Meet your Board of Directors
Isabel Jones, CTRS
Isabel Jones earned a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation from Georgia Southern University in 2020. During her studies she served as Student Representative for the GTRA board and a Teaching Assistant for the RT Department.
After completing her internship at Augusta VAHCS, she worked as a Recreation Therapist with children and adolescents in an acute and residential behavioral health center. She returned to Augusta VAHCS as an RT on Community Living Center Unit as well as outpatient programming and co-coaching the National Veterans Golden Age Games team.
She is passionate about serving the Veteran population, geriatrics, and the Recreational Therapy community. Her leisure interests include fishing, spending quality time with her family and photography.
Education: B.S. Therapeutic Recreation, Georgia Southern University, 2020
Population Expertise: Older Adults; Veterans; Behavioral Health
PAST-PRESIDENT
Juliana Van Gunst, CTRS
Juliana Heimann has been a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist for about 5 years, after the completion of her bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA. Juliana has experience working with older adults, children with intellectual/behavioral disabilities, and now works on the Inpatient Spinal Cord Injury Unit at Shepherd Center. She has been at Shepherd Center for over two years and during her time there she has been involved in growing the Return to Work committee, participating in community programming and various Health and Wellness Clinics, High Tetra committee, and managing the Recreation Therapy treatment plan for 15 patients.
Education: B.S. Therapeutic Recreation, Georgia Southern University, 2020
Population Expertise: Spinal Cord Injury; Older Adults; Behavioral Health
PRESIDENT
Meaghan Conway, CTRS
Biography and headshot coming soon!
Education:
Population Expertise: Spinal Cord Injury; Older Adults; Behavioral Health
PRESIDENT-ELECT
A.J. Sumser, MS, CTRS
A.J. is a 2022 graduate (B.S.) of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He has been a CTRS for almost 4 years and furthered his education receiving his M.S. in Recreation Management from Northwest Missouri State University. He has served on the GTRA BOD as the Treasurer for the last two years and is excited to be continuing into his second term with the organization!
With much of his professional work experience in inclusive aquatics and aquatic therapy, A.J. currently serves at the Aquatics Program Coordinator for Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency. He strongly believes in the benefits of aquatic participation for all individuals and has received multiple certifications in the aquatics industry. His personal hobbies also surround the water including SCUBA diving, kayaking, and lake-life!
Professional interests include higher education, networking, and continuing education having presented at multiple workshops/conferences in the last few years.
Education: B.S. Recreational Therapy, Slippery Rock University, 2022; M.S. Recreation: Parks and Recreation Administration and Management, Northwest Missouri State University, 2024
Population Expertise: Aquatic Therapy, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ID, Spinal Cord Injury
TREASURER
Jaquorya Ross, CTRS
Jaquorya is an alumna of Southern A&M University and recently became a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist in 2025. She is passionate about using recreation to promote inclusion, wellness, and meaningful participation for individuals of all abilities. In her leisure time, Jaquorya enjoys kayaking, rock climbing, and spending quality time with her family.
Education: B.S. Therapeutic Recreation , Southern A&M University
Population Expertise: Child and Adolescent , Veterans
SECRETARY
Kylee Colby, CTRS
Kylee obtained a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation from from Georgia Southern University in 2021. After starting her career at a children’s behavioral health hospital, she transitioned to the Augusta VAHCS, where she completed her internship. Kylee works on a Community Living Center, facilitates outpatient groups and is a co-coach for the National Veterans Golden Age Games. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her two corgis, reading, and engaging in water sports
Education: B.S. Therapeutic Recreation, Georgia Southern University, 2021
Population Expertise: Older Adults; Behavioral Health
MEMBER AT LARGE
TJ Willard, CTRS
TJ Willard is the Founder and CEO of Recreation Connections Consulting LLC, the Recreation Therapy Supervisor at Youth Villages Inner Harbour, and an Experiential Group Facilitator with Charlie Health. He has been a certified recreational therapist since 2015 and has built a career centered on advancing therapeutic recreation across mental and behavioral health settings.
He earned a B.S. in Recreation Management with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation from Brigham Young University in 2015, followed by an M.S. in Healthcare Administration with a concentration in Finance from Liberty University in 2021. His professional journey as a recreational therapist began with an internship at Youth Villages, where he reinforced his passion for supporting adolescents navigating mental and behavioral health challenges. Since then, he has gained broad and extensive experience in virtual, communitybased and residential behavioral health, adaptive camp programming at Camp Twin Lakes, physical rehabilitation, and adaptive sports.
With a primary focus on mental and behavioral health, he brings a deep commitment to evidencebased practice, experiential learning, and personcentered care. His decision to pursue recreational therapy was shaped by his own transformative experiences with experiential therapy, which continue to guide his work and leadership today.
Born in Atlanta and raised in the Harrisburg/Concord area of North Carolina, he is dedicated to strengthening the recreational therapy profession within Georgia. His desire to serve as a memberatlarge for the Georgia Therapeutic Recreation Association reflects his commitment to advancing the field, supporting practitioners, and contributing to the growth of recreational therapy statewide.
Outside of his professional roles, he values time with his wife, Ianne, and their three sons—Enzo, Isaiah, and Zack. He enjoys being outdoors hiking, canoeing, and mountain biking, and expresses his creativity through music, playing tenor sax and guitar while currently learning djembe and West African therapeutic drumming.
Education: B.S. Therapeutic Recreation, University of Tennessee, 2022
Population Expertise: Older Adults
MEMBER AT LARGE