How long have you been in the profession?
Twenty years in a variety of roles, including clinician, educator, and researcher.
What is your educational background (college through certification)?
I started my education at the University of Washington and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in O&P in 2006. I completed both of my residencies at the University of California San Francisco. Then in 2014 I returned to pursue my doctorate in Rehabilitation Science and ended up also completing a Master of Public Health in Global Health along the way.
What are your professional affiliations?
I am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. I am a proud member of the Collaborative. I am also the Vice-Chair of the U.S. Chapter of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (USISPO). I also recently became the Research Chair of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research. I am also a member of the Medical and Research Advisory Committee for So Every BODY Can Move.
Why did you choose this profession?
Serendipity led me to O&P. I was attending the University of Washington and knew I wanted to work in healthcare or a helping profession. My brother had a friend of a friend who was going to school for O&P, and he suggested that I look into it. Apparently, my brother knows me quite well, because I loved the combination of patient care and hands-on fabrication and troubleshooting. I chose O&P because I get a lot of satisfaction from working with and helping people (be that O&P users, students, or clinicians).
What has changed most about the field since you first became a practitioner?
That’s a difficult question as I think I have changed substantially both in my role within the profession and personally over the past 20 years. Because I’ve changed, my view of the field has changed as well. Through my current lens, I see how much our scientific evidence has changed and evolved. The quality of research, quantity of CPO investigators and collaborators, and the general interest in research in O&P has grown substantially in the past 20 years.
What has been most satisfying about your decision to go into the field?
I love going to work every single day. I’m excited about my contributions to the field. I am inspired by the intelligent, passionate, and diverse students I get to teach and mentor. I work with really brilliant and passionate colleagues across the country and around the world who are all working to improve the lives of people who use prostheses and orthoses. That said, it comes down to the amazing community of people I get to work with and support.
What has been the most frustrating?
Funding has been the most frustrating. Whether it’s reimbursement within the healthcare system or limited opportunities for research dollars, lack of funding prevents so much good work from being accomplished. It is so challenging as a clinician when you are unable to provide the care a person needs because of the U.S. healthcare system and lack of universal healthcare coverage. In research, funding is also the most frustrating aspect. As researchers we must support our own salaries and those of our staff, so we end up researching the topics that are well-funded rather than those that are most urgent or important. Unfortunately, this means that important topics like healthcare disparities and many topics related to O&P remain under researched.
What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
I find that the professional accomplishments I am most proud of are those made my mentees. There is simply nothing better than working with and supporting a student or mentee and having them accomplish their goals. Most recently, Mya Akrie was able to present their Capstone poster at the 2026 Academy Meeting, Lauren Brousseau published a first-author manuscript about prosthetic attention among lower limb bone-anchored prosthesis users in JPO, and Dr. Rachael Rosen successfully defended her doctoral dissertation. I find so much satisfaction and pride in my mentees doing well and succeeding at their chosen pursuits.
If you were speaking to high school or college students, what would you say to encourage them to choose this profession?
I think it’s important to educate high school and college students about the many professional pathways they could pursue that are related to O&P. We need technicians, educators, manufacturers, researchers, fitters, and clinicians, among others. If they are interested in a career that is more than just a paycheck, O&P offers numerous career paths that involve meaningful, impactful work.
How has your Academy membership been valuable to you?
The Academy has been a great resource for networking and building collaborations. In particular, finding the Collaborative felt like finding my home in O&P. While I’m a researcher, clinician, and educator, sharing space and ideas with people who are also passionate about inclusivity and social justice makes me feel like myself in the best possible way.
In an effort to get a sense of what your interests are outside of O&P, what do you like to do when you are not working?
I spend most of my time with my family. My husband, Arturo, and my two daughters, Avery and Hayden. We love nature, camping, swimming, and crafts. When I do sneak away for some alone time, I am either reading a book, gardening, or throwing pottery on the wheel.
What’s one thing that people in the O&P industry would be surprised to know about you?
My mom has Schizoaffective disorder, which is a severe mental illness. She was diagnosed when I was a small child and her ongoing struggle with mental illness has largely shaped my family, my life, and my passion for health equity. In the age of social media, it feels important to share some of the more challenging parts of our lives. It’s not all success and pretty pictures.
How does diversity enhance the O&P field?
Diversity is everything. All the innovation we see comes from collaboration between people who bring different backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences to their work. Diversity enriches the conversation and reminds us that we each bring our own limited viewpoint shaped by our past experiences. We need diversity to challenge our assumptions and broaden our collective viewpoint. I also think it’s important to consider diversity in the broadest way. Yes, it means diversity in gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. But it also means that we need people with disabilities, people with different professional training, or who grew up in different locations, cultures, or religions. We learn the most from those who are different from us and the best way to learn from others is to be in the same shared spaces such as those the Academy provides.
