Hand Therapy Review Course
February 21-23, 2020 • Irvine, CA
Faculty Profiles
Vicky Adams, OTR/L, CHT
Vicky Adams graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy in 1982. She became a certified hand therapist (CHT) after passing the first CHT exam in 1991. During that time, she worked at Downey Hand Center treating traumatic industrial hand injuries and was the president of the SoCal Hand Special Interest Group. For the last 27 years Vicky has owned the Newport Hand Center. She continues to treat a full caseload and participates in local study groups. During the last five years Vicky served as either a co-chair or board member on the Occupational Therapy Association of California reimbursement and ethics committee. She has presented at the American Society of Hand Therapists Hand Therapy Review Course on orthotics fabrication and has presented locally on various hand therapy topics. She is also an avid cyclist and skier and enjoys walks on the beach.
Aimee Aguillon, OTD, OTR/L, CHT
Coming soon!
Nora Barrett, OTR/L, CHT
Nora graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1997 and has since worked in rehabilitation (Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA), acute care (Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA) and outpatient settings (National Rehab Hospital Regional Rehab, Washington, D.C. and Curtis National Hand Center, Lutherville, MD) with a focused clinical practice in hand therapy and burn injury/wounds since 2004.
In 2006 Nora completed the Advanced Certification in Hand and Upper Quarter Rehab at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Nora was the clinic coordinator of the outpatient center for Orthopaedic Rehab at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and a burn therapist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. until 2014.
She recently moved to Bend, Oregon to enjoy the active lifestyle of the west coast and joined the practice at Hand and Arm Therapy of Central Oregon. She serves on the Education Division and the Annual Meeting Committee for the American Society of Hand Therapists and is a member of the American Burn Association. She has lectured at universities in the northeast region and presented topics in burn and upper extremity injuries at conferences across the country.
Elizabeth Byrne, DPT, OCS, CHT, ATC
Elizabeth Byrne graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts in athletic training. She continued her education by completing a Masters in physical therapy from Mount St. Mary’s College as well as recently earning her doctorate in physical therapy at Western University of Health Sciences. She continued to develop her clinical skills by obtaining and maintaining her orthopedic clinical specialist credential.
After graduating from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) credentialed Hand Therapy Fellowship at Kaiser Permanente, Elizabeth went on to successfully pass the certified hand therapist exam in 2010. She has been practicing physical therapy for over 20 years and is currently employed at an Orange County Kaiser Permanente facility as a senior clinical therapist with an emphasis in upper extremity conditions. Elizabeth is currently a member of APTA, the American Society of Hand Therapists and the National Athletic Trainers Association. She likes to share her knowledge through teaching the ASHT Hand Therapy Review Course and mentoring students as a clinical instructor. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.
Linda de Haas, PT, DPT, OCS, CHT
Linda de Haas has worked in physical therapy for over 30 years. She began her career as a licensed physical therapy assistant from Cerritos College in 1985. She received her Bachelor of Science in health science from California State University, Long Beach in 1990 and a master’s degree in physical therapy from Samuel Merritt College in Oakland in 1995. Linda became board certified as an orthopedic clinical specialist in 2001 and a certified hand therapist in 2008. Linda completed doctoral studies in physical therapy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona in July 2016.
Linda works at Professional Physical Therapy in Whittier and is an adjunct professor at Cerritos College. She enjoys sharing her knowledge by presenting at both American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and American Society of Hand Therapists conferences and is a co-contributor on a chapter on carpal tunnel in the book Rehabilitation of the Post-Surgical Orthopedic Patient. Linda has served on the nominating committee of the Hand Section of the APTA. She enjoys spending her free time with her husband and two children.
Alessia DiGennaro Kerner, OTR/L, CHT
Alessia has been practicing as an occupational therapist since 1999 when she graduated from Quinnipiac University. She began her specialization in hand therapy in 2001 after a cross-country move to California. She became a certified hand therapist in 2005.
