Therapists
Kim Embler, MT-BC
Music Therapist
Founder and Owner
Program Coordinator
Wimberly Giardina, MT-BC
Music Therapist
Internship Supervisor
Kim Embler, MT-BC has over 30 years of experience as a board certified Music Therapist. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Therapy from Charleston Southern University and has since worked in the Charleston area.
Kim has vast experience with a wide variety of clientele, including autism, Down Syndrome, intellectual disabilities, speech/language/hearing impairments and disabilities, visual impairments, physical disabilities and rehab, ADD/ADHD, psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, older adults, dementia, dual diagnosis, children/adolescent residential treatment, and early intervention.
Kim founded Palmetto Music Therapy Services over 25 years ago and has immensely enjoyed the opportunities she's had to serve the Charleston area providing individual and group music therapy services.
Kim is so grateful for the clients and families she has worked with throughout her career and feels especially blessed to be able to connect with her clients through music to aid them in their life's journey and encourage their success.
She is committed to the agency providing exemplary Music Therapy services to the greater Charleston community.
Laura Barnhorst, MT-BC
Music Therapist
Social Media Coordinator
Laura Barnhorst, MT-BC earned her Bachelor of Music Therapy degree from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. Laura completed her internship at Palmetto Music Therapy Services in April 2025, and she soon after began working with Palmetto!
Throughout her internship, Laura grew in experience working with individuals with various different settings such as memory care, special education classes, adult day care facilities and home-based services. Laura also worked with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, Dementia, Alzheimers, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Laura is very excited to be continuing her career in music therapy with Palmetto Music Therapy Services! Music has been the biggest influence in Laura’s life, and she can’t wait to continue making a difference in individuals lives through the aid of music!
Wimberly Giardina, MT-BC received her degree in Music Therapy and Vocal Performance at the University of Alabama in 2007. She completed her internship at Hand in Hand Early Learning program with the United Cerebral Palsy foundation in Birmingham, AL. After her internship, she began working with Palmetto Music Therapy Services and worked with Kim Embler until 2011 until she was relocated out of town due to her husband’s football career. During her years with Palmetto Music Therapy Services she serviced a variety of individuals and groups in schools, homes, and geriatric facilities.
Wimberly has worked with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, ADD, ODD, dementia, Cerebral Palsy, and hospice care. Recently, she has moved back to the Charleston area and is looking forward to being back with the Palmetto Music Therapy team. Wimberly now brings with her the experience of owning her own private Music Therapy practice in Southwest Georgia and is excited to bring further experience to her clients here in the Lowcountry with Palmetto Music Therapy. When she is not working with clients she is cheering on the Charleston Southern Buccaneers where her husband coaches football. Wimberly, her husband Gabe, and their three boys reside in the Hanahan area.
Rachel Hudlow, MT-BC
Music Therapist
Social Media Coordinator
Rachel Hudlow, MT-BC earned her Bachelor of Music Therapy degree at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, GA. Rachel completed her internship at Palmetto Music Therapy Services in July 2025, and she soon after began working with Palmetto!
Throughout her internship and in continuing with Palmetto Music Therapy Services, Rachel has gained experience working in a number of settings including memory care and long-term care facilities, special education classes, early intervention programs, adult day care facilities, and home-based services. Rachel has worked with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, intellectual and developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Rachel knows that music has shaped who she is as a person as well as a profession and she is so grateful to use music as a tool to support and connect with others! Rachel is so excited to begin this new chapter and her music therapy career with Palmetto Music Therapy Services, and cannot wait for all the music and memories to come!
Mary Margaret Stanley, MTI
Music Therapy Intern
Mary Margaret Stanley recently finished her undergraduate coursework for a Bachelors of Music in Music Therapy at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She served many populations through practicum rotations in her time at Belmont including older adults, patients in a psychiatric hospital, children with refugee status, and adults experiencing homelessness.
Mary Margaret began her internship with Palmetto Music Therapy in September of 2026 and is excited and eager to continue her education with the staff and clients.
In her life, Mary Margaret has been a witness to and a recipient of the power that music, and sharing music with others, can have on an individual’s life. She grew up singing and playing the piano and participated in musical theater for the majority of her life. She is excited to be able to share her love of music with the clients at Palmetto Music Therapy Services!