Rehab Tech Summit Keynote Speakers
Dr. Lili Liu
PhD

Dr. Lili Liu
PhD
Lili Liu is a professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems, and Dean of the Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Liu earned degrees in BSc (Occupational Therapy), MSc and PhD (Rehabilitation Science), at McGill University. She began her academic career at the University of Alberta where she progressed through the ranks and served as chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy from 2008 to 2019 before joining the University of Waterloo.
In 2018, Liu received the 40th Muriel Driver Memorial Lectureship Award. The prestigious award recognizes a member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) who has gone above and beyond for the profession through research, education and practice. Her lecture, titled “Occupational Therapy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, reviewed the evolution of occupational therapy and the technological innovations faced by occupational therapists and their clients in the context of automation and changing job market requirements.
Liu advances health-care technology through her leadership roles in research, administration, service and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral fellows. She maintains an externally funded research program that examines acceptance and adoption of technologies by older adults, their care partners, health care professionals, and unlicensed care personnel.
As a rehabilitation professional, Liu also engages with community organizations, as well as policy and decision makers. Alzheimer Societies, search and rescue personnel, dementia advocacy and caregiver associations, nationally and internationally, are partners in her research program.
Liu is an AGE-WELL network investigator, and her current research program examines the applications of technologies and other innovations to mitigate risks of going missing among persons living with dementia. Her team focuses on approaches to inform and implement policies that create safe environments for older adults.

Sarah Thomas

Sarah Thomas is an accomplished leader of innovation. She serves as a global aging expert advising startups, large corporations and investors, with nearly 20 years dedicated to transforming the aging experience. Sarah has held key leadership positions across the US and Asia, developing and implementing strategic corporate innovation initiatives, including change management. She serves as the Executive-in-Residence at Aging2.0 and a principal consultant in the Nexus Insights firm for aging transformation. She most recently led all commercial activity for Seismic Holdings - a Silicon Valley-based company shaping human potential through integration of apparel and robotics to augment human strength and performance. Sarah’s commercial expertise helped position the organization for esteemed recognition by the World Economic Forum, Fast Company, The Economist and CES. Prior to Seismic, Sarah led all global innovation for the largest post-acute care provider in the US, Genesis, serving more than 55,000 individuals a day. She combines her Occupational Therapy expertise with her operational, clinical and entrepreneurial experience to inspire global improvements in design and systems innovation worldwide. She designed an innovation center in China as a part of a vitality initiative to improve the health and well-being of global communities. A published author, she serves in multiple advisory positions, sits on numerous boards and is an accomplished keynote speaker on topics like healthy longevity and aging innovations.

Dr. Charlotte Yeh
MD
Dr. Charlotte Yeh is the Chief Medical Officer for AARP Services, Inc. In this capacity, she works with independent carriers that make health-related products and services available to AARP members on programs that help lead to enhanced care for older adults. She brings more than three decades of healthcare experience to this role as a practitioner and Chief of Emergency Medicine at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Tufts Medical Center, Medical Director for the National Heritage Insurance Company, Medicare Part B claims contractor, and the Regional Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Boston. She has been widely recognized for her achievements.
Jourdan Saunders
MS, CCC-SLP

Jourdan Saunders
MS, CCC-SLP
Jourdan Saunders, MS, CCC-SLP, has been a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for over 10 years using her expertise as a Disability Inclusion Consultant as the CEO & Founder of The Resource Key which focuses on Inclusive Branding to ensure People with Disabilities are included, and making meaningful connections with brands. Jourdan was recently awarded LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: Equity in the Workplace, established one of the first resource websites for students interested in the field of Speech Language Pathology (Futureslps.com) which has received recognition worldwide, owner of one of the largest SLP resources groups on LinkedIn with over 15,000 members. Her work has been featured in USA Gymnastics, American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), MarketWatch, PopSugar, Association of University Centers on Disability, and Kennedy Center. Jourdan's creativity, leadership, and diverse skillset is evident from her work as an advisor to companies and organizations ranging from digital speech therapy, gymnastics, international reading literacy initiatives, culinary industry technology platform, and many more.

Dr. Allison Sekuler
PhD
Dr. Allison Sekuler (BA, Mathematics & Psychology, Pomona College; PhD, Psychology, University of California Berkley) is the Vice-President Research at and Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at Baycrest Health Sciences, and the Managing Director of the Rotman Research Institute, one of the world’s leading research centres in gerocognition and neuroscience. She is also the Managing Director of the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), led by Baycrest, where she works to ensure that aging and brain health solutions are developed, tested, and disseminated so that older adults and their caregivers can live their best possible lives. A Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University, Dr. Sekuler's research focuses on perception, aging, and cognitive neuroscience, and aims to develop methods to detect, prevent, and treat age-related sensory- and cognitive-decline. Dr. Sekuler has held appointments on numerous boards, currently serving as Chair of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada's Alliance Public Value Impact Panel, as well as serving on the boards and advisory committees for Hamilton Health Sciences, Western University’s BrainsCAN and York University’s VISTA Innovation programs, and the Canadian Brain Research Strategy. Among Dr. Sekuler’s many awards, she was the country’s first Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, and recently (2019) was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network for her accomplishments in science and in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

Salim Teja

Salim Teja is a Partner with Radical Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs applying deep technology to transform massive industries. With a primary focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence, Radical Ventures partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build enduring global companies.
Salim brings over 20 years of experience in the technology sector as an entrepreneur, venture investor, corporate innovator and innovation ecosystem builder. Prior to Radical Ventures, Salim served as President, Venture Services for MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s largest urban innovation centres. Salim led the strategic direction of MaRS’ Venture Services Program across four sectors including Energy & Environment (Cleantech), Finance &Commerce (Fintech), Health and Enterprise. This program engaged a portfolio of over 1200 high growth ventures who had raised over $1.3B in capital and had generated over $1.4B in revenue.
Prior to MaRS, Salim has held leadership roles with Indigo Books & Music, Brightspark Ventures and San Francisco-based MobShop Inc, a pioneering e-commerce venture funded by GE Capital, Visa International and Mayfield Fund.

