Dr. Laurie Harrier

Executive Director: Dr. Laurie Harrier, LP, LSSP, NCSP

Dr. Laurie Harrier has 12 years of experience working as a LSSP (Licensed Specialist in School Psychology) in various districts in the north Texas area including Arlington, Lewisville, and Denton ISD. Within the school setting she was responsible for group and direct counseling, social skills interventions, evaluations for various disabilities, and consulting with teachers and parents. She developed and ran a summer camp for children with social challenges. Dr. Harrier is a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Texas. She has created, and is the Executive Director, United through HOPE, a north Texas based 501c3 nonprofit. Dr. Harrier also has a private practice in the North Texas area that focuses on neurofeedback and neuropsychological evaluations.

Dr. Harrier has also completed the following Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) classes and earned the accompanying credentials: Director, Job Skills Trainer (JST), Job Placement Specialist (JPS), and Vocational Adjustment Trainer (VAT), Supported Employment (SE), and Autism Endorsement (AE), and can also complete Environmental Work Assessments (EWAs). Dr. Harrier often acts as an advocate in IEP and 504 meetings for her families. She has partnerships with various universities to supervise interns and practicum students, and her sites are often used for field experience and volunteer options for various disciplines. Throughout her training Dr. Harrier has focused on the developmental, biological, behavioral, and neurological underpinnings to various disabilities and disorders, and strongly believes that a varied and open minded approach leads to better understanding and generalization of skills. She has published and spoken at various conferences on social skills programming, executive function challenges, and generalization approaches in the school setting. To contact Dr. Harrier at email info@unitedthroughhope.org

Chelsey Thatcher

Chelsey Thatcher, LPC, NCC

Assistant Director 

Chelsey Thatcher, MS, LPC, NCC graduated from University of North Texas with a Masters in Counseling specializing in Play Therapy and received her BS in Psychology from Texas Woman’s University. Chelsey is pursuing her Texas requirements to become a RPT (Registered Play Therapist) and BCBA. Chelsey graduated from the Texas A&M Special Education Masters Program where she received her masters in Special Education and ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis).  Chelsey strives to be able to adapt her skills to help the varying family and child needs to become an effective integrated BCBA/LPC/RPT.

Chelsey has an incredible amount of energy and passion for children, especially those with special needs. She combined her passion and goals together in the Child Relational Therapy class UTH offers which is designed to adapt the traditional CRT for those families with a special needs child. Chelsey joined the UTH team in January 2016 as a volunteer, completed her master’s internship with UTH, and in October 2017 transitioned to an LPC Intern again underscoring her dedication to the field. She now continues with UTH as a LPC.

Chelsey has also completed the following Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) classes and earned the accompanying credentials: Job Skills Trainer (JST), Job Placement Specialist (JPS), and Vocational Adjustment Trainer (VAT), Supported Employment (SE), and Autism Endorsement (AE). Chelsey is able to also conduct ABA therapy under the supervision of the BCBA assigned supervisor provided by Hoomhouse. 

Rhonda Hardisty

Rhonda Hardisty, MS, LPC-Associate

Rhonda Hardisty is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, supervised by Caryn Whitmore, LPC-S.  Rhonda works full-time as the Special Education Counselor for a metroplex area school district. She has a background in both general and special education with 11 years as a Teacher and 4 years as a Behavior Intervention Specialist before becoming a Counselor. She has an M.A. in Education from Louisiana College, an M.S. in Counseling from TWU, and a certification in the area of Autism from UNT.  She is currently working on a Doctorate in Community Care and Counseling with a focus on Traumatology through Liberty University. She taught individuals diagnosed with autism for 8 years.  She admits she is a recovering helicopter parent with three adult daughters, and two adult step children, who enjoys supporting parents of and young adults with special needs and mental health concerns. Rhonda completed her Masters level counseling internship in May 2021, at United Through HOPE, where during the year long internship she counseled multiple families and worked directly with the Transitional aged clients. She rejoined the United Through HOPE’s team in November 2021 as a part-time Individual and Family Therapist.

Diane Davis

Diane Davis

Diane Davis is a graduate student pursuing her master’s in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University. A native of Dallas, Diane also attended Pepperdine University for her undergraduate degree in accounting. After working as a CPA at a Big 4 public accounting firm for many years in both Los Angeles and Dallas, Diane then worked as an accounting consultant for an estate planning attorney in Dallas. Despite a fulfilling career in the accounting and legal fields, she realized that she found the most value in connecting with clients on a more personal level as they worked through the details of difficult transitions such as parenthood, divorce, and death. Diane is also passionate about her time spent on the board of and volunteering with several non-profits, particularly those committed to child and adolescent character development. Upon completing her graduate degree, Diane hopes to obtain her professional counselor license and work in a private practice setting, specializing in individual psychotherapy with adolescents and adults.

Diane joined the UTH team in January of 2023 as a graduate intern. She is currently supervised by Dr. Harrier, Ms. Thatcher, and her Pepperdine University assigned supervisor.

Victoria Nobriga

Victoria Nobriga

Victoria Nobriga is a graduate student at Pepperdine University, studying clinical psychology. She received her undergraduate degree in public relations from The University of North Texas with an emphasis on crisis communication. Most of Victoria’s work experience matured within the sales community, which has assisted in the growth of her interpersonal and relationship skills. However, she believes her most rewarding job was at a local PR firm, where she acted as a community liaison for two nonprofits supporting animal shelters and pediatric cancer patients. Upon completing her graduate degree, Victoria hopes to obtain her professional counselor license and work in a private practice setting. She is open about which population she will work with and hopes that her time at UTH will keep her eyes open to the pleasures of working with kids, teens, and young adults.

Victoria joined the UTH team in October of 2022 as a graduate intern. She is currently supervised by Dr. Harrier, Ms. Thatcher, and her Pepperdine University assigned supervisor.

Srah Stanton

Sarah Stanton

Sarah Stanton is an undergraduate student working towards her BA in the public health field of Rehabilitation Studies at the University of North Texas. She has previous experience in the retail and management fields where she has worked with diverse groups from all walks of life and enjoys helping others be their best selves. During her time as an operations manager at a swim shop, she realized she wanted to move professionally into a field working with children, teens and young adults. Her current goals are to gain more hands-on experience within the rehabilitation field and to provide services for those in need of assistance. After finishing her BA degree Sarah hopes to continue her education and pursue earning a degree in Occupational Therapy where she can assist people in developing and maintaining everyday activities.

Sarah joined the UTH team in January of 2023 as an undergraduate intern. She is currently supervised by Dr. Harrier and her University of North Texas assigned supervisor.

Aaron McGinnis

Aaron McGinnis

Aaron joined the UTH team in December of 2018 as our amazing staff member who assists in all the UTH receipts that need to be created!  A daunting task but one she does great at and her time helps UTH keep running!

Sean James

Sean James

Additional Support for Lead Staff at the Group Social Meetups

McKenna O’Banon

McKenna O’Banon

Additional Support for Lead Staff at the Group Social Meetups

Andrea Mason

Andrea Mason Davis, LMSW

Contracted Supervisor for Social Work, LMSW

Charette Dersch, LMFT-S

Charette Dersch, LMFT-S

Contracted Supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapy, LMFT

United Through HOPE Board Members

United Through Hope is pleased to have the following individuals on the UTH board. Thank you for your support Charles Lerfald, Jim Oudesema, and Vicki Lerfald.