Proud to be your partner in care
Working with families and experts, we aim to provide the best care for children with complex medical needs.
Connected to the best hospitals in the country
We believe every child deserves a childhood
So we envision a world where all children, regardless of their condition or situation, have access to the medical care and support they deserve.
+300
children in our care in 2023
No. 1
the largest PPEC provider in the country
1,000+
years of combined medical experience
We focus on children with complex needs
We seek to be the leading provider of services for families of children with complex medical needs.
A mission to have an impact
Before Spark Pediatrics, children with complex medical needs were left behind by the medical and care communities, stuck at home or in a hospital. Reliable care was hard to come by. Daycares were not equipped or trained to support their condition. Childhoods were spent in isolation.
We envisioned a safe and joyful place for these children. Our medical daycares offer the most advanced medical care and therapies in a social daycare setting. Children can experience friendships and participate in activities designed just for them. Families can rest assured that we are uniquely able to understand and meet their child’s needs.
Our team has decades of combined experience supporting a wide range of conditions. We have an ambition to ensure every child has a chance to develop and reach their full potential. And we work within our local and medical communities to better support our families.
Advocate for our families
Ensure safety and inclusivity
Connect and build communities
Embrace the service mindset
Our Director’s of Nursing
We’re passionate about pediatric care.
Stacey Vinci
Stacey comes to us with 5 years of pediatric nursing experience. Most recently, spending 2 years in the Pediatric ICU at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. She holds an Associate of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. She thrives working with pediatric patients; encouraging their fun, curious personalities while always focusing on the patient as a whole and managing their complex medical needs.
Outside of work Stacey enjoys family time with her husband and two energetic boys, beach time, and being active outdoors.
Yovany Gongora
Yovany comes to us with over seven years of nursing experience. He currently oversees our FIU and Florida City locations. He holds a Master of Science in Nursing. Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, he was a part of Angels Home health as a registered nurse for two years.
Yovany has a deep passion for working with children and community service. He loves when parents get to see all of the expertise and compassion that goes into the care at Spark Pediatrics. “They love the way we treat their kids,” he says. For Yovany, his work at Spark is a calling: “Spark is part of my success as a nurse. I see Spark as part of my family.”
Sheree Pritchard
Sheree comes to us with over 13 years of nursing experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and previously held the role of Director of Emergency, Trauma, PICU & Pediatric Services at HCA Healthcare for seven years.
Before joining our team, she worked as a travel RN with Aya Healthcare in emergency departments across the country. She also previously held and emergency role at St. Francis Medical Center and a pediatric RN role at River Region Medical Center. Sheree is passionate about providing a safe, welcoming alternative for families of children with complex medical needs to afford them “the best childhood available to them.”
She is a mother of three who enjoys crafting with her children, and considers herself a student of life, driven by her curiosity and love of learning.
Alexis Breuil
Alexis comes to us with over 15 years of nursing experience and a passion for improving the day-to-day health and happiness of children with special needs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Florida International University.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was part of the Broward Health Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as a neonatal registered nurse, and the Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as a neonatal registered nurse.
Outside of work, Alexis enjoys traveling and spending time with her loved ones — she also particularly enjoys a great book at the end of the day. Her daily motivation comes from helping families, “I am a single mother to a special needs child myself. I understand the struggle that parents deal with day-to-day.”
Nicole Martinez
Nicole comes to us with over 14 years of experience. She currently oversees our West Palm Beach location. Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, Nicole was a part of Palms West Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for five years.
She believes in great communication between her team and families, and strives to create a sense of support and safety. Every effort is worth it because, “the kids are amazing and the impact we have to improve their lives is truly fulfilling.”
Jacquelyn Roslyn
Jacquelyn comes to us with over 10 years of nursing experience and developing long-lasting relationships with her patients and families. She is a registered nurse and also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of New York City Administration for Children’s Services as a charge nurse for 11 years. Part of her responsibility was completing medical triages for children entering into foster care, and working with the Care Coordinators to ensure all services were in place for the children to thrive. She also has experience in pediatric home care.
Outside of work, Jacquelyn is an accomplished illustrator. She uses her unique skills to be creative and develop engaging activities with our kids. As she says, “I’m a mom to two little boys who are my whole world. Family time is very important to me and as a mom, I know how important it is to have a trusting childcare facility that’s a home away from home.”
Dithmar Santos
Dithmar comes to us with over 20 years of nursing experience and has a passion for being as helpful as possible to children with complex needs and their families.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of an emergency room mental health center as a registered nurse for 14 years.
Lisandra Perez
Lisandra comes to us with over four years of nursing experience and has a passion for making the lives of children with special needs more comfortable. She holds a Doctorate in Family Practice, which she received in Cuba.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of Sonas Health Care as a registered nurse and Nurse1 home healthcare as a registered nurse.
