1. July 23, 2016
To Whom it May Concern,
It is a great honor to share with you some of the things that I appreciate about Jon Botten. I
have had the pleasure of working with Jon at Children’s Therapy Center for the past 14 years.
The company was small when I started, about 20-25 total employees. I had come from a huge
organization where I was one of thousands and had no voice in the decisions of the company. I
instantly loved what a collaborative group CTC was. The culture is one of compassion,
acceptance, and putting the needs of the families we serve first. Everyone is encouraged to
participate and everyone’s opinion is valuted. This was modeled over and over again by Jon
and was continually inspired by his patient and observant participatory management style.
Over the past 14 years the therapy needs in South King and Pierce Counties have continued to
evolve, and Jon has navigated CTC through those changes in a graceful and thoughtful manner.
He helped CTC successfully restructure our therapy model as state and federal mandates
dictated changes in therapy services for kids under the age of three. He has facilitated the
development of several new therapy centers, has guided CTC through the challenging and
ever-changing world of health care and decreasing insurance reimbursements, and has helped
our little seedling of a therapy center blossom into a staff of over 125 employees on 7 teams
and in three cities. He has done so with an open mind and with input from everyone at CTC,
and while he does not hesitate to make a decision that is in the best interest of the company, he
welcomes and encourages feedback from everyone (everyone!).
Over the past two years I have had the opportunity to work more directly with Jon and the rest of
the leadership team as the site lead of our Tacoma clinic. I have further observed and
appreciated Jon’s leadership style during that time in terms of his proactive and innovative
thinking, his ability to inspire (he always has a great sports metaphor up his sleeve!), and his
refusal to think inside the box. He is not afraid to ask hard questions and to wrestle with the
answers, even when they are not the answers one would want to hear. He has said many times
that his most valued staff and board members are those who question decisions and are not
“yes-men/women”. It is that open attitude and approach that has kept CTC in business (and
thriving) when many other therapy centers have gone out of business.
Jon has an open door policy and usually has a bowl of chocolate on his desk because he
means it when he says he wants people to come in and visit with him. He truly welcomes the
opportunity to talk to anyone and everyone on staff, and treats the newest staff member and
“lowest person on the totem pole” with the same respect that he does fellow executive directors
and CTC founders. In all of the conversations I have had with Jon over the years, whether about
work or anything else, I have always felt valued, respected, and listened to. I recognize that
Jon’s humility and integrity are somewhat rare qualities in those with positions of such authority,
and believe that it is precisely these qualities that have resulted in CTC’s success.
While I am personally saddened that Jon is leaving CTC, I have such deep respect for him and
wish him an amazing next chapter of his professional journey. I know that if he ends up working
for you, you will be lucky to have him. He has left CTC and all of us there better for having had
him as our leader.

2. Thank you for your time. I would welcome the opportunity to answer any other questions you
might have about Jon’s character and leadership.
Respectfully,
Joli LaBissoniere
Joli LaBissoniere
Occupational Therapist
Tacoma Team Lead
Children’s Therapy Center
253-225-2437 - cell