Physical Therapist
Clinical Director
Physical Therapist | Sports Performance | Women’s Pelvic Health
I was recruited to the University of Minnesota on a full ride scholarship for gymnastics (Go Gophers!). I received my bachelors degree in Sport Management from the U of M, and decided to move back to Arizona to pursue a career in personal training while continuing to coach gymnastics.
I absolutely loved personal training as I have always been fascinated with the human body and what we are able to push our bodies to do. However, I felt I wasn’t able to fully help my clients as many of them had injuries which I wasn’t able to treat as a personal trainer. I realized that physical therapy would allow me to have the best of both worlds and fully help people the way I wanted to.At this point, I decided to go back to school at A.T. Still University in Mesa, AZ, where I earned my Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree. I have a wide variety of experience in pediatric and outpatient orthopedic settings. I enjoy working with people of all ages, with my youngest patient (to date) being 6 weeks old, and the oldest being 96 years old!
I believe there are endless benefits that movement and exercise can provide us with, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I want every patient that walks through our doors to feel empowered and inspired to move their body, not afraid.
To me, “Expect better” means that everyone who walks through our doors deserves and should expect the full and undivided attention from our movement experts and support staff. When it comes to your health and your body, you deserve nothing but the best. After all, we only get one body, and we want to help you take care of yours!
Outside of work, I enjoy being outside (when it’s not 115 degrees out) and exploring all the beauty Arizona has to offer. I love hiking and running, traveling, trying new restaurants, and enjoying time with my family! I have two amazing kids who motivate me to be my best every day. I want to inspire them and teach them that you truly can do anything you set your mind to if you’re willing to put in the work.
I’m a true Arizona native, born and raised in Gilbert, where I grew up playing baseball at Highland High School. After hanging up my cleats, aside from the occasional beer league softball game, I used my extensive knowledge of the local area to build a successful real estate business.
During this time, Julie and I would often discuss our daily challenges over dinner. Hearing about the frustrations Julie faced while working at a traditional outpatient clinic, I realized that my business and entrepreneurial background could help us launch our own physical therapy clinic. With some trial and error, and a lot of hard work, we made it happen.
We know there are plenty of physical therapy clinics around the valley that might treat patients like just another number. But we want our patients and athletes to hold us to a higher standard—to expect more from us as a whole.
I grew up in Santa Fe, NM and was a multi-sport athlete growing up, I swam, ran track and raced BMX. After college, I coached high school and collegiate swimmers, and produced a consecutive year high school state championship winning team. During that time I also assisted in a Physical Therapy clinic for 5 years, and learned how to help people live pain free and recover from injuries.
With my experience and education, I built a philosophy around quality training that allowed people to learn about fitness and how to apply it the right way. My passion ultimately led me to open my first gym.
As an athlete growing up, I had minimal exposure to strength training and was mostly prescribed bodyweight and resistance band training. It wasn’t until the collegiate level that I was introduced to formal strength training. After college I was fully immersed in strength & conditioning and used it to prepare the athletes I was coaching. Strength training has evolved in over 20 years and endurance athletes and coaches now realize the benefits of structured strength training as a supplement to their sport.
The following years since college have revolved around educating and guiding many people, of all different abilities in the methods and fundamentals of strength training. I’ve worked in the fitness industry for over 20 years now. I hold a B.S. in Business Admin with a Health and Life Sciences Focus, CPT through NSCA, CrossFit L2, USAW L1 Sport Performance Coach, Certified Pain-Free Performance Specialist PPSC and Power Athlete Inc. Certified Block One Coach.
Fitness saved my life, literally. I am passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and want to share my knowledge and skills with others. I enjoy working with people and helping them overcome challenges, improve their self-esteem, and feel better physically and mentally. I like to challenge myself and learn new things, and find satisfaction in seeing my clients progress and succeed. I value flexibility and creativity in my work, and want to have a positive impact on my community. “Where there’s a Will there’s a way, and if there’s no way at least there’s Will.”
What does #ExpectBetter mean to you? Too often these days we see people given terrible advice when it comes to their health and fitness, sadly at times that poor advice is coming from medical professionals and social media influence. I have made it my mission to cut through the BS and provide actual SOLUTIONS for my clients, rather than just tell them to stop doing what they love, or do it in a way that doesn’t work individually for them safely. Research proven, knowledgeable, high standard, high quality training is what I will always offer to my clients.
Why are you excited to join AZPI? I’m very excited to join the team at AZPI! Our vision for standards aligns and we will be able to create a space that will serve our community with the highest quality of health and performance services under one roof.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I have a beautifully strong fiancé and daughter who I love to spend time with. I am still an avid athlete, and love to challenge myself in ultrarunning, powerlifting and fitness competitions. I love to travel, camp and be outdoors as much as possible.