Alessia is a committee member of the American Society of Hand Therapists Education Division and a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, ASHT and the South County Hand Therapy Study Group. She is a volunteer clinical faculty member for the University of Southern California physical agent modalities and hand therapy courses.
Alessia currently works for California Hand Therapy in their Huntington Beach office.
Stephanie Djang, PT, MPT, CHT
Stephanie graduated from Walla Walla College in 1990 with a Bachelors of Science in physical education. She returned home to Southern California and spent the next three years working in sports medicine/athletic training. In 1995 she graduated from Loma Linda University with her physical therapist assistant degree and spent the next four years working as a physical therapy assitant in a variety of settings. In 1999 Stephanie returned to school and in 2001 graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a master’s degree in physical therapy. In 2007 she received her hand therapy certification.
During her physical therapy career, Stephanie has worked in many practice settings. She has also participated in the development of new physical therapy clinics. Stephanie led the opening of a new orthopedic out-patient clinic in 2006 and helped develop a hand therapy center in 2009. She used these experiences to develop the physical therapy program at the Goodwill Fitness Center of Orange County in 2012. Currently, Stephanie is embarking on a new adventure while developing her own business - Innovative PT, Wellness and Consulting, with her focus on serving the chronically ill and neurologically impaired population.
Janelle Freshman, PT, DPT, OCS, CHT
Janelle graduated from California State University, Long Beach in 1994 with a BS in Physical Therapy. She has been a CHT since 2006. She completed her transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona in 2011.
Janelle has been an orthopedic clinical specialist since 2002. She completed a two-year residency program in orthopedic manual therapy at the Ola Grimsby Institute in 1999. She has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Long Beach in the physical therapy department since 2006 and has taught Upper Extremity Human Anatomy lab, Clinical Pathophysiology, and Physical Therapy of the Hand to the physical therapy students. In collaboration with a veterinarian, she co-authored the chapter Physical Therapy in Wildlife Rehabilitation in the book Topics in Wildlife Medicine - Orthopedics published 2017.
Janelle is employed in the hand therapy department at South County Orthopedic Specialists. She recently joined The Hand Care Center/Shoulder and Elbow Institute in Orange, CA.
Janelle has been involved in volunteer efforts in Nicaragua since 2012. She has coordinated four Hand Surgery/Hand Therapy medical mission trips to rural Nicaragua in the years of 2012-2015. Janelle lived in rural Nicaragua and volunteered as a physical therapist from 2016-2017. When she is not working, Janelle enjoys traveling and living abroad with her husband.
Tambra Marik, OTD, OTR/L, CHT
Tambra graduated from Rocky Mountain University in 2007 with over 20 years of clinical experience working with the injured athlete, worker and aging population. Her current clinical background includes critical analysis of evidence-based treatment interventions. She has authored and co-authored several book chapters, research papers and newsletters based upon upper extremity rehabilitation. This year, Tambra published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy Centennial Issue a systematic review on occupational therapy interventions of the shoulder, and she also completed a review on the elbow.
Tambra regularly presents on upper extremity rehabilitation. She served as the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Education Division Director in 2013 and 2014 and the ASHT Research Division Director in 2016. Tambra currently works in the clinic part-time, teaches at the University of Puget Sound and is the Elective Track Upper Extremity Director at Rocky Mountain University clinical doctoral program.
Joanne Mimm, MPT, CHT
Joanne graduated from California State University, Northridge in 1982 and completed an advanced master’s degree in physical therapy at Loma Linda University in 1996. She became a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist in 1994 and achieved her certification in hand therapy in 1996. Joanne has taught at Loma Linda University School of Physical Therapy as a clinical faculty member and has been a guest lecturer at Chapman and the University of Southern California.
Over the past 20 years Joanne has specialized in hand therapy. She founded the South Orange County Hand Therapy Study Group and continues to have a passion for learning. Currently, Joanne is practicing at both Newport Hand Center and South Orange County Orthopedics with Dr. Mark Elzik. Joanne
Believes that work in hand rehabilitation is rewarding, but life is even better with friends, golf and chocolate.