Our Staff
Roseanne Felise
Roseanne Felise is the Division Head II/Program Coordinator for the Helping Hands Program. She is responsible for supervising the clinical team including Therapists, Service Coordinators, and Parent/Child educators. She participates in program development, develops and maintains clinical procedure, direct service forms and procedural safeguards. Roseanne oversees transition of all infants and toddlers and
ensures compliance of Part C federal regulations regarding transition and timelines. As the program Coordinator, Roseanne is accountable for completing and submitting Grant Applications and the programs Annual Performance Report to the Office of Special
Education Programs (OSEP); its grantor. Roseanne worked as a caseworkers assistant in the Texas Adult Protective Services prior to joining the Helping Hands team in 2016 as a Service Coordinator where she worked 2 years before becoming the Division Head
II/Program Coordinator. She graduated in 2015 with her Bachelors of Social Work degree from Texas A&M University. Roseanne currently resides in Pava'ia'i with her Parents and 1 year old son, Kyle.
Arlene Taumua
Arlene Taumua is a service coordinator and an Infant Family Educator who has been employed with Helping Hands for 3 years now and loves the work she does there as her passion is working with kids. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Manoa, Hawaii. Outside of work, Arlene tends to her church duties and spends time with family. She hopes to be able to travel and see the world.
Joyce Ursolino
Joyce B. Ursolino, PT, DPT is a physical therapist for the American Samoa Early
Intervention Program with 16 years of experience working with children with special needs. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from San Juan De Dios College in Manila, Philippines and her Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree from AT Still University Arizona School of Health Sciences. She completed the CA-
LEND Zika HPS Program in 2018. She serves as a board member for the Parents of Children with Special Needs Network. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, baking, and hiking.
Gloria Tavita
Talofa Lava! I am Gloria Tavita and I am the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) Coordinator for American Samoa Early Intervention Program (ASEIP). I work closely with our Technical Assistants, Specialists, and also Staff members in making sure that all SSIP activities are conducted and reported within a timely manner. The execution of
of SSIP activities are to help improve early intervention services and support for families of infants and toddlers with special needs or developmental delays. I graduated from the University of Hawaii at Hilo with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. I returned back home in 2014 and began working for ASEIP in the beginning of the year 2015. The most rewarding experience that I continue to get from this job is parents reporting that they incorporate early intervention activities into their child's daily routine, and as a result they see improvement in their child's performance.
Letupu Tanoi
Letupu plays a vital role in Helping Hands. She ensures all staff members are equipped with materials to carry out their work for the day. She is the voice of the program when communicating with Procurement, Finance, Treasury, and more. She worked for Aiga Manuia before she decided to join Helping Hands family in 2017.
Maelynn Aiono
Talofa! My name is Maelynn Aiono and I was born and raised in American Samoa. I am a family woman focused on providing for and assisting family members. I am married to my eternal companion Jashua Aiono of Faleniu. I have an encountered many life lessons, but the most important ones have been:
1. Be Proactive: This attribute expedites promotion and earns trust no matter where you work in the world.
2. Leave the place, relationship, job or organization in a better state than the way you found it.
Finally, I hope to travel the world with my husband before our 50’s.
Becki Cohill
Dr. Becki Cohill is an occupational therapist with 30 years of experience with many age groups. She has worked with infants and young children in home based/ early intervention settings for the past 20 years. Occupational therapy promotes the independence and engagement of infants and toddlers and their families in everyday routines that hold meaning to both the child and family such as dressing, bathing, eating, and play. Occupational therapists focus on the interactions between a child’s environment, activity and their own personal/ family characteristics.
Becki is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of St. Augustine Occupational Therapy program in San Marcos, CA. She is a 1990 graduate of Colorado State University and completed her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in 2014. She has worked with Helping Hands Early
Intervention since 2016. In August 2019, Becki visited American Samoa and fell in love with the culture, the natural beauty and the sense of community. Becki lives in Colorado has two grown boys who are “cowboys”.
Patricia Rogers
Patricia A. Rogers, M.A., CCC, SLP has been a pediatric speech language pathologist (SLP) for over 40 years and a Tele-interventionist for 5 year. She has specialized in providing early Intervention services to infant and toddlers and their families(EI) as well a
helping her community plan for improving the provision of EI serves since 1986. It has been her honor and pleasure to work with the families, children, and staff of the Helping
Hands in American Samoa since September 2017 via Tele-Intervention. Her visit to American Samoa in 2019 was a wonderful opportunity to form more in-depth relationships with staff and understanding of the specific needs of families.
As an EI speech language pathologist, Pat evaluates children’s communication skills, coaches families and teams with staff members to help children improve their communication and feeding skills. Young children communicate with their family by using social interactions, gestures, sounds and words. By talking to their children during daily activities such as dressing, feeding, reading, singing and playing, children learn to
understand words and concepts. Feeding therapy focuses on helping parents learn
therapeutic feeding techniques following clearance from their physician.
In addition to the EI services for American Soma, Pat provides SLP services for an EI program and a home health program in Denver, Colorado. She has a Maser’s Degree from University of Northern Colorado and a Masters Degree from Saint Louis University.
She has lived and worked in Colorado, California, New Jersey and Virginia. She has not only provided direct services but owned and directed a therapy company. She has three children and five grandchildren. Her extended family also lives in Denver.