Sanjana Basu

Sanjana Basu is an Investor at Radical Ventures. Radical Ventures is a $325 Million Series A fund investing in bold entrepreneurs developing and applying artificial intelligence and other deep technologies to invent the future. Sanjana is passionate about the healthcare space and the many companies that are using deeply disruptive technology to advance the sector. Prior to Radical, Sanjana worked at the strategic investing and incubation arm of the Tata Group, the $100B Indian conglomerate based out of Mumbai, India. Sanjana also worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Barclays focused on M&A and DCM.
She completed her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and her undergraduate in Economics & International Relations from Tufts University in Boston, US.

OTech Canada
While in occupational therapy (OT) school, co-founders Shahrose Aratia, Karishma Patel, Priya Thakkar, Noelannah Neubauer, Juanita Gnanapragasam, and Karen Ogilvie noticed a need to actively engage OT students in the possibilities and opportunities that lie at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Together, they founded OTech Canada. OTech Canada is a student-run organization that aims to create a community of clinical students across Canada who are interested in technology. Their mission is simple: to prepare students to be knowledgeable about health technologies and become active contributors to the dialogue in this technological revolution. They’ve done this by supporting the creation of chapters at universities across Canada while simultaneously building meaningful connections with interprofessional who work in this sector, both within and outside of healthcare such as computing science, engineering, policy and industry. Check out their session to learn how to grow your passion project into a national organization. They’ll be speaking about how you, as a student, can empower change at your school!
Keren Etkin
M.A. Gerontology

Keren Etkin
M.A. Gerontology
Keren is the Creator of TheGerontechnologist.com, a website that covers the global age tech ecosystem.
In 2019, she was named one of the most influential people in aging by Next Avenue. Keren is a public speaker and an advisor for age tech startups, investors in the longevity economy, care providers and organizations who work on innovation in aging.
Keren was the first employee at Intuition Robotics, the startup behind ElliQ, the world’s first social robot designed with and for older adults, and co-founder & VP of Product at Sensi.Ai, a startup that developed the first and only audio-AI solution for remote care monitoring.
She holds an M.A. in Gerontology, B.Sc. in Life Sciences.
Healthtech Life Seminars
Panels and discussions around culture and company life.

Abigail Holman
Abigail Holman is a patent attorney with extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications relating to generating and consuming digital content in all of its forms. For instance, Abigail has prepared and prosecuted patent applications that utilize cutting-edge machine learning and neural network technologies to provide users with intuitive digital image and video editing functionalities, controlling autonomous vehicles, and enabling medical device technologies, among many others. Prior to becoming a patent attorney, Abigail worked as an engineer at a biotech startup focused on using innovative cell imaging techniques for cancer diagnosis.

Aliya Ramji


Arianna Aldebot

Arianna Aldebot is the Manager of the Outcomes + Partnerships team at General Assembly San Francisco. She shows students and job seekers how to articulate their interests and experiences into strengths and skills to help them succeed in their future. Additionally, she manages a team of Career Coaches to help them build their coaching and teaching skills. She aims to teach people how to advocate for themselves and feel confident in their skills. She spent 7 years at the University of Washington building various career programs and graduates with her Masters in Higher Education Administration from Seattle University in 2013.

Carine Carmy

Carine Carmy is Co-Founder and CEO at Origin, physical therapy designed for women and mothers, online and in person. We treat commonly overlooked health issues that affect women throughout their lives, from maternity to menopause. Origin is clinically proven to have life changing results, helping women build strength and avoid countless unnecessary surgeries. Our experts bring deep expertise in the pelvic floor, musculoskeletal conditions, and physiological and hormonal changes, providing life changing care to women who have been told far too often, “That’s just the way it is.” Learn more and join us at theoriginway.com. Prior to Origin, Carine has spent her career as a leader in healthcare and technology, leading teams at Amino, Shapeways, MarketspaceNext and Monitor Group. Carine is an advisor to businesses and nonprofits focused on diversity and economic equality, and when she's not in front of a computer, you can find Carine hiking, biking, running, dancing, and generally moving at fast speeds.
Emma Brady
PT, DPT

Emma Brady
PT, DPT
Emma is a physical therapist with a knack for identifying opportunities for improvement and creating solutions to workflow and documentation challenges. Emma has used these skills to develop an outpatient PT program at a weight-loss startup. Emma currently works in Sales as an Account Executive as the first PT at Prompt, a PT EMR startup who has reimagined physical therapy software. She is also the leader of the Clinician Transition, an online meet up group providing support to therapists as they transition to tech-related roles.

Loy Wierzba

Loy Wierzba is an Operations Lead and Senior Admissions Producer at General Assembly. She empowers potential students to pursue work they love and ensures each individual understands what it takes to succeed in a General Assembly course. Loy immigrated to the US in 2015 and is no stranger to the process of breaking down barriers in career transformation, and is eager to share her experiences on how to successfully break into tech.

