CHT Prep Program

Ann Porretto-Loehrke is a skilled clinician with a passion for teaching and clinical treatment of upper extremity disorders. She serves as the clinical development coordinator at the Hand to Shoulder Center in Appleton, Wisconsin. Ann is a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) and a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist (COMT) for treatment of the upper quadrant through the International Academy of Orthopedic Medicine (IAOM). Ann received a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Marquette University in 1994 and completed a postprofessional Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from Drexel University with a specialty in hand and upper quarter rehabilitation in 2007. She is also certified in dry needling through Myopain Seminars as a Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist (CMTPT). Ann is a lead instructor who codeveloped the Hand & Upper Extremity Track through IAOM, a set of six manual therapy courses designed specifically for hand and upper extremity specialists. She coauthored a chapter in Rehabilitation of the Hand & Upper Extremity on nerve compression syndromes of the elbow and forearm and published two peer-reviewed articles entitled "Clinical Manual Assessment of the Wrist" and "Taping Techniques for the Wrist" in the 2016 Journal of Hand Therapy's special edition of the wrist. Ann has presented at American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) annual conferences, the Canadian Society of Hand Therapists (CSHT) Annual Conference, The Philadelphia Meeting, TRIA's Hand Therapy Conference, and Teton Hand Conferences. Connect with Ann on LinkedIn

Deborah A. Schwartz is a hand therapist with more than 34 years of experience as a practicing clinician. She has worked at Orfit Industries America for the past ten and a half years promoting product awareness and offering a variety of educational programming on orthotic fabrication. Debby is an active member of the American Society of Hand Therapy (ASHT) and has participated in the International Federation of Societies of Hand Therapy (IFSHT) meetings as well. She has presented on a variety of hand therapy topics at both national and international conferences and has written a number of articles for hand therapy publications, including the Journal of Hand Therapy, the British Journal of Hand Therapy, HAND, www.exploringhandtherapy.com, and OT Practice. Debby completed her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. She presently teaches orthotic fabrication workshops for Orfit Industries America for both student occupational therapists and advanced clinicians. She is also an adjunct professor in the Occupational Therapy department of Touro College in New York City, where she teaches orthotic fabrication and an elective on hand therapy. Debby is currently writing several book chapters for hand therapy references and collaborating on a textbook of orthotic fabrication.

Dr. Wendy K. Anemaet, a physical therapist since 1989 in home health, acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient, and skilled nursing, is an associate professor at the School of Physical Therapy at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Wendy received her Master's in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California and her PhD in Aging Studies from the University of South Florida. She is a Geriatric Clinical Specialist and Certified Wound Specialist, has a Geriatric Training Certificate, and serves on the editorial board of Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation. She has co-authored books on home health rehabilitation and has published hundreds of articles on home health therapy in peer-reviewed and trade publications. She provides training nationally on geriatric strengthening, therapeutic exercise, wound assessment and management, and competency testing for home health physical therapists on the drug regimen review and pharmacology. Wendy has earned the Certificate for OASIS Specialist-Clinical (COS-C). Her research interests focus on exercise and older adults and clinical practice related especially to home care.

Dr. LaRaus is a 1992 graduate of Hunter College's Physical Therapy Program in New York. He obtained his postprofessional Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in May 2008. He started out his career developing and implementing the University of Medicine and Dentistry's inpatient and outpatient wound care center and services. He has worked in a variety of settings, such as the University Medical Center at Princeton, where he is the senior physical therapist and where he co-organized the facility's original SWAT (Skin Wound Action Team) program, which develops and implements hospital-wide wound care protocol. He was the first physical therapist to be a program director for the Center for Wound Healing, where he developed and ran a successful outpatient wound management program. Currently, he is the director of inpatient rehabilitation services at the Memorial Hospital of Salem County for FOX Rehabilitation. Dr. LaRaus is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association's Acute Care section, where he served on the editorial advisory board of Acute Care Perspectives from 1997 to 2017. Dr. LaRaus also served on the peer-review panel for Advances in Skin & Wound Care, and he has written and produced with Slack Incorporated an interactive wound care CD-ROM for health professionals (June 2003). Dr. LaRaus has been a certified wound specialist with the American Board of Wound Management since June 1998. He has been an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care since 2000, where he has served on the Government and Regulatory Affairs Task Force, worked on the award-winning venous ulcer algorithm, and is the current cochair for the regulatory group. He serves as a member of the nominating committee and was the physical therapy board member from 2014 to 2017 for the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care. Dr. LaRaus is an active lecturer in the field and has presented at various universities as well as nationally to healthcare professionals and allied healthcare professionals in the field of wound care management. Connect With Scott on Linkedin