I’m originally from Dallas, TX, however I have spent most of my life in Salt lake city, UT where I developed a love for the outdoors and sports. I played football, basketball, and spent most of my time in the mountains camping, hiking, skiing, and mountain biking.
I’ve been active and played sports my whole life. I know how challenging and frustrating it can be to get injured or have to undergo a surgery. I had the great pleasure of doing physical therapy after all of my injuries and I fell in love with the environment of positivity and healing. I immediately knew what I wanted to do with my life after my first visit to a physical therapy clinic.
I was a personal trainer all throughout my undergrad, which also influenced my love for health and fitness. It was so fulfilling helping clients achieve their goals. Now I get to be a Physical therapist and help others on a much larger scale.
I graduated from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in 2020 and have been working in outpatient orthopedics ever since. My school sent me to Arizona for one of my clinical internships and, despite it being slightly warmer than Utah, I just had to stay. I love the beauty and variability of Arizona, with Flagstaff, Sedona, Tucson, etc. all just a short drive away.
I have developed a love for treating all types of conditions. My passion is in athletic populations, especially endurance athletes and shoulder patients.
Even after a long day, I am honestly just grateful for the opportunity to be a PT and do a job that I truly enjoy. I am tremendously lucky to be able to help patients achieve their goals and return to full function and more.
What does #ExpectBetter mean to you? It means going above and beyond to make sure that our patients get the best possible 1:1 care that they deserve; to show them how physical therapy SHOULD be done.
Why are you excited to join AZPI? I am excited to be part of a patient centered company that is focused on doing what is right and giving patients the one on one care they deserve. I am also excited to be part of such a great team and a business that is supporting two local couples whose values align so well with my own.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I love spending time with my wife and two doggos, as well as being outdoors: mountain biking, golfing, camping, hiking, and racing (marathons, triathlons, and spartan races).
I was born and raised in a small 9,000 population town in northern Wisconsin. My love of athletics began from a very young age as I grew up playing soccer, softball, running track, and eventually found my true passion volleyball, that I went on to play for 10 years and throughout my collegiate career.
Since as early as 14 years old I knew I wanted to work in the world of athletics and help people live healthier lives somehow. In the small town I grew up in we had one physical therapy clinic. That physical therapist was also an athletic trainer and provided coaching to various high school athletic teams as well.
I remember thinking “This encompasses everything I want in a career. I want to do that!” and I applied to join an athletic training program at my highschool that next semester. Volleyball continued to stay at the forefront of my passions and went on to compete at the NCAA DIII level at University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point which also has one of the highest rated Athletic Training programs in the country.
I was introduced to weight training in the off-season my first year and this grew my love for exercise and movement further. I knew I had to continue to grow my knowledge and share this passion with others as a Physical Therapist, undoubtedly.
Fast forward 8 years of undergrad and graduate school combined and I am now a practicing Doctor of Physical Therapy and certified Athletic Trainer. During one of my many clinical rotations I was based in Arizona. I was able to see a whole new world that wasn’t covered in snow and filled with gloomy -40° degree winter days. So, I decided to pack up my RAV4 and drive cross country solo to start my career and new adventure in sunny Arizona! Recently, I moved to the east valley and I’m excited to bring my extensive background in orthopedics and sports medicine to AZPI.
What does #ExpectBetter mean to you? Going above and beyond and setting a higher bar for myself and the people around me to achieve more and always be 1% better every day. In regards to physical therapy, this means doing more than giving the same generic exercises to every person and moving on to the next patient.
It means creating relationships, critically thinking, and making it my mission to help patients achieve their biggest goals. When I hear Expect Better, I think of all the bad experiences prior patients or friends and family have had with physical therapy and I strive to show everyone what it can TRULY provide to others. And when provided correctly can truly change your life. I think physical therapy can be so fun. Not in a cheesy type of way, but in a way that makes people leave feeling happy, strong, capable, and empowered that they can do the hard stuff.
Why are you excited to join AZPI? From the day I met the team and saw the facility I felt like these were my kind of people and I could really make a difference in patient’s lives here! Their values clearly aligned with mine and that meant providing me with an opportunity to provide meaningful and amazing 1:1 care for patients. I’m excited to make my mark at AZPI and join such a forward thinking company!
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I love spending time with my family and loved ones as much as possible. Some of my favorite things include going on morning runs with my goldendoodle Cody, lifting weights, snowboarding, golfing, and exploring new restaurants in the Valley.