Nabomita Dutta

Nabomita Dutta is a Senior Director at Teladoc Health, the world's largest virtual care company where she leads corporate strategy and business development efforts. She came to Teladoc via its $18.5 Billion merger with Livongo, the largest digital health deal of all time. She has deep experience at the intersection of healthcare and technology via prior roles at UnitedHealth Group, Oscar Health, and Uber Health leading partnerships, and consulting engagements with CVS Health and Kaiser Permanente. Nabomita received an MBA from the University of Michigan and Bachelors degrees from U.C. Berkeley.

Rachel Francine

Rachel Francine is a frequent speaker on building preferable futures, innovation best practices, women in technology, and music as medicine for such diverse organizations as the United Nations, the Professional Golfers Association, the Association of Professional Futurists and the American Society on Aging. Rachel began working in interactive technologies in 1996 as a member of the CitySearch.com New Markets team and spent a decade transforming brick and mortar businesses into scalable technologies. Disappointed with the trajectory and goals of the commercial technology sector, in 2009 Rachel earned a master’s degree in Futures Studies from the University of Houston with a focus on Transformational Economics in order to build organizations that produce quadruple bottom-line results. Upon graduation, Rachel co-founded Musical Health Technologies and in 2020 was asked to join the board of Teach the Future.
Rachel is the CEO of Musical Health Technologies whose music as medicine solution, SingFit is used at more than 500 long term care facilities in the United States. In this role, she has had to navigate both the worlds of medicine and music to successfully scale a music as medicine solution.
Raheema Hemraj
OTR/L

Raheema Hemraj
OTR/L
Raheema Hemraj is an Occupational Therapist and Gerontologist with a speciality in falls prevention. She has over 15 years of experience working with older adults to promote successful aging-in-place and is trained in multiple evidence-based falls prevention programs. Raheema has spoken nationally on the outcomes of falls prevention programs for community-based older adults, the value of home safety evaluations in falls prevention and the impact of technology in the aging space. Currently, Raheema provides group and home-based falls education through Stanford Health Care’s Farewell to Falls program. She is also the founder of Grips+Gadgets, a company which seeks to connect healthtech startups with rehab professionals. As its principal health technology consultant, she has worked with multiple companies to ensure their clinical relevance as they build products to support older adults. Previously, Raheema led the clinical program at an early-stage company using AI to detect and prevent falls and she has worked in home care and as a home accessibility consultant. Raheema has a passion for preventative healthcare, utilizing technology to improve health outcomes, and enabling people of all ages to pursue their chosen life activities.

Ruth Poliakine Baruchi

Ruth brings over 15 years of experience in leadership entrepreneurial roles, mainly in the fields of digital health. Before MyndYou, she was General Manager at Wellsense, a medical device company for the prevention of pressure ulcers. Through the Wellsense experience, Ruth realized her passion and the importance of developing advanced technological solutions for improved senior care, which led to the creation of MyndYou.
MyndYou solution engages elderly adults in their homes to detect health issues and escalate those to the appropriate care teams. Our virtual assistant, MyEleanor, calls older adults in their homes to detect and escalate anomalies including issues related to SDOH, falls, chronic disease, and food insecurity, among others.

Sheldon Fernandez

Sheldon Fernandez is a seasoned executive, startup veteran and respected thought leader in the technical and enterprise communities. Throughout his career, he has applied emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence to the enterprise. Prior to joining DarwinAI as its Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon founded Infusion Development as its CTO and helped grow the company to 700 before its acquisition by Avanade. In addition to his BASc in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, he completed a Master’s degree in theology at the University of Toronto with thesis work in neuroscience and metaethics and also pursued creative writing at Oxford University.
Darwin’s unique technology facilities edge and explainable AI and is being leveraged in numerous industries including autonomous vehicles, consumer electronics, and aerospace. The company was named a cool vendor in Gartner’s October 2019 Cool Vendors in Enterprise AI Governance and Ethical Response report, and was also selected by CBInsights for its AI 100 annual list of the 100 most promising private AI companies in the world.

Tiani McCarthy

Tiani McCarthy is a Senior Admissions Producer at General Assembly. In her role, Tiani works with individuals to foster their career growth. She also supports employers in cultivating top talent by transforming teams through tech training. She has a passion for helping students learn the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market. Tiani is a proud graduate of Howard University, where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. When she's not hosting information sessions or working with students, Tiani can be found creating delicious meals and binge-watching popular series on Netflix.
Creating the Path Speakers
Interviews with clinicians who have moved into non-clinical roles - how they did it and how you can too.
Alexa Barbosa
OTR/L

Alexa Barbosa
OTR/L
Angela Regier
OTD, OTR/L, ATP/SMS

Angela Regier
OTD, OTR/L, ATP/SMS
Angela Regier is an Occupational Therapist, RESNA-certified Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), and Seating and Mobility Specialist (SMS). She is currently a Regional Clinical Education Manager for Permobil, a global leader in advanced rehab technology whose solutions include power wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs, power assist, and seating/positioning products. Before shifting to an industry role, she spent 10 years practicing in neurorehabilitation, both inpatient and outpatient settings, with a focus on wheelchair seating and mobility for individuals post spinal cord and acquired brain injury. Angela also served as an adjunct faculty member for Creighton University’s Regis Pathway OTD program. She has published and speaks nationally and internationally on best practices in wheelchair seating and mobility for individuals with complex needs. She is passionate about the importance of clinicians being actively involved in the provision of complex rehab technologies to maximize independent mobility and functional outcomes.
Ellen Morello
PT, DPT

