Past Exceptional Achievement and Recognition Awards

2020 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Dean Lising - Professional Development

Dean Lising has led Professional Development (PD) with PTs/teams in roles such as Team-Based Practice/Education Lead, Director, BOOST! Team-Based Care (Centre for Interprofessional Education (CIPE), University of Toronto (UT)), IPE Scholar-in-Residence (Centennial College), Manager Academic Affairs (St. Michael’s Hospital), Professional Practice Leader, Centre Coordinator of Clinical Education and practicing PT (William Osler Health System). He is also faculty in PD programs: PT Practice within the Canadian Health Care Context Course (UT), VITAL Virtual Teaching (CIPE), Quality Improvement Foundations (IDEAS Ontario), and Teaching and Learning for Collaboration (Centre for Faculty Development) and holds a status lecturer appointment at the Department of Physical Therapy. He has produced publications in QI, team dynamics, team resilience and covid-19 innovations.

Lakshmi Matmari - Professional Development

Lakshmi is an internationally educated Physiotherapist and Clinical Education leader at UHN and Faculty in the OIEPB Program. As a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, Lakshmi is passionate about Quality Improvement and enjoys finding ways to improve care. Over the last decade, she has taken on a variety of leadership roles that have shaped practice and education. This has included exciting projects such as program-level implementation of length of stay targets and creating a new physiotherapy role in the Interventional Pain Clinic. Lakshmi is currently exploring writing about the impact of culture and relationships on lateral leadership roles.

Leslie Soever - Practitioner

Leslie Soever received her physiotherapy degree from the University of Toronto in 1984, and MSc from The Institute of Medical Science and Collaborative Program in Bioethics, at the University of Toronto in 2002. In 2008, Leslie completed the Advanced Clinician Practitioner in Arthritis Care (ACPAC) Program and in 2018-19 was the inaugural fellow at Toronto Western Hospital Interprofessional Arthritis Care Fellowship. Leslie is a Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. She has worked in various roles including clinical, professional leadership, management, and research. Combining extended scope clinical and research skills is her passion, which she does currently at Toronto Western Hospital as a physiotherapist practitioner, in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery. Leslie is also Associate Director of the ACPAC Program.

Sunita Mathur - Research

Sunita Mathur is a physiotherapist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. She directs the Muscle Function and Performance Lab and conducts research on skeletal muscle dysfunction and sarcopenia in people with chronic disease. The main clinical populations include chronic lung disease (COPD, interstitial lung disease and cystic fibrosis), people undergoing lung transplantation, and people post-critical illness. She is also the co-founder and co-Chair of CAN-RESTORE, a national network dedicated to improving the health of solid organ transplant recipients through exercise and physical activity.

Tricia Twogood - Education

Tricia holds a BScKin from the University of Calgary (2006), a MScPT from U of T (2009) and a MClSc from Western (2014). Most of her clinical career has been focused on orthopaedics and she is a fellow of the Canadian academy of manipulative physical therapists (FCAMPT). In 2013, she opened her own private practice where she continues to work today (MOVE Pain Care). Since 2016, Tricia has been an instructor in the MScPT program at U of T and is currently the academic lead for Unit 2 and the co-lead for Unit 1. She is also an instructor in the Advanced Integrated Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy program offered by the Orthopaedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.

2020-2021 Exceptional and Recognition Award Recipients Program

2019 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Gail Kirkwood—Practitioner

Gail Kirkwood is a graduate of the Bachelor of Science program in Physical Therapy at U of T (1983). She is certified as a clinical specialist in paediatrics by the Physiotherapy Specialty Certification Board of Canada. Gail has spent the majority of her career doing rehabilitation with children and youth with cerebral palsy and acquired brain injury. She co-developed the ABI- CA outcome tool in conjunction with Dr V. Wright and the assistance of graduate students from U of T. Gail recently retired from full-time practice after 35 years but plans to continue to use her physio skills with part-time involvement in research as well as coaching youth curling.

