Joan Yapyapan “JoAn,” PT, CKTP, COMT, FAAOMPT, Clinic Director

Joan is a graduate from Pines City University DPT of Science in Physical Therapy.  She went on to earn her Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapist (FAAOMPT) in Manual Therapy institute which is a post-professional advanced clinical, analytical, and hands-on skills in the treatment of the musculoskeletal orthopedic disorders and is internally recognized for her competence in the practice of manual physical therapy. A member of APTA WA district, Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapy degree, Certified Kinesiotaping practitioner, Certified Functional Capacity Evaluation Specialist. Joan demonstrate devotion for learning and expanding her skills as a physical therapist. She participated in an extensive number of continuing education courses, as well as completing numerous certifications and a post graduate orthopedic residency, making. She has also specialized and has extensive experience in work comp, injuries and sports rehabilitation.

Professional Organizations:

• American Physical Therapy Association (Member since 2004)
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (Member since 2017)
• FAAOMPT/AAOMPT; Movement System Impairment
• FCE specialization, CI level II, ADAPT specialist

Professional Certifications/CEUs

• American Physical Therapy Association
  • FAAOMPT, MSI
  • Certified Kinesio Tape Practitioner (CKTP)
  • Ongoing Pelvic Floor specialization
  • Vestibular, TMJ, and ongoing Lymphedema specialization

Daya Babariya, PT

Daya graduated from the University of Gujarat, India in 2009 with a Bachelor of Physical Therapy. She has strong interest in all aspects of outpatient physical therapy and has worked with a wide range of patients including pre and post-operative care, musculoskeletal injuries, neurological condition, wheel chair fitting evaluation, workers compensation and work conditioning. Daya specializes in manual technique as well as functional exercise and therapeutic activities to help patients return to their prior level of function and beyond.

She has taken several continuing education courses to further her expertise in myofascial release, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, balance training, fall recovery, stroke rehabilitation, advanced kinesiology taping, vestibular dysfunction and treating extremities dysfunction through joint mobilization.

Ryan Rivera, PT, DPT

Ryan has been practicing Physical Therapy since 2017.  He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida with a major in Applied Physiology/Kinesiology and a minor in Health Science. Ryan went on to complete his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, then worked his first year in an outpatient physical therapy clinic in Tampa, Florida. Following, Ryan has spent the majority of the most recent years as a travel physical therapist contracted in various clinics within Washington State before joining Highline Physical Therapy. He has an affinity for sports/geriatric related rehabilitation focusing on progressive overload however would like to further his skill set by pursuing certifications related to functional movement analysis, chronic pain, joint/spinal manipulation, and orthopedic manual therapy. When Ryan’s not in the clinic you can find him rock climbing, hiking, traveling, taking photos, or just hanging out with his friends.

 

Maggie Chan, PT

Maggie Chan is a physical therapist from Coral Springs, FL. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Central Florida and then proceeded to complete her Doctoral degree at Nova Southeastern University in 2017. Following graduation, Maggie worked a year in inpatient rehab facility and then decided to move out west to pursue travel physical therapy.  She has worked in various outpatient orthopedic clinics in Washington and loves to meet new people. She enjoys building genuine rapport with patients and working on creating individualized treatment programs to help patients achieve their personal goals. She believes in the importance of personal development and plans to further her skill set by obtaining her manual therapy certification. Maggie takes great interest in the outdoors and has since enjoyed many adventures that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Thus, she has decided to permanently settle down in Washington to further pursue her career in physical therapy.

Ruchi Jain, BPTh, MsPT, DPT

Ruchi graduated from India with her Bachelors in Physical Therapy in 2015. She went on to earn her Masters in Physical Therapy from Boston and then her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from New York. She continued working when obtaining her higher education to incorporate her skills and knowledge and provide evidence-based therapy to her patients. Ruchi is always looking for opportunities for learning and improving her skills as a therapist. She is compassionate and believes in a holistic approach when treating her patients. She has experience working in various setup and can modify her approach based on patient’s needs. As much as she loves going outside for hikes and adventures she also enjoys peaceful time reading and cooking.

Professional Certifications/CEUs

• Certified in kinesio-taping
• Certified in dry needling in certain states
• Certified practioner for mobilization with movement

 

Alyse Lee, ST

Alyse is a speech-language pathologist from Billings, MT. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Montana and then went on to earn her Master ‘s degree in Speech Language Pathology at Washington State University in 2015. In graduate school, Alyse had the opportunity to work in various settings: schools, outpatient pediatric hospital, skilled nursing facility, and an outpatient clinic. Alyse particularly enjoyed working on voice therapy for those impacted by Parkinsons. Following graduation, Alyse worked in the school setting for three years.  In 2019, she decided to make a switch from the school setting to an outpatient setting. Alyse has experience diagnosing and treating various disorders ranging from phonological disorder, language delay, fluency disorders, voice disorder to augmentative alternative communication (AAC). She values building rapport with patients and their families to get a better understanding of their concerns and goals.  Alyse’s treatment philosophy is to provide evidence based practice treatment that is the most effective for each individual. Alyse enjoys hiking, trying out new restaurants, traveling, game night with friends, and finding new escape rooms.  

