Welcome to
GROW Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, PLLC
An independently owned practice in Central Austin, comprised of board-certified pediatric MDs.
We strive to promote wellness by focusing on healthy growth and development, and by providing evidence-based, up-to-date medical care in a family-centered setting. Our compassionate team of physicians provide comprehensive medical care to children of all ages, from birth to late adolescence.
Contact our office to learn more about registering to become a new patient, or to get information on our Meet and Greets. **Please note that before appointments can be scheduled, complete prior records are required for children who have received care elsewhere.**
We’d like to let our families know that we take extensive precautions to protect our patients and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, and beyond. We suggest that families with newborn patients (Age 6 months and younger) call to check in from outside, to be directed to an exam room right away. We work hard to ensure that a room is ready for our most vulnerable population; those not yet eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. As of January 16, 2023, all other patients may enter the waiting room and approach the front desk to check in. As of April 1st, 2023, masks are now encouraged but not required in the clinic. The exception is for ANY person age 2 + entering the office with symptoms of illness. All clinical staff caring for newborns 2 months and younger will still be masked. Thank you for your cooperation.
All physicians and staff members at GROW are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
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Looking for a Pediatrician?
Our physicians accept new patients on a varying schedule, ensuring that we are always available to care for our current patients. Please call our office for the most up to date information. We also invite you to join them for one of our regular Meet & Greet events. (Available seasonally.) Please call our office to sign up, as space is limited!
Same Day Appointments
If your child becomes ill, or if concerns arise, our registered nurses are happy to discuss your concerns over the phone or offer a same or next day appointment to perform a thorough assessment of the problem.
24/7 Availability
We are part of a call group which allows a skilled pediatric RN to be available by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to triage urgent issues. A trusted physician is always available to our nurses as well, should the need arise. We offer after hours clinic hours for same day or newborn appointments each Saturday morning.
Our Physicians
Our pediatricians are all board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and are fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Is your child sick?
Do your child’s symptoms warrant a call or visit to the doctor?
Recent Blog Posts
Car Seat Safety for Children
GROW is pleased to share these important resources with parents. Proper carseat selection and use is paramount to ensuring that your little one is protected while riding; and we understand that safety is always a parents' number one priority. Below, a link to Dell...
Relocation complete!
Thank you to all of our GROW patients and families for your patience with us as we completed our moved last month. We're happy to report that we've begun to settle into our new space at 1401 Philomena! On Tuesday, November 28th we began seeing patients and were up and...
Meet and Greet September 20th, 2023
We're looking forward to meeting our next GROW families on September 20th, when we host an in-office Meet & Greet featuring our new physicians. Designed to welcome new and expectant families to our practice, we're especially excited that this time we're also...
What Patients Say About Us
“Our family feels lucky to have such a supportive environment to turn to for our child’s healthcare. The physicians and staff are kind, patient and accepting of everyone. We love GROW!” – T.M.
“Thank you for taking such good care of our little ones. We like that we can always turn to someone in the clinic for guidance on matters big and small.” – E.V.
“Dr. Owens and Dr. Wise have both been so great with communicating with me regarding the different options of care for my daughter’s specific condition. I always feel like they are listening to me and really considering us as individuals when making recommendations” -A.B.
Juliette Howes Owens, MD, FAAP
Dr. Owens was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, while her father, also a pediatrician, was in residency there. She subsequently grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana and moved to Texas in high school where she attended the Texas Academy of Math and Science at the University of North Texas. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Owens received her M.D. from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans.
Dr. Owens then moved to San Diego, California where she completed her pediatric residency at the University of California at San Diego and served as chief resident in 2003-2004. She finally got to Austin in 2004 and began working with the Seton Medical Center neonatology group. During that time, Dr. Owens enjoyed taking care of well and sick newborns (and their worried parents!).
She began her private practice career in 2007, where she worked for 7 years for an existing practice. She then formed GROW Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, along with Dr. Leigh Grady, in 2014.
Natalie Rusk, MD, FAAP
Dr. Rusk grew up just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University and medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. She then completed pediatric residency training at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she met her husband who was one of her residency classmates. After two years of working in Urgent Care at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Dr. Rusk and her Longhorn husband moved to Austin in 2006. She worked as a primary care pediatrician in Austin until 2016, when she and her family decided to relocate back to Philadelphia to be near her family. She returned to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as a primary care pediatrician and took care of children in West Philadelphia. However, after two brutal winters digging out of the snow, she has happily returned to her adopted hometown (and the heat!) to join GROW in 2018. Dr. Rusk has been board-certified in pediatrics since 2004 and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She has special interests in travel medicine, obesity, and asthma. She was recognized in Austin Monthly as a ‘Best of Austin’ pediatrician in 2013. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, walking her two dogs, traveling, camping, and trying new restaurants with friends. She also stays busy being mom to two very active children!
Laura Wise, MD, FAAP
Dr. Wise was born and raised in San Antonio and fell in love with Austin while obtaining her Bachelor of Science at the University of Texas. During that time, she cultivated a passion for global health during a semester abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, where she volunteered with pediatric patients at a tuberculosis hospital. She also developed a love for newborns while working as a midwife assistant during her last year of college.
