Ms. Heaton is the Speech-Language Pathologist for Varennes Elementary. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Cal State Hayward in Biological Sciences. However, in 2012, she earned her Master's degree in Communications Disorders through the University of South Carolina and switched careers from working in science labs to working as a speech-language pathologist for Anderson County School District Five. Ms. Heaton says that she enjoys working with the 3rd-5th grade students at Varennes Elementary School. Together, they explore ways for them to overcome difficulties with articulation (making speech sounds), fluency (stuttering), and expressive and receptive language (how we use language to communicate and understand the language we hear).

Outside of school, Ms. Heaton enjoys her walks in the great outdoors. She walks at least 5 miles a day. Additionally, she is a lover of science and science fiction. She still has her Marvel comic collection from childhood. She hasn't always lived in South Carolina, either. She was born and raised in California, except for a couple of years spent in New Mexico. Ms. Heaton moved frequently because her mother worked for a construction company building dams, so every few years, they would move to another area where they were building a dam.

Ms. Heaton has been married to Robert Heaton for 37 years. They have one child, a daughter, Hayley who recently earned her Ph.D in Linguistics from the University of Michigan. They have also had dozens of cats, and currently have four in the house.

Mrs. Heaton loves her job and the work she does. Ms. Heaton says, "I'm happy to have found a career that will allow me to help students overcome speech and language disabilities and help them acquire skills that will help them to succeed in the classroom.