Gary graduated from the occupational therapy program at Washington University in St. Louis in 1993 and became a certified hand therapist in 1999. He also received his MBA in 2010. He has worked as the director of therapy at Chicago Metro Hand Therapy, alongside the physicians of Hand to Shoulder Associates, since 1998 and has also served as adjunct faculty at Governors State University. His primary area of clinical interest is the postoperative management of traumatic upper extremity injuries. Gary is a past president of the American Society of Hand Therapists and has also served as vice president, secretary treasurer, and education division director for ASHT. He is currently the vice chairman of the American Hand Therapy Foundation and an affiliate board member for the American Association for Hand Surgery. He also serves on the Medical Advisory Board for Arthritis Today magazine. Gary lectures frequently and teaches continuing education courses throughout the United States.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (Provo, Utah), Virginia first became interested in hand architecture during her fieldwork days. She is actively involved in clinical and biomechanical research of the thumb and the wrist, is a member of the AOTA Evidence Exchange committee and a member of the ASHT Research Committee, is a published author in the Journal of Hand Therapy (JHT), a contributing editor for the Year Book of Hand and Upper Limb Surgery since 2012, and is a reviewer for JHT and Journal of Hand Surgery. Virginia owns her own business, O'Brien Upper Limb Consulting LLC, and works full time clinically at University of Minnesota Health-Hand Center, a clinic of the Institute of Athletic Medicine in Minneapolis, MN, where she is the Hand Therapy Residency Coordinator. Since 2005 she has presented on a variety of hand related topics to therapists and physicians locally, nationally, and internationally.

Jennifer Dodson graduated from the Florida International University occupational therapy program in 1998. She has been practicing outpatient rehabilitation in Jacksonville, Florida, ever since. In 2002, she was honored to be chosen as a fellow for the Evelyn Mackin Hand Therapy Fellowship at the Philadelphia Hand Center. She became a certified hand therapist in 2004. Part of the mission of the fellowship was to have the fellow bring learned knowledge to an underserved area. To help fulfill this mission, she created her own continuing education company, 3Kings Upper Extremity Specialists, specializing in upper extremity rehabilitation. 3Kings Upper Extremity Specialists brings quality continuing education courses to Jacksonville with the support of local hand/plastic surgeons and CHTs from around the country. Additional goals of starting her own company were to unite the CHTs and MDs in the Jacksonville area, to promote evidence-based practice by holding journal clubs, and to mentor area therapists. Jennifer is an active member of the American Society of Hand Therapy and has served on the education council. She has been invited to lecture at local and national conferences around the US and Canada on various upper extremity topics. She currently works at UF Health Jacksonville, a level 1 academic trauma hospital. This allows her to practice in the two areas in which she is passionate: trauma and sports medicine. She previously served as a clinical hand specialist, where she developed the hand therapy program at the hospital. Through her years of practice, she has had the ability to start up hand therapy programs in various settings.

Jeanine Beasley, EdD, OTR, CHT, FAOTA is a professor at Grand Valley State University's Occupational Science and Therapy Department and is the coordinator of the OT Weekend/Hybrid Program. Jeanine is a frequent guest lecturer and has spoken in thirteen states and five countries. She has authored and coauthored nine book chapters and eight journal articles, many dealing with arthritis, orthotics, and the use of simulation in OT programs.

Mike Szekeres, PhD, OT Reg (Ont.), CHT, is in private practice at Hand Therapy Canada in London, Ontario, Canada. He is an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Hand Therapy. He is currently a sessional faculty member at Western University and has recently completed his PhD in the field of Physical Therapy within the Department of Rehabilitation Science. Mr. Szekeres has served on the Board of Directors for the ASHT. Current professional interests and research include the use of technology for rehabilitation and optimizing the composition and delivery of therapy interventions after wrist fracture.

Ms. Normand graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Laval University in Quebec, Canada. She completed a Hand Therapy Fellowship with Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Woman's University in 1999, in Houston TX and was certified as a hand therapist that same year by the Hand Therapy Certification Commission. She received her Advanced Master's degree with hand therapy emphasis in 2003 from Texas Woman's University. She was certified as an orthopedic manual therapist through The International Academy of Orthopedic Medicine-US (IAOM-US) in 2006, and soon after joined their faculty for the creation of a specialty Hand and Upper Extremity Track. Ms. Normand currently works as full time clinician for Yale New Haven Health System-L&M Hospital on the eastern coast of Connecticut, and lectures nationally for IAOM-US.

Aviva Wolff is an occupational therapist and clinician-scientist with a strong background in motor control and movement analysis and extensive experience working with performing artists and individuals with musculoskeletal injuries. She currently consults for the Juilliard School and runs the upper extremity clinical movement analysis programs and hand and wrist biomechanics research at the Leon Root, MD, Motion Analysis Laboratory at Hospital for Special Surgery. Her research interest is in customizing interventions to each individual's occupational needs and pathology. She utilizes quantitative and qualitative analysis of upper extremity movement dysfunction to generate data to better inform surgery, therapy, and performance. She studies the underlying mechanisms of treatments for musculoskeletal conditions that affect upper extremity motion and function in order to further understand and develop more effective treatment strategies. Her research has focused on wrist biomechanics and function, elbow biomechanics and function, hand and arm function in brachial plexus injury and cerebral palsy, and upper extremity injury prevention in musicians. She has independently led and collaborated with orthopedic surgeons, scientists, and biomechanists on several funded studies that have led to multiple presentations and publications. Dr. Wolff has served in various leadership capacities in multiple professional organizations. More Info About Aviva Dr. Aviva Wolff's Website Follow Aviva on Twitter Connect With Aviva on LinkedIn

