SPOKANE, Wash.—Courtni and Stephen Doherty, owners of Circle Creek Therapy, a multi-disciplinary therapy practice for children and adults in Auburn, Wash., have earned the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2025 Washington Small Business Person(s) of the Year award. Circle Creek Therapy has also been named the Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Star Client of the Year.
The Dohertys will be honored for both awards at the Small Business Awards Gala on May 7 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
“Businesses such as Circle Creek Therapy create a ripple effect of positive impact—providing clients with consistently high-quality care, supporting employees with strong leadership and a healthy workplace, and strengthening the entire community through reliable, compassionate service,” said Sheryl McGrath, state director of the Washington SBDC.
“When a business puts integrity and excellence at its core, everyone benefits. We are proud to name Circle Creek Therapy as our 2025 Star Client and celebrate not just their success, but the difference they make every day.”
Courtni Doherty founded Circle Creek Therapy in 2015 as a sole practitioner offering in-home speech therapy sessions for children after school hours, and the practice has grown to a multidisciplinary practice with more than 30 employees offering a full range of services, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and mental health services.
Courtni said she first started thinking about the importance of holistic care when she was working one-on-one with children in their own homes. That work deepened her awareness of the challenges parents faced trying to manage and coordinate care for children with special needs that might require multiple therapeutic approaches.
“Speech clients often benefit from other therapies as well and it makes sense to offer them in one location,” Doherty said. Not only does it save families a lot of travel time to and from appointments, but it allows the therapists to collaborate and coordinate their efforts to help patients achieve maximum results.
Courtni was already making plans to grow her practice and focus on flexibility and holistic care when her own son was diagnosed with a neurologic condition in 2017. Even with her years of experience in therapeutic services, the Dohertys struggled to get their son the services he needed, which only deepened their commitment to supporting other families with special needs.
In 2018 Courtni reached out to Washington SBDC advisor Taryn Hornby for assistance securing an SBA-backed loan to fund necessary improvements at a new, larger space that would allow her to offer occupational and physical therapy services at the same location, along with speech-language pathology services. The Dohertys were on a tight deadline to ensure there would be no disruption in services to existing clients, and with Hornby’s help they were able to get it done. Over time, Circle Creek has continued to expand its services, including sibling support, parent education and academic tutoring.
Stephen Doherty joined the practice fulltime in 2023 as the chief administrative officer and that was the same year they established Circle Creek Cares, a nonprofit initiative to raise funds for families struggling to afford care. Hornby has continued to advise Circle Creek Therapy as new challenges have arisen, including assisting them in a 2025 expansion that increased their space to 19,000 square feet and added counseling and mental health services to their patient care roster.
On their website, the Doherty’s note, “We take pride in not only being a leader in comprehensive therapy services but also in our dedication to providing seamless, uninterrupted care to every individual we serve.”
The Washington SBDC is a network of more than 40 business advisors working in communities across the state to help small business owners and entrepreneurs start, grow or buy/sell a business. SBDC advisors assist clients in just about any industry and at any stage of business development. SBDC services are provided at no cost to the business owner and are completely confidential.
The Washington SBDC is part of a national SBDC program known as the America’s SBDC and is managed by a cooperative agreement between Washington State University and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). About half the funding for SBDC services is from the SBA and the other half is from multiple state and local funding partners, including the Washington State Department of Commerce, Washington State University, other institutions of higher education, economic development agencies and civic and business groups.
For more about Circle Creek Therapy, go here.
For more about the Washington SBDC, go here.