Outside of work, Lisandra enjoys reading, traveling, watching TV, and relaxing in Port St. Lucie with her husband and children.
Christina Coltrane
Christina comes to us with over 15 years of nursing experience and a passion for helping children grow, develop, and learn skills. She holds an Associate of Science in Nursing from Florida College of Jacksonville and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Jacksonville University.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of Inpatient Pediatric Psychiatry at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Mental Resource Center as a charge nurse, and Pediatric Home Health as a private care nurse. She’s also experienced in telehealth emergency mental health evaluations for all ages.
Outside of work, Christina enjoys reading, spending time with her family and dogs, and learning new things — especially in the health and science field. She loves seeing children thrive at Spark, “Although it is sad when our children graduate, it is very rewarding to know that you had a major part in their healing and growth. These kids leave such an imprint on your heart and you carry them with you always.”
Angela Otto
Angela comes to us with over 34 years of nursing experience. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing and is a Certified Nurse Manager Leader.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of HCA Florida Blake Hospital as the Director of Critical Care Services for two years, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital as a nurse manager in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Center for three years, and the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital as Nurse Manager in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Center and Pediatric Intensive Care Units for nearly 20 years.
Outside of work, Angela enjoys traveling with her husband and spending time with family and friends—especially her nine grandchildren. In her own words, “My entire career has been dedicated to care of critically ill and medically fragile pediatric patients in the acute care setting. I love that we have the opportunity beyond the acute care setting to make a difference for these special patients and their families every day.”
Yovany Gongora
Yovany comes to us with over seven years of nursing experience. He currently oversees our FIU and Florida City locations. He holds a Master of Science in Nursing.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, he was a part of Angels Home health as a registered nurse for two years. Yovany has a deep passion for working with children and community service. He loves when parents get to see all of the expertise and compassion that goes into the care at Spark Pediatrics. “They love the way we treat their kids,” he says.
For Yovany, his work at Spark is a calling: “Spark is part of my success as a nurse. I see Spark as part of my family.”
Elia Figeroa
Elia comes to us with over 14 years of nursing experience. She is a registered nurse. Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of Hospital UPR Dr. Frederico Trilla in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Outside of work, Elia enjoys cooking. She loves helping children with complex medical needs and is motivated by making a difference in their lives. When asked what she loves most about her role at Spark Pediatrics, she said, “the love that I receive from each [child] and the love that I give back.”
Angela Diaz
Angie comes to us with over 23 years of nursing experience and has a passion for supporting children with complex needs and their families. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and has also completed national training with the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was at Trend Home Health Services as a registered nurse for eight years. Outside of work, she enjoys being a mom of two little kids, focusing on creative ways to spend time together and have fun.
Ellenora Collingwood
Elle comes to us with over 25 years of nursing experience and a passion for working with the complex care community. She holds an Associate of Science in Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a Master of Science in Nursing Education.
Prior to joining us at Spark Pediatrics, she was a part of Nemours Children’s Health Pulmonary Complex Care as a registered nurse for 11 years, as well as Fortis College Pediatric and Maternal as a newborn nursing instructor. Outside of work, Elle enjoys gardening and traveling.
Meet our team
Our executive team is driven by our mission and passionate about advancing pediatrics.
Melissa Lacy, MSN, FNP-BC
Melissa is Chief Nursing Officer of Spark Pediatrics.
A skilled, experienced healthcare provider, Melissa excels in leading healthcare businesses through high-growth periods, ensuring growth and scale goals are achieved while keeping in focus what is important: excellent patient care and clinical outcomes. Melissa is passionate about increasing access and equity in care, rethinking care model delivery, and elevating the role of the nurse globally.
Prior to joining Spark Pediatrics, she led clinical operations for Shearwater Health, a global healthcare company focused on improving cost and service delivery of U.S. healthcare workflows to result in improved health outcomes. During her tenure, Shearwater doubled in size and revenue. Her work in developing remote solutions in care management led to Shearwater being recognized as an Innovator in Avasant’s Clinical Services Business Process Transformation 2023 RadarView and a Leader in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix Assessment for Clinical and Care Management Operations.
Jeff Soffen
Jeff is Chief Executive Officer of Spark Pediatrics and serves on its Board of Directors.
A mission-driven executive, serial entrepreneur, and passionate healthcare advocate, Jeff’s career focuses on founding and scaling innovative health organizations that serve the underserved. Prior to joining Spark Pediatrics, he was a founding team member and senior executive at pioneering companies including Quartet Health, healthcare technology company that connects patients, physicians, mental health providers and payers to facilitate holistic care access and improve health outcomes. During his tenure with Quartet Health, the company scaled from an idea to a national business made up of 300+ employees with over $200MM in funding.