Ellen Morello
PT, DPT
Johanna Chang
MS, CCC-SLP

Johanna Chang
MS, CCC-SLP
Marla Ranieri
PT, DPT, OCS

Marla Ranieri
PT, DPT, OCS
Dr. Marla Ranieri graduated from Stanford University with her bachelor’s degree in Human Biology in 2005. She went on to receive her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2009. Dr. Ranieri has a passion for treating athletes, especially gymnasts, as she worked onsite at gymnastics gyms and directly with USA Gymnastics for many years. Dr. Ranieri saw a need for increasing access to care for physical therapy patients while improving operational efficiencies for physical therapy clinics and therefore ventured into the technology space. Dr. Ranieri is now the Chief Development Officer of BetterHealthCare and one of the founders of BetterPT.
Matt Cumella
PT, DPT, GCS

Matt Cumella
PT, DPT, GCS
Matt Fuller
PT, DPT, CAFS

Matt Fuller
PT, DPT, CAFS
Nirtal Shah
DPT, MScPT, MPH, FCAMPT

Nirtal Shah
DPT, MScPT, MPH, FCAMPT
Nirtal is the CEO of Curovate, a health technology company focused on mobile apps for physical therapy and rehabilitation before and after orthopaedic surgery. Nirtal is a physical therapist with 20 years of clinical experience in orthopaedic, sports and manual therapy. Fellow of the Canadian Manual Therapy Association (FCAMT) with a clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine and a Masters in Physical Therapy from D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York. Nirtal also completed a Masters in Public Health at the University of Toronto in 2015. Nirtal is an adjunct lecturer in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a sessional lecturer in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education both at the University of Toronto. Nirtal has 4 peer reviewed publications and has helped to develop and deploy 3 mobile apps for rehabilitation.
Raad Shebib
DPT

Raad Shebib
DPT
Raad Shebib started his interest in Patient Engagement while in school, wondering what solutions lied beyond the brick-and-mortar clinical settings... many of which he worked in after graduating from UCSF/SFSU in 2016 (orthopedic, acute care, cardiac rehab, pelvic health). He now designs health solutions that leverage principles of behavior change to help patients empower themselves to engage with their health.
Sam Pak
PT, DPT, Cert. MDT

Sam Pak
PT, DPT, Cert. MDT
Dr. Pak is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physical Therapy (PT) and Rehabilitation Science at UCSF. Prior to his appointment as a licensed physical therapist, he had a diverse professional experience, including management IT consultant, systems engineer, healthcare IT analyst, and informaticist. His expertise is in health informatics using electronic health record data, quality metrics reporting, patient-reported outcomes, and digital health. Dr. Pak has served as both instructor and innovator to a wide range of healthcare audiences and teams with his clinical and technical expertise in both ambulatory setting and health informatics with a regulatory quality program such as Meaningful Use/Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). As a lifelong learner with both IT expertise and clinical experience in physical therapy, Dr. Pak offers a unique blend of technology and healthcare to the next wave of DPT students and the profession. Dr. Pak’s academic training includes a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington, a DPT degree from UCSF/SFSU, and post-graduate training in Biomedical Informatics from Oregon Health Science University. He holds both advanced certifications in manual therapy (Maitland approach) and the McKenzie Method, as well as several technical certifications in Epic Systems (electronic health record system).
Shahrose Aratia
MScOT

Shahrose Aratia
MScOT
Shahrose graduated from the MScOT program at the University of Toronto in Canada in November 2020. As a student, Shahrose co-founded OTech Canada, a student group which focuses on engaging future OTs in conversations about assistive and rehabilitation technologies and enabling them to become active contributors to the dialogue in this technological revolution. Throughout her academic careeer, her interest in rehab tech has led her to purse opportunities in academic research and industry settings on local and international levels. As a new grad, Shahrose recently transitioned into a Clinical Specialist role at Cala Health, a bioelectronic company in the Bay Area. She focuses on conducting clinical trials and enjoys the direct client interaction this opportunity gives her. She can't wait to meet you all at the Rehab Tech Summit!
Siena Conde
MS OTR/L

Siena Conde
MS OTR/L
Siena is a licensed occupational therapist with care experience from infancy to end of life. She has worked in acute, outpatient, skilled nursing, and step-down settings. Over the past 6 years, prompted by a combination of curiosity, burnout, and inspiration, Siena has been navigating an ongoing career evolution from direct patient care provision to the world of digital healthcare technology development. As a clinical content manager with Rally Healthcare and Optum digital services, Siena is currently participating in the multifaceted development of a provider-led digital therapeutics platform. Forging a non-traditional path has not always been a straight line for the New York transplant to the San Francisco bay area. She is excited, to share her honest reflections on the confusion, self-doubt, and excitement that have cropped up along the way with other caregivers looking to make a transition.
Tammy Richmond
MS, OTRL, FAOTA

Tammy Richmond
MS, OTRL, FAOTA
Tammy Richmond, MS OTR/L, FAOTA is a leading expert in clinical rehabilitation and wellness services with over 30 years of experience. She is a consultant in practice operations and management, and an entrepreneur and leader in advancing emerging practice areas, including telehealth. Ms. Richmond’s interest in telehealth began in 2008. Since that time, her name has become synonymous with telerehabilitation as she is a recognized leader in this emerging area. Tammy is the CEO/Founder of Go2Care, on online innovative technology platform for telerehab and triage/prevention software for MSKs. Go2Care just completed a two year risk management study of the use of their proprietary platform and software with employees for musculoskeletal symptoms working in steel manufacturing plants. Ms. Richmond served as Chair of the Telerehabilitation Special Interest Group of the American Telemedicine Association and has co-authored national and international standards and guidelines and spearheaded policy initiatives to facilitate telehealth innovation, practice adoption and reimbursement. Ms. Richmond is also a leader in administrative and clinical management and is the author of a best-selling practice management textbook. Overall, she has authored 20 professional publications, has given over 100 professional presentations, and guest lectures year round at a leading teaching institutions. For fun, Ms. Richmond serves on the advisory team for two other telehealth start-ups; MFaST, a 3D ROM measurement tool and PersonalRN, m-health patient population post- acute monitoring tool.
Ushma Sampat
MS, OTR/L