Jennifer Howey—Professional Development

Jennifer Howey, B.Sc(PT) is the owner of InsideOut Physiotherapy & Wellness Group. She thrives on life-long learning and growing the profession. Jennifer is an Adjunct Lecturer and provides a clinical site for the University of Toronto's MScPT program. Jennifer developed the InsideOut Learn Series for the professional education of new grads. She started the Nordic Pole Walking Rehabilitation Instructors Program in Canada and collaborated with Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association to bring the program to Hong Kong. She was a lead physical therapist on Team Medical for the 2015 PanAm/ Para PanAm Games. Jennifer has been featured in the CPA Leadership series and Ted talks. Above all, Jennifer loves practicing physiotherapy; encouraging her team, colleagues and patients to maximize their potential from the Inside Out.

2019 Exceptional and Recognition Award Recipients Program

2018 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Stephanie Lurch – Education

Stephanie Lurch lives to shake things up. She is a contemporary educator who resists the traditional and in doing so stimulates critical thinking. She is a storyteller, physiotherapist and academic in that order. Aiming to bridge the gap between academia and the street, Stephanie works across multiple settings in the healthcare and education sectors. She leads and develops curriculum and pedagogical innovations with the Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging Program at the University of Toronto leveraging her M.Ed and BSc PT degrees. In addition, she works as a pediatric physiotherapist with the York Catholic District School Board, is a consultant with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario and is a co-author of the Canadian Physiotherapy Competency Profile 2017. She is recognized as a prominent voice advocating for integrating the arts and social justice into physiotherapy education.

Charlotte Anderson – Practioner

Charlotte Anderson graduated from the Physiotherapy Program at U of T in 2012. Her focus since graduation has been in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. Charlotte owns and practices out of ALPHA Health Services, a private clinic with multiple locations in Toronto. She is currently a PhD candidate in RSI at U of T, with a research focus on concussion management and developing a scope of practice for physiotherapists in concussion rehab. She holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Physical Therapy at U of T, and she sits on the executive of the Private Practice Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association as the Education Lead.

Denise Scott – Professional Development

Denise Scott, a graduate of the UofT Bachelors of Physical Therapy, has been a registered physiotherapist for nearly 20 years working in a variety of practice settings including outpatient rehabilitation, inpatient rehabilitation and acute care. Currently, Denise is the Professional Practice Leader for physiotherapy at Humber River Hospital (HRH) where she also provides direct patient care. As a leader, Denise supports professional development through case-based learning, practice reflections, individualized coaching and simulation-based education for staff and students. By advocating for and coordinating student placements at HRH, she actively supports the development of future physiotherapists. Denise is currently enrolled in a Masters of Health Administration.

Kristin Musselman – Research

Dr Kristin Musselman completed a BSc (Life Sciences) and BScPT at Queen’s University, followed by a MSc (Neurosciences) and PhD (Rehabilitation Science) at the University of Alberta. Dr Musselman was a CIHR Post-doctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute from 2010-2013. Dr Musselman’s research aims to optimize mobility following a spinal cord injury and improve arm function in young children with hemiplegia. Her current research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and Rick Hansen Institute.

2018 – Recognition Award Recipients Program

2017 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Martine Quesnel – Education

Martine Quesnel completed her BScPT from the University of Ottawa and obtained her MScPT from the University of Toronto. She is a lecturer and the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education and Mentorship for the Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging Program. She practices clinically as a casual physiotherapist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. She has been combining clinical work and teaching at the university for nearly 20 years. She is passionate about mentorship in physiotherapy and education recognizing they are both powerful tools to advance the profession.

Anna Marie Sneath – Professional Development

As a PT clinician, educator and leader with over 30 years of experience in the public sector, Anna Marie has supported, advocated for and mentored many peers, colleagues and students in areas of process improvement, change management, advocacy, team functioning, project completion, and career development. She has worked clinically at several hospitals and clinics. Participation at U of T has included supporting internships, labs, small groups, OSCEs, research participation, Strategic Planning, OIEPB program, APL Committee, and Admissions Committee. Currently, at Providence Healthcare she has functioned as PPL of PT, CCCE, Manager of Ambulatory Services, Acting Director of Interprofessional Practice, Chair of Leadership Forum, Accreditation Team Lead, member of Rehab Care Alliance Outpatient/Ambulatory Advisory Group. She has a LEAN Green Belt and is completing credentialing as a Registered Corporate Coach.