She received her Medical Degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, where she further explored her interests in border health, learned medical Spanish and worked with underserved populations. She was nominated by her peers to the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which recognizes excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service.
Dr. Wise was thrilled to return to Austin to complete her residency at UT Austin Dell Medical School. During her intern year, she met and trained with Dr. Grady during her newborn rotation. She first came to GROW as a resident in 2016 and joined as a staff physician in 2017.
In her spare time, Dr. Wise is an avid reader, plays piano and drums with Austin Samba. Newly married, she and her husband Eric (also a pediatrician!) cherish any opportunity to travel, enjoy the outdoors, dote on their two cats, and spend time with family.
Dr. Wise is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2020, she was named one of Texas Super Doctors Rising Stars.
Lidiya
Lidiya is a third-year student majoring in Public Health and minoring in African and African Diasporas Studies (on the pre-med track) at the University of Texas at Austin. She loves working with children, and has been doing so for the past 5 years. Extensively involved in community and volunteer endeavors, she is a member of Black Health Professions Organization, and has worked with UT Health both for Covid-19 contact tracing, and as a student assistant at UT Nursing School. Originally from Ethiopia, Lidiya speaks fluent Amharic. She enjoys reading books, meeting people, visiting new places, trying new things, and is super excited to be joining us at GROW!
Isabella, CNA
Isabella is a student at the University of Texas pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology on the Pre-Med track. She is a Certified Nurse’s Assistant and Electrocardiography Technician, and obtained multiple clinical certifications through a technical career partnership program while still in high school in Frisco, Texas. She’s had the pleasure of teaching dance to young children, and outside of work, you can find her dancing, studying, or cheering on the Longhorns! Isabella is fluent in Spanish, is excited to be a part of the GROW family as a Medical Assistant, and looks forward to getting to know our patients.
E. Elizabeth Howard, MD, MPH, FAAP. Physician PRN
Dr. Howard grew up in New Orleans and stayed in the city to complete her undergraduate studies at Tulane University. She received her medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN and completed pediatric residency training here in Austin at Dell Children’s Medical Center in 2012. She worked in primary care in Austin for several years, then relocated for her husband’s job. She has recently returned after completing a Masters in Public Health and training in Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai in NYC. She hopes to use her experience to better address the health challenges in the Austin community. As primary pediatrics is her passion, she is thrilled that she has the opportunity to care for the families at GROW!
She and her husband are also happy to be back in the warmer weather where their free days are spent taking their two young children to eat breakfast tacos, walk the trail, sit on the porch at the downtown library and play at the Children’s Alliance playground.
Dr. Howard is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She is currently working at GROW part-time, and we are absolutely thrilled to have her.
Gina H Duong, MD
Dr. Duong (pronounced “Yoong”) was born and raised in Houston, TX and dreamed of being a community pediatrician from a young age. She attended the University of St. Thomas in Houston and solidified her love for pediatrics while volunteering as a baby holder at Texas Children’s Hospital. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and was named “Most Outstanding Biology graduate” at St. Thomas in 2015. She received her medical degree from the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, where her mentors and peers awarded her with the “Excellence in Ethics and Professionalism” award in 2019.
She moved to Austin in 2019 to complete her pediatrics residency at Dell Medical School, where she worked at Dell Children’s Medical Center, the Seton Medical Center nursery and NICU, and multiple subspecialty and general pediatric clinics in the greater Austin area.
Dr. Duong has a sweet baby boy (and two little dogs!) with her husband Luke, whose career is in biomedical research. In her spare time, she enjoys creating watercolor paintings, watching movies, seeing her best friends, and spending time with her family. She is bilingual and fluent in Vietnamese. She is elated to join GROW pediatrics in August 2022 and has special interests in preventative medicine, breastfeeding medicine, atopic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema), and teen mental health.
Dr. Duong will soon be Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is also an Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant.
Dr. Carrie Danner, MD, FAAP
Dr. Danner was born in Taipei, Taiwan while her parents were living there for her father’s career. After moving around a bit during her early childhood, her family settled in Houston, where she was raised. Dr. Danner received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College, outside of Boston. While there, she played the carillon; the ringing of the bells in Wellesley’s beautiful stone bell tower. She then attended medical school at the University of Texas McGovern School of Medicine in Houston, graduating in 2006. She was active in many organizations there, and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society. She completed her residency at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in 2009, and soon after relocated to Austin with her husband and young daughter, while expecting their son. In the years since, Dr. Danner has had the privilege of working on a part time and/or temporary basis at many local Austin pediatric practices, a structure that she prefers because of the flexibility for her family and the opportunity to work with a wide array of patients and colleagues.
We were lucky enough to have Dr. Danner join us in 2021 as a part time pediatrician, oftentimes filling in when our regular docs are away. She’s loved being a part of the GROW family and enjoys being able to put patients at ease with her friendly disposition, making a “scary” doctor visit something fun. Outside of work, her daughter and son, now 14 and 12, keep her very busy. In her spare time, Dr. Danner loves to craft; mainly doing pottery and knitting/crocheting.