Ushma Sampat
MS, OTR/L
Ushma founded World of OT, a community- based pediatric OT practice in San Francisco Bay Area in 2017 with the ultimate goal and mission to provide high impact services that equip and empower children to achieve their highest individual potential. Ushma is strongly committed to the learning, development, and recovery of children of all ages and so World of OT not only serves each child but also their whole world- parents, teachers, and other professionals! They emphasize collaboration and working in the child’s natural environment- be it at school, home or a local park. This approach to pediatric occupational therapy is highly effective and celebrated by families, and Ushma is thrilled to be sharing it with others. In 2020, Ushma launched her first online course for OTs new to the school system, to help them go from feeling uncertain and fearful, to confident and thriving in the new setting. World of OT is now an AOTA Approved Provider for continuing education and we are excited for what the future holds. On a personal note Ushma is an immigrant to the states, an internationally educated OT, mother of two boys and a dog, a loved and lucky wife, a traveller and an adventure seeker.
Ushma Sampat
MS, OTR/L

Ushma Sampat
MS, OTR/L
Ushma founded World of OT, a community- based pediatric OT practice in San Francisco Bay Area in 2017 with the ultimate goal and mission to provide high impact services that equip and empower children to achieve their highest individual potential. Ushma is strongly committed to the learning, development, and recovery of children of all ages and so World of OT not only serves each child but also their whole world- parents, teachers, and other professionals! They emphasize collaboration and working in the child’s natural environment- be it at school, home or a local park. This approach to pediatric occupational therapy is highly effective and celebrated by families, and Ushma is thrilled to be sharing it with others. In 2020, Ushma launched her first online course for OTs new to the school system, to help them go from feeling uncertain and fearful, to confident and thriving in the new setting. World of OT is now an AOTA Approved Provider for continuing education and we are excited for what the future holds. On a personal note Ushma is an immigrant to the states, an internationally educated OT, mother of two boys and a dog, a loved and lucky wife, a traveller and an adventure seeker.
Skill Building Workshop Speakers
Sessions led by industry experts preparing clinicians for the practice of tomorrow
Dr. Adriana Rios Rincon
PhD, MSc, BSc

Dr. Adriana Rios Rincon
PhD, MSc, BSc
Dr. Ríos Rincón's research topics include studying the effects of implementing assistive technologies on the occupational performance, functioning, and social participation of people with disabilities; and the study of factors that explain the usability and adoption of rehabilitation and assistive technologies. Her current research is devoted to investigating the use of assistive technologies to assess and promote cognitive skills and engagement in play in individuals with motor and cognitive impairment, including those living with dementia. She also investigates the use of information and communication technologies to support decisions about transitions across the continuum of care in older adults.
Dr. Antonio Miguel-Cruz
DrSc, MSc, NucEng

Dr. Antonio Miguel-Cruz
DrSc, MSc, NucEng
Dr. Miguel-Cruz's research focuses on the development and assessment, and user adoption of technologies for rehabilitation assessments and interventions, and ways technologies can help older adults and family caregivers. A central theme to his research is to develop a home-centred sensor and voice-based intelligent personal-assistant platform to manage frailty in older adults. His long-term goal is to implement an ambient zero-effort platform to (1) identify hidden vulnerabilities, create evidence-based frailty-prevention recommendations for older adults, their families and healthcare professionals to strengthen "anti-frailty" activities through the delivery of personalized interventions; and (2) to determine the impact of these interventions on healthcare outcomes.
Becca Davison
MBA

Becca Davison
MBA
Becca Davison is Co-Founder and CEO of UnbuckleMe, an innovative, patented tool that makes it easy for adults to unbuckle a child's car seat. Becca is passionate about entrepreneurship and launched her business in partnership with her mother, Barbara Heilman, who is an Occupational Therapist and founding member of the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT). Barbara invented UnbuckleMe to solve her own problem with CMC joint arthritis, and Becca successfully brought the product to market. Becca and Barbara pitched UnbuckleMe on ABC's Shark Tank this past May and received offers from all 5 sharks. Becca has an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and has worked for 10+ years in management consulting for Fortune 500 companies. In 2019, Becca launched RK Davison Consulting to expand her consulting services to help aspiring entrepreneurs in all phases of launching product-based businesses. Becca is also a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and volunteers locally with hospital injury prevention teams to help parents and caregivers properly install and operate child car seats.
Benga Adeeko
PE

Benga Adeeko
PE
Benga Adeeko is the co-founder of NewGait, a rehabilitation device company based in San Diego, CA. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas - San Antonio and a professional engineering license in the state of California. As a former collegiate track athlete he combined his skills and love of engineering and track & field and developed a speed training device called the SpeedMaker in 2015. The device ended up in the hands of a physical therapist who used it to rehab an SCI patient. The transformation the patient had inspired Benga and his business partner to pivot their business in 2017 from the athletic performance market to the rehabilitation market, and rebrand as NewGait. He now leads a team of rehab professionals focused on promoting recovery, increasing mobility, improving quality of life, and restoring hope to people with movement limitations through their innovative products. Benga is excited to share his entrepreneurial experience as someone who accidentally ended up in this industry. From the highs of watching a patient cry tears of joy after walking without pain in years to the lows of cofounder breakups. He will share his experience from turning his startup idea into a reality.