Jeff’s additional experience includes backing and launching a range of software and technology companies, driving clinical research at the NIH, and leading healthcare investments for J.P. Morgan.
Justin Chipman
Justin is the Senior Director of Operations of Spark Pediatrics.
Process driven and passionate, Justin's advocacy for providing high-quality care has led him to innovate new and creative ways to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery. Building on a foundation of nursing and in-home healthcare, Justin transitioned from direct patient care to leadership roles.
Prior to joining Spark Pediatrics, Justin was the Director of Clinical Services of the largest private duty nursing company in Michigan, Centria Healthcare, where he managed all services provided to both pediatric and adult populations. He also specialized in procuring authorizations for services, serving as a liaison between Centria, the State of Michigan, county health departments and private health insurance agencies, all while working closely with the Vice President to develop and implement growth strategies.
Leigh Robbins
Leigh Robbins is Chief Operating Officer of Spark Pediatrics.
With a deep understanding of healthcare service delivery, she has spent her career professionalizing and scaling multi-state, multi-site management models for both public and PE-backed companies. Prior to joining Spark, Leigh led Acquisition Integration and Operations of a $300M national physician services MSO growing nearly 4x during her 4 year tenure. Her growth mindset has launched MSOs through both joint ventures and enterprise models all with the ultimate goal of operationalizing exceptional care delivery and the business unit supports that make it possible.
Though she spent the first 15 years of her career in the mission-oriented healthcare sector, her enthusiasm and personal investment in Spark’s mission is unmatched and she firmly believes that an individualized care model is not just transformative for the child, but also transformative for the business.
David Cwiertna
David has been the Chief Financial Officer of Spark Pediatrics since January 2020.
David has over 25 years of finance and operations experience in the healthcare sector across multiple service lines. David’s patient-centric vision is born from his experience in hospice care settings, creating and running a not-for-profit foundation for hospice patients. David also has experience working in skilled nursing facilities, pediatric and adult home health, durable medical equipment, and nurse practitioner practices. His strengths include a passion for pediatrics, acquisition analysis and integration, de novo startups, creating finance operations teams, and building an environment of data-driven results.
Our Board
Our work is supported by some of the best minds in innovative healthcare.
Jonathan Lane
Jonathan Lane is the Managing Partner of Altitude Capital, a healthcare-focused middle-market private equity fund.
Jonathan has deep expertise in healthcare and experience advising businesses from formation through maturity. He also co-founded and serves as Partner at Elements Health Ventures and Elements Health Investors. Through both, Jonathan has invested in both mature and early-stage healthcare businesses, and incubated new companies. Jonathan started his career as an investor at Goldman Sachs.
Donna Lodato
Donna Lodato was the former Chief Executive Officer of Spark Pediatrics, and now serves on its Board of Directors.
Donna has had a long and distinguished career in healthcare, starting her career as a registered nurse and gaining extensive pediatric experience caring for patients in the cardiac-surgical unit, PICU, and NICU. She also has over 20 years experience in home health care, serving as the CEO of Secura Home Health and holding leadership positions at Loving Care Agency and Nursefinders.
Curtis Lane
Curtis Lane is a founder of Elements Health Investors and previously founded MTS Health Partners and WindRose Health Investors.
With more than 40 years of experience, Mr. Lane has either invested in or advised hundreds of leading healthcare and life sciences clients on their most sophisticated transactions. Prior to founding MTS, Mr. Lane led the healthcare investment banking group at Bear Stearns and worked at Smith Barney. Mr. Lane is involved in many philanthropic organizations and is the Founder and Chairman of Navigator Healthcare, Inc. helping substance use disorder patients get effective, evidence based treatment.
Robert Fuentes
Robert Fuentes is a Vice President on the Town Hall Ventures team.
He assists with sourcing, due diligence, and supporting our portfolio companies after investment. Prior to joining Town Hall Ventures, Robert was on Goldman Sachs’ Impact Investment team, Imprint, in New York, where he focused on healthcare and resource efficiency investments.
Anna Fagin
Anna Fagin is a Partner on the Town Hall team.
In her role, Anna helps drive the firm's sourcing and diligence efforts, and supports Town Hall portfolio companies post investment. Previously, Anna was a Vice President at 3L Capital, where she was responsible for investing in high-growth, technology-enabled consumer and healthcare businesses. Prior to 3L, Anna was an investor at Hellman & Friedman working to evaluate private equity buyout opportunities. She started her career at Bain & Company.
We’re here for your family
A dedicated team with a passion for pediatrics. If your child has complex medical needs, we’d love to share more about our care.