to enrolling him into the program, we were using flotation to keep our little daredevil safe while he was jumping off the edge of our neighborhood pool. Little did we know at the time, he was not safe at all. When he was not wearing his flotation he still believed he could jump in the pool unassisted, which led to a number of close calls for us. Eli is still a daredevil, but he now has a healthy respect for water, the proper skills and confidence to play and swim safely.”

“Seeing the success of my own child led me to begin thinking about the families and students with disabilities I teach each day. I immediately began researching available programs in the area. To my surprise, the options were very limited and the only available programs came with little to no adaptive aquatics instructor training. With drowning being a leading cause of death for children with Autism and other disabilities, I knew there needed to be a program in our community that would provide an educated and experienced approach to swim instruction for our students. I made the decision in May of 2013 to start this wonderful program that we now call Neverland Aquatics. Working with children with disabilities is my passion and providing this life saving skill for them is beyond rewarding.”

Morgan Wojcik: Enrollment & Schedule Manager, Recruitment and Retention Advisor

mwojcik@adaptedswim.com

Morgan has a Bachelors’s Degree in both psychology and communication sciences and disorders. She is currently working remotely while she finishes her Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Morgan has worked as a neurobehavioral counselor for individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries and as a residential mentor for young women on the Autism Spectrum transitioning to an independent life after high school. She also has an extensive background in childcare as a Montessori school assistant teacher, personal nanny positions, and daycare facilities. She is currently certified in WSI, CPR/first aid, and Kriya Aqua Yoga. She has always been passionate about children and enjoys watching them reach their full potential and have fun in the water! Morgan is excited to return to Georgia and hopes to offer speech therapy in and out of the water.

Elizabeth Peace: Adaptive Aquatics Instructor, Billing and Funding Advisor, Pool and Program Coordinator

epeace@adaptedswim.com

Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of North Georgia and is a trained Adaptive Aquatics swim instructor for our team. She also handles all billing and coordinates our Neverland programs. Her kind spirit and gentle way with her lesson kids speaks for itself! She comes to us with loads of swimming experience, including competing in the 500 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly in high school and coaching several swim teams, teaching swim lessons, and lifeguarding. She does an excellent job of tapping into the potential of each student with a balance of warmth with high expectations. Elizabeth is certified in WSI, Lifeguard, and CPR/First Aid. Her swim team experience and love of being in the water helps fuel her passion for helping people of all ages reach their swimming goals!

Corinne Thompson: Adaptive Aquatics Instructor, Digital Media Specialist

Corinne has been on staff as an instructor for 2 years. Corinne attends the University of North Georgia and is pursuing a degree in Communications with a focus in multimedia journalism. She has always had a passion for helping others and spent most of her time in middle and high school volunteering at her local therapeutic riding facility and the Special Olympic Horse Show every October. As someone who thrives on personal relationships, Corinne loves getting to know each one of her students and helping them succeed! Corinne is a certified lifeguard and is WSI and CPR/first aid certified.

Lindsay Wojcik: Lead Adaptive Aquatics Instructor

Lindsay is a WSI-certified adaptive aquatics instructor and is the lead instructor on staff! We are proud of Lindsay’s hard work and dedication! Her rigorous lessons and ability to adapt to different students makes her invaluable to Neverland. Lindsay has countless private lessons throughout the week and also teaches Neverland’s group swim class with the Ava White Academy of Innovation. Her silly soul plus her kind but firm demeanor allows her to relate to her lesson kids, she believes that personal connections are an important factor in being a good instructor. The few moments that Lindsay isn’t at the pool, you can find her at Starbucks or spending time with her sister, Morgan.

Cierra Cappon: Adaptive Aquatics Instructor

Cierra is a recent graduate from the University of North Georgia and works as an Elementary special needs teacher in the Forsyth County School system. Cierra moved to Georgia when she was 10 years old and has been swimming ever since! Her high school swim team experience and passion for teaching special needs children makes her a valuable addition to the team. Cierra is WSI- certified and loves being in the water. Her favorite thing about being at Neverland is connecting with her swim lesson students and their families.

Sam Morales: Adaptive Aquatics Instructor

Sam has always had a passion for teaching and helping others. Sam recently graduated from the University of North Georgia with a bachelor degree in early childhood education and special education. During her middle school years, Sam volunteered in classrooms and began volunteer work at a local therapeutic riding facility. These experiences paved her way to wanting to teach special education. With Sam’s gentle spirit and kind manner, she takes her time to understand her student’s strengths and needs in order for them to be successful.

Katherine Watson: Adaptive Aquatics Instructor

Katherine is our newest adaptive aquatics instructor. Katherine has lived in Georgia her whole life. She has always had a passion for working with kids and helping others and worked numerous summers at Camp Joy. Katherine currently attends the University of North Georgia and is majoring in Physical Therapy. In her spare time you can find Katherine reading or playing her clarinet. Her favorite thing about Neverland is being able to give kids and adults with special needs the chance to learn skills they will use in and out of the water!

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Not close to the Metro Atlanta Area? We are working hard to train instructors across the nation in our adaptive aquatics program. If you don’t see your location represented below, have your local swim school contact us about trainings! These instructors have completed our Adaptive Aquatics Training Course and are implementing adaptive aquatics programming at their own locations.

Phyllis Palma
Atlanta, GA
phyllis.palma@gmail.com

Ruth Hubner
Midway, GA
YMCA of Coastal Georgia
http://www.ymcaofcoastalga.org/
ruth.hubner@yahoo.com

Chelsea Ankeny
Mission Viejo, CA
Mission Viejo Nadadores Swimming
www.mvnswim.org
swimschool@mvnswim.org