Julie Serra, Director/Lead Teacher
Julie Serra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Oakland University and brings more than 30 years of experience in early childhood education, including 17 years in leadership roles. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside young children, families, and educators, with a focus on creating environments where children feel safe, connected, supported, and valued for who they are.
At the heart of Julie’s approach is connection. She believes children learn and grow through strong relationships and meaningful experiences built around their individual strengths, interests, communication styles, and needs. She values observing children closely, following their interests, and creating thoughtful opportunities for play, exploration, and learning.
Julie brings a strong early childhood lens to Bridges’ interdisciplinary team and is excited to collaborate with our speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, educators, and families to support the whole child. She is also excited to continue growing in Bridges’ neurodiversity-affirming, child-led approach while bringing her extensive experience in early childhood development and teacher leadership to the team.
Julie is excited to join Bridges as Director/Lead Teacher and help create a consistent, connected environment where children are supported in being authentically themselves.
Outside of Bridges, Julie is a mom to two teenage daughters and enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and supporting her daughters in their activities.
Julia Friedrich, Occupational Therapist
Julia, MS, OTR/L, has been practicing as an Occupational Therapist for over five years across pediatric, school-based, and acute care settings. Much of her career has been spent working alongside autistic children, where she developed a passion for supporting each child’s unique strengths, interests, communication, and ways of engaging with the world.
Julia’s approach is neurodiversity-affirming, relationship-based, and child-led. She believes meaningful growth begins with connection and strives to create an environment where children feel safe, understood, and valued. By following each child’s interests and honoring their individual needs, Julia supports regulation, confidence, autonomy, and meaningful participation.
Julia is excited to join Bridges because of its commitment to connection, collaboration, and celebrating children for exactly who they are.
Outside of work, Julia enjoys spending time with her husband and dog, trying new recipes, exploring the outdoors, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Erin Metz, Speech Language Pathologist
Erin Metz, M.A., CCC-SLP is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with extensive experience supporting neurodivergent children and their families across a variety of settings, including early intervention, outpatient therapy, school-based programs, and private practice.
Erin earned her undergraduate degree in biopsychology before completing her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. Her work is grounded in a family-centered, relationship-based approach, with a focus on supporting meaningful, functional communication within the context of each child’s daily life.
She has received training in a range of developmental and neurodiversity-affirming frameworks, including the PLAY Project, SCERTS, TEACCH, and NDT. Erin is especially passionate about supporting the whole child and partnering closely with families to build skills that are both authentic and impactful.
Erin is excited to be part of the Bridges team and to help build a program that reflects the kind of thoughtful, connected support she has always believed children and families deserve.
Outside of her work, Erin enjoys life at home with her husband and their three tween/teen boys. As a family, they love to travel, cook, and share good food together.
Sarah Hintze, M.A., CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist
Sarah has been a speech therapist for four years with a special interest in AAC, gestalt language processing, and narrative language development. She is also certified in DIRFloortime and is passionate about using a relationship-based, whole-child approach to support every learner. Sarah believes communication is a fundamental human right and strives to create a welcoming, affirming space where every child feels safe, heard, and valued.
One of the most meaningful experiences in her career was working in a therapeutic preschool setting similar to Bridges, where she was blown away by the progress each child made. This experience showed her firsthand that when children feel safe, understood, and genuinely cared for, they are able to make the most meaningful progress. She is excited to bring her speech therapy lens into her role as a teacher at Bridges, combining her expertise in communication, DIRFloortime, and child development with a whole-child approach to help each learner feel connected, confident, and successful.
Outside of work, she loves spending time with her husband, their baby, and their two dogs.