Carla Macklin


Chris Bardos
Chris Bardos is a product and commercialization hacker and coach – spending the last 10 years obsessing over setting up early stage products and startups for growth. He’s developed and battle tested a repeatable early stage framework that has helped startup founders and corporate teams pivot to product market fit and initial traction, growing sales-win-rates and shrinking sales cycles, transformed and greatly increased effectiveness/efficiency within teams, and helped raise millions of dollars of value in strategic and angel investment.
Courtney Smith
OTR/L, DPT

Courtney Smith
OTR/L, DPT
Courtney Smith is a dual therapist, credentialed as both an occupational and physical therapist (University of St Augustine 2013, 2015). She has worked all over the country as a travel therapist for the last 4 years, and most of her clinical experience is in the home health setting with the geriatric population. This year, Courtney ventured into entrepreneurship and started an email marketing copywriting business, The Office On Call, LLC (theofficeoncall.com). She provides sales funnel strategy, copy, and implementation for clinical and non-clinical therapists. As an entrepreneur, Courtney prides herself on being able to put her writing hobby turned skill to work, while advocating for others in her profession by helping with their direct marketing strategy. She helps others bring success to their businesses through non-sleazy email campaigns that attract, nurture, and convert online traffic into clients, without costing more time or effort. While not working, Courtney can be found on the nearest hiking trail with her husband, Cory, binging cute dog videos on Instagram, or dreaming about her retirement in Hawaii.
Donna Lampke
PT, DPT, CPRW, ACRW

Donna Lampke
PT, DPT, CPRW, ACRW
Donna Lampke is a Physical Therapist with 2 prestigious national certifications in resume writing and she specializes in writing healthcare resumes and CV’s healthcare professionals. She is a certified career coach and founder of DIY Career Documents. She is considered to be “expert in field” in career development and marketing for healthcare professionals. She recently was a co-presenter at The APTA CSM meeting in Denver, CO in February where she and Meredith Castin (The Non-Clinical PT) delivered a 2-hour presentation on Non-Clinical Careers in Physical Therapy. Donna received her physical therapy degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her doctorate from Alabama State University. She has 30 years of clinical experience as well as extensive experience teaching and lecturing.
Dr. Elan Schneider
DPT, CYT

Dr. Elan Schneider
DPT, CYT
Dr. Elan Schneider, DPT, CYT, is a physical therapist specializing in neuro-rehabilitation of chronic pain. Elan has over a decade of experience as a clinician and clinical director. He has delivered clinical training seminars to hundreds of health care professionals and has lectured internationally on the topic of chronic pain science and rehabilitation. Elan co-founded the Retrain Pain Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to pain education, and he has developed patient education content used in clinics throughout the world, in over 30 languages. Elan is the co-founder and CEO of TrainPain - an early stage neurotechnology company developing novel digital health solutions for the treatment of chronic pain.

Esha Joshi
Esha Joshi is a female technologist who is driven by helping others. Perpetually on the search for witty jokes and amazing stories, she lives for sourcing and sharing ideas, while always trying to add a little humor in the mix. Esha is an engineer at heart and loves solving interesting problems. She is currently a software product manager at Apple, where she formerly was a software engineer for several years. Esha is an advocate for women thriving in the STEM workforce. Through organizations like Girls Who Code, CoderDojo, and IGNITE Worldwide, she is passionate about encouraging girls and women to pursue technological careers and use computer programming to drive change in the world around them. Esha is an early-stage investment scout at GVC Partners focusing on conducting technical due diligence on education technology and Future of Work startups. She also maintains a personal blog about life’s everyday musings, called Words with Esh.
Hanna Paul
OTR/L

Hanna Paul
OTR/L
Hanna is a former OT who practiced as a traveling therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area for 2 years. She was exposed to the tech scene and was eager to know how she could apply her OT skillset to a career in health care tech. Working part-time for two start-up companies, (one by leading the clinical trails and another in product demonstration), these opportunities solidified Hanna's desire to leave the clinical world for the world of tech. Through much trial and error, Hanna finessed her skillset in marketing herself as a hirable applicant for non-clinical roles by developing her personal brand, learning the in's and out's to LinkedIn and by networking with others in her local community. Hanna is passionate about people and now works for a telehealth company, Vytal Health that is rooted in Functional Medicine. She is involved in leading creative development by contributing to cross-functional projects from product design, user experience, customer success, as well as designing out operational systems that set our patients up for success. She spends a lot of my time designing out happiness generating experiences as patients transition from clinical care to virtual care. It was at a networking event that Hanna was able to challenge the idea of being anything other than OT when a speaker asked the audience, “how many of you are doing something in your career that has anything to do with your degree?”, only 25% of the room raised their hands. That was enough for Hanna to realize her OT skillset was applicable in any field she desired to enter.
Iris Kimberg
MS PT, OTR

Iris Kimberg
MS PT, OTR
Iris Kimberg MS PT, OTR is no stranger to the business world. She started her first company, HTA of New York, Inc. from scratch 35 years ago, at a time when therapy agencies as we know them today did not exist. When she sold the company in 1996, it had three branch offices, 700 affiliated therapists and was generating $14 million in revenue. During the time when Iris was under a non-compete clause and not able to work in the industry, her idea to be a consultant was born. “After the initial thrill of not working wore off, I realized how much I missed interacting with all the therapists I had grown to know through my company. So they began to call me at home, and eventually the talk would turn to therapy.” I clearly saw that there was a need for a consulting company where therapists either already in private practice or thinking about private practice could turn to for advice in this rapidly changing and competitive health care market.” Then 9/11 happened and the 14 OT and PT practices in my Downtown NYC neighborhood were destroyed, shuttered or damaged. I immediately began consulting with them to help get them back into business and have not stopped since.
Jayna Niblock
PhD, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, BCTS