Leonard (Lenny) Macrina is the cofounder and director of physical therapy at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Waltham, Massachusetts. He received his master's degree in physical therapy from Boston University. He has been teaching continuing education courses on shoulder rehabilitation and presenting at conferences around the United States since 2006. Lenny's work has been published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, the North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, the Sports Health journal, and many more. His professional memberships include the APTA Massachusetts Chapter, APTA Sports Physical Therapy Section, American Sports Medicine Institute, and National Strength and Conditioning Association. More Info About Lenny Connect With Lenny on Linkedin

Dr. Eric J. Hegedus has had a notable 21-year career as a leader and innovator in physical therapist education, research, and clinical practice and is founding chair of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Department at High Point University. Dr. Hegedus also is founder and director of Targeted Enhanced Athletic Movement (TEAM), a community-based health and wellness program designed to improve athletic performance and prevent injury. In addition to his administrative duties, Professor Hegedus has directed and taught musculoskeletal practice management courses and has won the American Physical Therapy Association Orthopedic Section's James A. Gould teaching award. He is also a four-time winner of the Duke DPT Excellence in Teaching award and a three-time nominee for Duke Medical Center's prestigious Master Clinician Educator Award. In addition to his love for teaching, Dr. Hegedus is a lifelong student with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Slippery Rock University, a Master of Health Science degree from Duke University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Bucknell University, a board specialty in orthopedic physical therapy, and a specialty certification in strength and conditioning. Finally, Dr. Hegedus is a productive scholar with more than 40 peer-reviewed PubMed articles, three book chapters, and a textbook entitled Orthopedic Physical Examination Tests: An Evidence-Based Approach, now in its second edition and translated into five languages. Connect with Eric on Linkedin

Andrew Opett received a bachelor of science degree in biology from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1996; a bachelor of science degree in health sciences from Nazareth College of Rochester, New York, in 2000; and a master of science degree in physical therapy from Nazareth College of Rochester, New York, in 2001. He completed his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, in 2012. Dr. Opett is board certified as a clinical specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Dr. Opett is clinical assistant professor at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, and teaches course content in human gross anatomy, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, pharmacology, and musculoskeletal management. He supervises student research projects within the realm of diagnosis and treatment of spine-related complaints. He also continues to practice physical therapy part-time in the Rochester area. Dr. Opett currently serves as the vice chair of the New York State Board for Physical Therapy. He also serves as the chair of the ethics committee for the New York State Physical Therapy Association.

Mary "Peggy" Faussett is an occupational therapist and certified hand therapist. She graduated with a master's in occupational therapy in 2001 from Chatham University. She became a certified hand therapist in 2012. Peggy currently works at Children's Hospital Colorado as the program coordinator for the pediatric hand therapy program. She enjoys treating children of all ages with a variety of hand and upper extremity conditions. Peggy has presented both locally and nationally on pediatric hand therapy. When not working as an OT, Peggy enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys.

Jill Peck-Murray, MOTR/L, CHT, is a pediatric hand therapist. She worked as an occupational therapist/hand therapist at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, CA from 1982 through 2017. During her 35 years, she gained expertise, with special skills in creative splinting/orthotic intervention, and developed the hand therapy program for the hospital. She is currently devoting her time to sharing her knowledge with the therapy community by teaching continuing education courses. She has been teaching pediatric-oriented CE courses nationwide through Rehab Education, LLC since 2007. Jill has authored numerous journal articles, chapters on pediatric splinting/orthotic intervention in "Orthotic Intervention for the Hand and Upper Extremity" and "Foundations for Pediatric Occupational Therapy." She has also co-authored a book entitled "101 Creative Therapy Ideas." She has presented at annual conferences for professional organizations, including AOTA, ASHT, and OTAC. She has been an invited speaker several times at international conferences. She is currently the President of the San Diego Hand Special Interest Group.

Susan W. Stralka, PT, DPT, MS, is a licensed physical therapist with many years of experience treating both musculoskeletal and neurovascular consequences of injury. She earned her bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, Tennessee (UTHSC). She has a strong clinical background in treating neurological and musculoskeletal consequences of injury. Susan has presented nationally and internationally in upper and lower extremity dysfunctions as well as pain management. Susan has written articles on a wide variety of topics related to physical therapy for many national publications and health journals. Her most recent publications are "Graded Motor Imagery" in the Journal of Hand Therapy 2011 and a chapter on "Thoracic Outlet Syndrome" in the book entitled Neck and Arm Pain Syndromes by Elsevier in 2011. In 2009, Susan was recognized by the Arthritis Association as Volunteer of the Year. With the goal of providing the best rehabilitative care to patients, Stralka continually recruits and supports innovative clinical programs to benefit future patients.