Monica Griffin

Registered and Licensed Dietitian

Monica Griffin is a nationally registered and licensed dietitian in Georgia with Bright from the Start. As the Nutrition Education Manager, Monica helps early learning professionals serve nutritious meals and support healthy environments for children, parents and providers. She is a Georgia approved specialty trainer, and has trained hundreds of teachers, directors, cooks and other early learning professionals on nutrition and physical activity best practices.

Monica is co-chair of the Early Learning Workgroup of the Georgia Nutrition and Physical Activity Steering Committee, and chair of the Bright from the Start Employee Wellness Committee. She is a part-time instructor at Georgia State University and a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is also a ServSafe® Food Safety Manager certified instructor.

Monica earned a B.S. in Dietetics with a Health Promotion Specialization at Michigan State University, and an M.S. in Public Health Nutrition with a Maternal and Child Health Specialization at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.

Jennie Couture, M.A.

Early Care and Education Inclusion Specialist

Jennie Couture is an Early Care and Education Inclusion Specialist and has more than thirty years of experience providing educational and behavioral support to children with learning disabilities, social-emotional challenges, sensory impairments and multiple disabilities.

Jennie has her Master’s in Learning Disabilities from Georgia College and State University. She has vast experience in development and administration of private and state-funded programs including hospital-based educational services, outpatient psychotherapy programs for children, adolescents and adults, home-based services to children and families in natural environments.

Michele Martin

ASHA Certified Speech-Language Pathologist

Michele Martin, a fully PITC certified Infant Toddler Specialist, has been with the SCPITC Network since 2011, working with child care programs in the Midlands area. She has 30 years of experience working with children and families in a variety of settings including 12 years’ experience working as Director of an early childhood school readiness initiative and as Director of a Child Care Resource and Referral Agency (CCR&R) as well as 15 years’ experience working with Head Start centers. Michele is a Master Certified Trainer and Level 2 Certified Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) with the South Carolina Center for Child Care Career Development and is also a South Carolina licensed, ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist. She earned a B.A. degree from Columbia College and a M.S. degree from the University of Alabama.

Seema Csukas, M.D., Ph.D.

Board-Certified Pediatrician

Seema Csukas, M.D., Ph.D., is the Interim Program Director of the Maternal and Child Health and WIC programs in the Georgia Department of Public Health. She is a board-certified pediatrician and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Csukas focuses on programs that address maternal health, improved birth outcomes, child health, early intervention programs, children with special healthcare needs, oral health and injury prevention. She is also committed to collaboration with community organizations to address systems of care and surveillance that will improve health outcomes.

Previously, Dr. Csukas worked as a primary care physician in metro Atlanta at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In her 16 years at Children’s, she served in a number of leadership roles including Medical Director for Primary Care Services, Director of Child Health Promotion and Medical Director for Child Wellness. She has been involved in a number of community organizations including Safe Kids Georgia, the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the Babies Born Healthy Leadership Council of the United Way of Metro Atlanta and others.

Dr. Csukas earned her bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta. She received her medical and doctorate degrees from the Georgia Medical Sciences University (formerly the Medical College of Georgia) in Augusta. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Prior to coming to Atlanta, Dr. Csukas was on faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Stephanie Delk

Licensed Physical Therapist

Stephanie Delk is a Licensed Physical Therapist who resides in Virginia and is employed at Child Development Resources, a nationally recognized Early Intervention agency that provides services for children from birth to three years of age who have disabilities or delays in their development.

Stephanie holds a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Evansville, and a Masters Degree in Human Movement Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She has over 19 years of experience in the field and has practiced in a wide variety of settings including pediatric hospitals, outpatient centers, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, school systems, and early intervention programs.  She especially enjoys working with children and families in their homes and natural environments.