Dr. Wheelock and her staff provide years of medical experience with a passion for keeping your child healthy.
Valerie Wheelock - MD FAAP
Valerie Wheelock, MD is a native Texan: originally from Dallas and later from McAllen. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. She then attended medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Her residency training in Pediatrics was completed at the Children’s Hospital of Austin.
Since the completion of her residency training in 2006, Dr. Wheelock has worked as a private pediatrician in Austin. She maintains a good working relationship with the hospitalists and specialists that she trained with during her time at the Children’s Hospital of Austin.
Dr. Wheelock is a diplomat of the Board of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
On a personal note, Dr. Wheelock is a big animal lover…which you will notice when you come to the office. Most of all, she loves children! She enjoys caring for them, advocating for them, and watching them grow each and every day!
Dr. Wheelock and her husband have two precious children, Oslo and Portia.
Amy Eckerman - RD, RN, MSN, CPNP
Amy is a native Texan, living in both Austin and Victoria as a child. She has lived in Austin since 1995. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 1994 with a Nutritional Sciences degree and after a year interning at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, became a registered dietitian. Amy is passionate about child nutrition and has a specialty in childhood obesity management. After working as a dietitian for 15 years, she realized she wanted to do even more to keep kids healthy.
She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012 with a Masters in Nursing and began work at Dell Children’s Medical Center as a RN. In 2017, Amy completed the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program at U.T.
Amy is a mom to an active family including 3 teenagers and a very sassy preschooler. Outside of work and transporting kids, she loves to garden and explore the outdoors. She enjoys working with families and supporting children as they grow in mind and body.
Cheryl Powers - RN, MSN, CPNP
Cheryl grew up in Michigan and has lived in Austin with her husband and two children since 2003. She has an undergraduate degree in Health Sciences from Western Michigan University and has been an RN for 20 years. Her nursing background includes caring for adult oncology patients as well as adult and pediatric patients in an emergency room setting.It was from her work in the pediatric setting that she realized kids were her passion.
Since 2007 Cheryl has been a part of our family here at Barton Creek Pediatrics. She has watched many of your youngsters grow up, and may be a familiar face to you and your family. In May 2014 she graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Masters in Nursing and is a certified Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Professionally, she is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the Texas Nurse Practitioners Association, and the Central Texas Alliance of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
Outside of the office, Cheryl loves being mom to two busy teenagers and watching her kids mature into amazing people. She takes great pride in watching her kids swim competitively. Staying active herself, Cheryl has competed in several marathons and triathlons in years past and continues to work out as time avails. She and her husband love beach destinations, going out to dinner and relaxing by their pool.
Jill Stanley - RN, MSN, CPNP
Jill was born and raised in Austin, TX. She graduated from the University of Texas with a Masters of Science in Child Health Nursing in 2012 and began working as a nurse at a pediatric clinic and urgent care. She always planned to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and went back to school in 2016 to finish her certification in primary care. She is a member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and enjoys staying up to date on current research through conferences and member meetings. She absolutely loves developing caring relationships with her patients and their families and is always happy to answer any and every question they may have about growing healthy, happy children. She strongly believes that healthcare should be a collaborative effort.
Jill is a mom to a sweet little boy and girl, who take up most of her free time outside of work. She also enjoys working out, baking, cooking, reading, and vacationing at the beach with her husband (and her kids, if they’re behaving themselves). Always on the lookout for yummy, healthy recipes, she loves to talk nutrition, and how to incorporate healthy foods into everyday life – even with the pickiest eaters!
Natalie Buchanan RN, MSN, CPNP
Natalie was born and raised in New Mexico. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelors of Science with concentration in Biology, Chemistry and Psychology. She then attended University of Texas Health Science Center (San Antonio) and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, where she found a passion working in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for 7+ years.
Natalie solidified this passion in working with children and completed her Masters of Science in Nursing from Texas Tech Health Science Center, becoming certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner in primary care (CPNP-PC) in 2016. She has a love for the family unit and is committed to healing children and preventing illness and disease processes.
When Natalie isn’t taking care of patients you can find her spending time with her husband and son. She has a passion for traveling , fitness, and believes food is the best medicine.