Meet Sonia Kirkpatrick, CEO, and founder of PediaPlex! Many of you know Sonia, but for those of you who are new here we want to take some time and tell you about the wonderful PediaPlex founder, Sonia!
Sonia is a mom to three gorgeous girls, Megan, Katherine, and Abby, and is married to her husband of 25+ years, Jared. The two met when she was attending college at Texas Tech University where she was studying accounting. After the two got married and moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, she started her career in corporate tax with a coal mining company in Dallas. She worked the length of her career as the Finance Director of Global Real Estate at Nokia. During her time at Nokia, she became a world traveler and made many great memories.
In 2009, she decided to go back to school at the University of Dallas to get her MBA with an emphasis in Global Business. At the University of Dallas, she was introduced to a network of individuals, many who have become lifelong friends and have helped her so much along the way. The idea for PediaPlex was born when Sonia entered a business plan competition at the University of Dallas. She won this competition and additionally won the Texas Business Hall of Fame scholarship for the University of Dallas.
“The opportunities through University of Dallas have been endless. Being awarded a winner of the business plan competition at University of Dallas and making PediaPlex a dream come true started my journey.” – Sonia Kirkpatrick
Once Sonia won her business plan competition, it really set everything into action with opening PediaPlex. In 2012, she left Nokia and hit the ground running to open PediaPlex. Fast forward to 2021 where PediaPlex is expanding to our third location and Sonia is being inducted into the Gupta Business Hall of Fame!
While the business competition might have been what truly started the movement of opening PediaPlex, Sonia’s idea stemmed from her older daughter, Megan, who has autism. Megan’s childhood was filled with doctors’ appointments all over the DFW metroplex and many unanswered questions. Because Megan was Sonia’s first child, she did not really have anything to compare to. When doctors would tell her Megan was experiencing a “normal development delay” and not to be concerned she took their word for it. It wasn’t until her second daughter Katherine was born a few years later that she realized something wasn’t normal. She saw how quickly Katherine developed skills that Megan had just barely mastered or was still struggling to achieve.
After numerous doctor visits, a few angry phone calls, and a determined mom, Megan was officially diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when she was 8 years old. With the combination of speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling Megan overcame her obstacles. Megan is now a college graduate, a thriving Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) at PediaPlex in Southlake.
The first PediaPlex location opened in Southlake, Texas in January 2012 offering a variety of services for children. Over the years, we have expanded not only services, but locations as well. With our Fort Worth location opening in November 2010, a Frisco location opening in early 2021 and plans to continue our growth in the Dallas/Fort Worth area we can continue to help many families.
Before opening, Sonia was told numerous times that she was crazy to take such a risk and give up all that she had accomplished with her previous job. But she did not let that scare her or hold her back. She took a huge leap of faith and has grown PediaPlex into an amazing company filled with employees who have the same heart and desire to help as she does.
“Embrace your passion and follow it and do one thing every day that scares you. Sometimes when you take that step to follow your dreams and take a risk the dividends pay off. It is not always easy. There is no easy road, it is hard work, there are lots of long hours and sometimes you sacrifice a paycheck for a payout in the end and most of all remember there is gold in every piece of your story!” – Sonia Kirkpatrick
From all of us at PediaPlex, we are so grateful for the hard work and dedication that Sonia has put into this company. She deserves this award so much and we cannot wait to watch her accept this award! To join us virtually, please register here!
-The PediaPlex Family
