Lake Erie Music Therapy Staff
Board Certified Music Therapists
Craig Stevens MA, MT-BC, NMT
Craig is the founder and owner of Lake Erie Music Therapy. Prior to starting his private practice, Craig was director of Medical Music Therapy at Hamot Hospital and Health South Rehabilitation and worked extensively with Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Parkinson’s Disease, and ICU patients.
His graduate work focused heavily on Music Therapy and Counseling and he gained clinical experience in designing and implementing Music Therapy programs in Public School settings for Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities as well as in Teen Mental Health settings.
Superpower You Wish You Had: Time/Space Travel
First Concert: Def Leppard and Krokus at Erie Civic Center
Favorite Waldameer Ride: Wacky Shack
Best part about living in Erie: Explaining to out-of-towners what a Pepperoni Ball is (Art’s Bakery!!)
Favorite part about going to work: I’m still greatly humbled when hearing/seeing a non-verbal patient begin to generate functional language by using rhythm, melody, and song. Using music to change the non-musical brain.
Sam Krahe BM, MT-BC
Sam grew up in Erie County and graduated from Collegiate Academy and Mercyhurst University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy. During his internship at NeuroRhythm in Colorado Springs, he trained in creating and implementing data-based interventions and ABA principles with children and adults with developmental and neurological challenges.
Currently, he works with a variety of client populations including ASD, disruptive behavior disorder, Down Syndrome, ADHD, PTSD, behavioral health and traumatic brain injury.
Sam lives in Waterford with his wife, an early-intervention PT. He also enjoys woodworking, literature, wine-making, teaching guitar and playing around the area with his band.
Superpower You Wish You Had: Time Travel
First Concert: The Doughnut Man
Favorite Ride at Waldameer: Sea Dragon
Best part of Erie: Anytime you meet someone new, you can almost always find common
relationships with them
Favorite Part of Going to Work: Working directly with the clients within music and seeing tangible results
Brittany Barko MM, MT-BC, NMT
Brittany is a neurologic music therapist and multi-instrumentalist native to Erie, who was the first graduate of the Mercyhurst Music Therapy degree in 2013.
She completed her internship at University Hospital’s Case Medical Center in Cleveland, OH, where she gained clinical experience in oncology, hospice, at-risk preschoolers, sickle cell disease, and medical/surgical populations.
She completed her graduate studies at Western Michigan University in Music Therapy where she gained invaluable research experience and further developed her clinical skills in neurological rehabilitation.
Superpower You Wish You Had: Speak any language fluently
First Concert: Martina McBride and Alan Jackson at the Warner
Favorite Ride at Waldameer: Thunder River!!!!
Best Part About Living in Erie: Grape country
Favorite Part of Going to Work: The look on clients’ faces when they realize they accomplished something new through music
Christopher Tobin BA, MT-BC
Chris graduated from Mercyhurst University with his bachelor’s degree in music therapy. Throughout his undergraduate career, he worked with both children and adults, including clients with developmental disabilities, behavioral disorders, and traumatic brain injury.
Chris was also accepted into the highly competitive internship at NeuroRhythm in Colorado Springs, where he trained in the science of creating and implementing data-based interventions and ABA principles with children and adults. There he gained vast experience in working with Autism, Rhett’s, Cerebral Palsy, and Global Development Disorder.
He is currently a Master’s Degree candidate in Neurologic Music Therapy through Colorado State graduate studies.
Superpower You Wish You Had: Flying. It would be great to avoid traffic and airfare, and I could go to any tropical paradise when I needed a break from winter weather.
First Concert: Blink 182 in Pittsburgh. I am a huge fan of their drummer.
Favorite Ride at Waldameer: Thunder River, especially on a hot summer day.
Best Part About Living in Erie: Beaches, Beaches, Beaches
Favorite Part of Going to Work: Creating an environment that makes productive and focused work feel seamless and fun.