Jayna Niblock
PhD, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, BCTS
Jayna has been working in telehealth since 2016 as the Senior Advisor for Occupational Therapy services for DotCom Therapy. She assisted in development and implementation of their pilot occupational therapy program, as well as continued work on special projects. She has additional interest in technology in mobility and accessibility options for people of all ages.
Jill Shook
MS, CCC-SLP

Jill Shook
MS, CCC-SLP
Jill Shook, MS, CCC-SLP is the sole owner of a private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. When she is not serving her clients via teletherapy and in-home sessions, she is consulting with other SLPs who want to start their own private practices. She has presented on the topics of starting a private practice, evidence-based practice in therapy, and teletherapy best practice at local and national conferences. Jill is in the certification track for her Certified Orofacial Myologist certification in 2021. She holds a Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a Bachelor's of Science in Exercise Science from the University of South Carolina.
Jonas Raider
OT/UX

Jonas Raider
OT/UX
He//Him//His
Occupational Therapist turned UX Designer
Trained as an Occupational Therapist, I investigate the needs of people with disabilities to help design their environments and workflows to meet their goals. As an aspiring Design Researcher, I aim to combine this analytical background with the methodical framework of design thinking to inform effective, accessible, and equitable designs. I am passionate about working and advocating for communities that experience systemic barriers, digital inclusion and universal design, accessibility, and non-traditional backgrounds.
Jordyn Sims Pierce
MS, CCC-SLP, ATP

Jordyn Sims Pierce
MS, CCC-SLP, ATP
Jordyn Sims Pierce, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP is a practicing speech-language pathologist and assistive technology specialist. She is the founder and director of Pierce Speech, Language, and Learning Center, serving adults and pediatrics in Western Massachusetts, and is the Director of Clinical Operations for Constant Therapy Health. Her clinical and research specialties include augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), Aphasia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and using technology in treatment. Within her role at Constant Therapy, Jordyn spearheads clinical content development, advises on product design, and coordinates internal and external research projects. Jordyn holds a Master's of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Boston University and an MBA in Healthcare Management from Johns Hopkins University. Supported by her years of clinical experience, she utilizes her backgrounds in education, business, and technology to create innovative clinical solutions.
Julie Chang
MBA Candidate

Julie Chang
MBA Candidate
Julie Chang is a MBA student at Harvard Business School. Prior to school, she worked as a Product Manager at eBay on the seller experience and as a data scientist at 2 St. Louis AI startups (Capacity and Balto). Outside of work, Julie volunteers with Women in Product and enjoys dancing samba, going on road trips, and doing yoga.
Kaitlyn Jones
OTR/L

Kaitlyn Jones
OTR/L
Kaitlyn is an occupational therapist currently working as a program manager on Xbox's Gaming Accessibility Team and currently volunteers as a the Director of Clinical Outreach for Warfighter Engaged, a 501c3 non-profit organization that creates adaptive gaming controllers for disabled veterans. In her role working with Xbox, Kaitlyn is able to leverage her clinical background and experiences with the gaming and disability community to inform inclusive design efforts of future game titles and gaming hardware products.
Kristin Nuckols
MOT, OTR

Kristin Nuckols
MOT, OTR
Kristin Nuckols, MOT, OTR, is the lead occupational therapist at Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, aiding engineers to design and test soft robotic devices for the upper extremity in neurologic populations. Additionally, she is a Research Occupational Therapist and Instructor for Massachusetts General Hospital - Institute of Health Professions, assisting with efforts to investigate the effects of robot-assisted therapy in the stroke population and helping to educate future occupational therapists. She graduated from James Madison University with a Master of Occupational Therapy degree in 2007. She spent the first 10 years of her career specializing in neurologic inpatient rehabilitation at Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers in Richmond, VA and outpatient care at Steps for Recovery in Cary, NC. She has a passion for the integration of technology-based treatment practice, performing outcomes research and disseminating evidence on the benefits of the correct utilization of this treatment paradigm throughout her career.
Lauren Sheehan
OTD, OTR/L

Lauren Sheehan
OTD, OTR/L
Lauren Sheehan is the current Clinical and Product Manager with Neurolutions, Inc. and has been in industry roles for the last four years. Lauren has held clinical roles in outpatient neuro-rehabilitation for over a decade as well as administrative roles in clinic management. She is a founding member of the American Congress of Rehab Medicine's Clinical Managers Task Force, supporting clinicians in industry roles in rehabilitation medicine. Lauren also serves as the Productive Aging Special Interest Section Technology Coordinator for the American Occupational Therapy Association and runs the Non-Clinical Tech focused Meet-Up in the Bay Area. Lauren is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA, where she teaches Administration and Management and Community Practice Lab.
Lisa Bagby
OTD, OTR/L, MHA

Lisa Bagby
OTD, OTR/L, MHA
Lisa Bagby, OTD, OTR/L, MHA is an occupational therapist, educator, and health care administrator. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Iowa State University, a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Creighton University, and a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Des Moines University. Lisa worked as a contract OT for 5 years after school, working in seven practice settings in five different states. Before moving into education, she worked as a hospice director for a hospice house and home hospice team. For the past 4 years Lisa has served as the Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor for the Occupational Therapy Program at Creighton University and is now an Assistant Professor at George Washington University. Her primary areas of research and scholarship interest are related to exploring the psychosocial impact of stroke on physical recovery, clinical education trends and issues, and topics related to serving marginalized populations with the express intent to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in health care.
Liz Miracle
PT, MSPT, WCS

Liz Miracle
PT, MSPT, WCS
Originally from Texas, Liz Miracle graduated from Texas Woman's University School of Physical Therapy and is now the Bay Area Clinical Director of Origin PT in San Francisco, CA. She gained passion about serving women long before having her own baby through her close relationship with her college roommate, now an obstetrician. As a board certified womens health clinical specialist, Liz enjoys working with patients who wish to prepare for birth, as well as serving those suffering from diastasis rectii, pelvic girdle pain or pelvic floor dysfunction resulting in pain with intercourse, incontinence, and many other diagnoses.