Andrew Riley, PTA

Andrew graduated from Pima Medical Institute with honors in early 2017 and has worked as a Physical Therapist Assistant in the outpatient setting since. He has experience in concussion management, vestibular rehabilitation, and pain science. Additionally, beyond Orthopedic population, Andrew is looking towards more specialized education and training with manual therapy, Neurological conditions, and Industrial Rehab. Andrew believes in a combination approach of manual therapy, exercise and patient education. As a former physical therapy patient, he is keenly aware of the many challenges of the recovery process, and strives to make it as enjoyable as possible for his patients. In his free time, Andrew enjoys composing music and traveling with his wife.

Gina Vitale, PTA

Gina is a Seattle transplant after living Cleveland, Ohio since birth. Her first encounter with PT came at age 13 after a severe back injury resulting from gymnastics. This event spurred her interest in sports medicine and wanting to rehab injured athletes.

Gina graduated from Cuyahoga Community College’s Physical Therapy Assisting program in 1994 and began her career in outpatient sports medicine rehab. She continued there for 14 years treating a variety of injuries, post -operative diagnoses and medical ailments.  During a detour for 8 years in home care, Gina had an opportunity to see more acute side of PT. Treating patients with multiple medical conditions and working with Occupational & Speech therapists as well as nurses and social workers. She returned to outpatient PT after moving to Seattle in 2016, where her clinical experience expanded into work injury rehab and conditioning.

Gina took a special interest in functional rehab, retraining patients for their personal activities and goals, utilizing her knowledge from CEU courses in Pilates and yoga, Myofascial Release, and even nutrition.  She also feels it’s important to empower patients with education for continued improved quality of life after PT is finished. She believes in a holistic approach, treating the whole patient, not just the diagnosis.

Having been an athlete most her life, Gina loves to be active. Her personal interests include rock climbing, hiking, yoga and Pilates, which she is certified to teach mat series.

Troy Thompson, OT

Troy is a Seattle transplant after being born in New York City and growing up in Indianapolis, IN.  He graduated from Indiana University with an undergraduate degree in Television/Film Design and Production with a minor in Business.  After working several years in local non-profit television, he started taking courses to apply for graduate school for occupational therapy.  Troy’s prior experience includes working in a neuro inpatient hospital before moving to WA to specialize in hand therapy.

Troy is passionate about his patients and aims to deliver the best care possible. His clinical interests include holistic approaches, orthopedics, hand therapy, and preventative care. When Troy is not treating patients, he enjoys music, futbol, baseball, skateboarding, and everything ocean.

Darren Roxas, COTA

Darren graduated in 2015 from Pima Medical Institute as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant with his Associates of Science degree. Darren’s treatment philosophy is that if you put the patient first then everything will fall in line. He focuses on returning the patient back to function so they can enjoy their life to the fullest. Darren continues to expand on his knowledge and skillset through continuing education courses in order to better provide for his patients. Darren is passionate about a maintaining a healthy life style and sharing his knowledge and experience with everybody’s health journey. He believes we are all capable of achieving what we want! In his free time, Darren stays active and healthy through any and all outdoor activities from golf to Olympic lifting. He enjoys spending time with his son coaching soccer as well.

Gabriela Velazquez, LMT

Gabriela Velazquez has been practicing Massage Therapy since 2002. She received her Diploma at Brenneke School of Massage in Seattle, WA. She worked the first four years out of school with chronic pain patients, with a diverse population, through a pilot program from Bastyr University. She has 15 years of experience treating chronic pain, work injuries and M.V.A.’s, as well as repetitive stress injuries. She has worked with chiropractors, PT’s, as well as Naturopathic Physicians. She is currently working as an Independent Contractor and shares in the care and treatments of her patients with the mindset of assisting in their healing. Gabriela is fully Bi-lingual in Spanish/English, and loves working with a diverse population of patients. She is also certified in Pregnancy and Post-Partum massage. Gabriela loves being outdoors, walking, Yoga, Zumba, bike riding, and is certified in “Yoga fit” as well as a certified Zumba Instructor. She loves encouraging her clients to start in their process of healing, wherever they are at; in order to increase their quality of life, with small changes to their daily routines.

Michael Yang, CCC-SLP

Michael graduated from New York Medical College in 2017 with his Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. His passion for serving as a speech-language pathologist is driven by his belief that being able to communicate effectively and to enjoy food is critical to a person’s quality of life. Michael’s treatment philosophy is to actively and constantly learn and research in order to provide the most effective and innovative therapy to all his patients. He values taking the time to listen to each patient and their family so that he can truly understand their personal concerns and goals. Michael has experience providing speech-language and swallowing therapy in various settings including schools, acute care, and outpatient rehab. While Michael has experience diagnosing and treating a wide range of communication and swallowing disorders, he has a particular interest in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and in brain injury rehabilitation.  Michael is bi-lingual in Chinese/English, and loves working with a diverse population of patients. Outside of the clinic, he enjoys playing and watching all types of sports; traveling; discovering new restaurants in town; walking his dog; and spending time with his wife.