Marieke McCloskey

Marieke is the UX Research Lead at Humu, where she partners with People Scientists to make work better for everyone, everywhere. Marieke has spent over 10 years helping companies grow by informing the product strategy and ensuring a deep understanding of the users. Before Humu, Marieke led UserTesing's User Science team, overseeing the company’s Data Science and UX Research efforts. Formerly a consultant at Nielsen Norman Group, she’s also trained thousands of professionals on the value of human-centered design.
Natalee Takasumi
PT, DPT

Natalee Takasumi
PT, DPT
Natalee Takasumi is the Head of Clinical Applications of North America for DIH. Within this role, she uses her strong background in advanced technology in neurologic rehabilitation, to provide education at customer sites on how to successfully integrate devices into clinical practice. Natalee graduated in 2014 with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado with honors. She worked at Craig Hospital in Colorado for 5 years. During most of her time there, Natalee served as the supervisor of The PEAK Center, an outpatient adaptive health and wellness facility serving individuals with neurological conditions and disabilities that expands beyond Craig's core mission of brain and spinal cord rehabilitation. Throughout this time, Natalee utilized an extensive amount of rehabilitation technology in combination with conventional therapy to achieve the clients' wellness &/or functional goals. She started at DIH since April, 2019 as a Clinical Applications Manager.
Dr. Reina M. Olivera
Dr.OT, OTR/L

Dr. Reina M. Olivera
Dr.OT, OTR/L
Dr. Reina Olivera obtained her Masters of Occupational Therapy in 2013 and her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy in 2017, both from Nova Southeastern University. While obtaining her clinical doctorate, Dr. Olivera was looking for a solution to poor parent carryover in a pediatric outpatient clinic. That’s when she learned about telehealth. She is now the owner of Telehealth OT Services and enjoys working with families of children with autism spectrum disorder who are homeschooled. Recently, she added educational resources for occupational therapists wanting to learn about telehealth, including a book, an online course, and a membership program.
Sarah Lyon
OTR/L

Sarah Lyon
OTR/L
Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011. Since then, she has worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. In 2011, Sarah launched OT Potential because she realized we needed a reliable source of quality occupational therapy-related content and resources. She has also had the opportunity to create content for brands like WebPT, MedBridge, Saebo, and NeuroLutions. She launched the OT Potential Club in 2019 to marry her love of simplifying complex topics with her desire to help therapists access the most important OT-related research released each year. Sarah is a prairie girl at heart, which is why she returned to her hometown of Aurora, Nebraska (home of the strobe light) to raise her children.

Shannon Ratay
Shannon is a Career Consultant, Executive Coach, Facilitator and Workshop Leader.
She advises leaders of all levels on best practices for effective job search, helping clients understand how all of their talents, passions and skills can work together to create a career and life that speaks to the whole of who they are. She’s recognized for being an expert in assisting job search candidates making major career shifts, particularly into non-traditional and creative fields. She’s excellent at easing overwhelm and charting a clear course towards a next career step or next personal step.
Shannon is playful in her approach, but serious about her clients stepping up; direct but inspiring. She owes her strengths and passion for coaching to her own journey switching from a job she dreaded to building a thriving, fulfilling career. Companies she’s worked for include The North Face, PowerBar, Backroads, and Levi’s. In addition to her own private coaching practice, she is a Career Coach for Torchiana, an SF Bay Area outplacement firm, and is an internal coach for Clif Bar. She lives in Oakland, Californa and spends her spare time adventuring around the Bay Area.
Trish Williams
OT (c), OTR

Trish Williams
OT (c), OTR
For years, Trish wondered if she’d made a mistake in becoming an OT. It took years of traditional jobs for Trish to find her footing in the profession as an entrepreneur, where she was finally making the income and the impact she wanted. Trish has been an Occupational Therapist for over 25 years. She holds her BA (Kinesiology) 1991, University of Western Ontario; BHScOT 1994, McMaster University, Occupational Therapy. She was a Professional Associate and Admissions Committee Member, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, McMaster University, 2001-2004 and an Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 2011-2019. Trish was one of the founding faculty of the Calgary Campus for the U of A Department of Occupational Therapy. Starting Spring Occupational Therapy, a pediatric multidisciplinary rehabilitation clinic, was born out of the desire to provide a boutique, high touch experience for families and kids with sensory needs. For six years, the clinic expanded in staff and space and offered OT, SLP and Behavioural Strategy services. The clinic saw almost 1000 families and made high six figures in revenue yearly. Professionally, Trish is the proudest of making the switch from therapist to CEO, and embracing that role by now providing the same high-end client experience, once reserved solely for therapy families, to OT entrepreneurs as a business coach. Trish’s niche is helping OTs who know they need to work more ON their business then IN their business, in order to make more money and create bigger impact. Most importantly, Trish is a mother to two glorious teens and a devoted sister and aunt. She resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and she is happiest by the lake in Muskoka, Ontario each summer. Join Trish on social media on IG at trishwilliamsconsulting and listen to her podcast, OTs Get Paid. See you there!
Wendy Warfield
MSHA, OTR/L

Wendy Warfield
MSHA, OTR/L