Kara Patterson – Research

Dr. Kara Patterson is a licensed physical therapist, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto and a Scientist with Toronto Rehab. She received her PhD in Rehabilitation Science from UofT and completed postdoctoral training at McGill. Dr. Patterson’s research interests include 1) neural control of gait and how it is affected by neurological injury, 2) motor re-learning after neurological injury and 3) measurement and neurorehabilitation of gait and balance. Her work is funded by CIHR, NSERC and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

2017 Exceptional and Recognition Award Recipients Program

2015 – 2016 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Jo-Anne Howe – Practitioner

Jo-Anne Howe graduated in the final year of the combined P&OT program at the University of Toronto in 1973. For the last 26 years of her career, she was a Clinical Educator at Toronto Rehab-UHN and a lecturer in the Department of Physical Therapy in the neurosciences component of the curriculum. Jo-Anne’s main clinical and research interests include fitness and health promotion in neurological populations and clinical measurement of balance.
Throughout her career, she has been committed to two sides of the same coin, practice and education. She has initiated and developed many patient programs, ensuring best practice while informing both students and clinicians. Since 2007, she co-led a community-based exercise program to increase access to exercise post-discharge for people with chronic conditions. She has published and presented to many audiences – patients, and health and fitness professionals. Although she formally retired at the end of March 2016, she continues to consult and advocate in practice, education and research.

Lisa Wickerson – Professional Development

Lisa Wickerson works clinically within the University Health Network Lung Transplant Program. She has volunteered for many years with the Ontario Lung Association as a committee member and as an invited speaker at scientific conferences and patient symposiums on exercise in chronic lung disease. She has completed a Masters degree and is currently pursuing a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) to investigate oxygenation during exercise in interstitial lung disease. Lisa teaches in the Department of Physical Therapy MScPT program and co-developed the modular cardiorespiratory refresher course for the Ontario Internationally Educated Bridging Program and the continuing education oxygen titration course.

Helen Razmjou – Research

Helen Razmjou is an Advanced Practice Physical Therapist at the Holland Orthopedic and Arthritic Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She obtained her MSc degree from London, Ontario and her PhD from the University of Toronto. Her interest involves shoulder pathology, sex and gender influence on perceived disability, alternate models of care and psychological adaptation to physical disability. She has received a Doctoral Fellowship from the CIHR and has published over 100 peer-reviewed abstracts and manuscripts since 2000. She continues to contribute to the field of Physical therapy with a focus on clinical decision making of advanced practice physical therapists with respect to ordering imaging investigations and their impact on patient management.

2015-2016 Exceptional and Recognition Award Recipients Program

2014 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Erin Miller – Education

Erin Miller graduated from the MScPT program at the University of Toronto in 2006 and went on to complete a Masters of Health Management from McMaster University in 2013. She has spent the last 8 years working clinically as a physiotherapist at Toronto East General Hospital, while also pursuing opportunities related to her passion for education and teaching.
At the University of Toronto, Erin is actively involved with the Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging Program and holds a number of roles, including serving as a clinical practice facilitator and the cardiorespiratory education lead for the comprehensive stream.

Lindsay Beavers – Education

Lindsay is a Physiotherapist who graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2004 with a Bachelors in Kinesiology and a Masters of Physical Therapy from Western University in 2006. She has had the opportunity to work and teach as a Physiotherapist at St. Michael’s, as well as internationally at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia where she first became involved in simulation education. Lindsay is currently enrolled in the Education Scholars Program at the Centre for Faculty Development and works as the Collaborative Learning Specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital, as well as Clinical Practice Facilitator and Simulation Lead for the Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging Program at the University of Toronto.

Maria Huijbregts – Research

Dr Maria Huijbregts is a Registered Physiotherapist and health scientist. She has a BScPT from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in Health Studies and Gerontology from the University of Waterloo. She is Director of Research, Evaluation and Planning at Family Service Toronto and has an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. Maria has extensive expertise in practice-based program evaluation and research. She is committed to her work with students in which she encourages them to use clinical evaluation as a tool to think critically about their work and to lay the foundation for scholarly practice.

2014 Exceptional and Recognition Award Recipients Program

2013 Exceptional Achievement Winners

Kinny Quan Velanoski – Education

Kinny Quan Velanoski is a graduate of the University of Toronto. Her physiotherapy career began at Toronto Western, in 1991. Soon after, she was fortunate enough to fulfill two childhood dreams; to work at Toronto
Hospital for Sick Children and the National Ballet School of Canada. For the last two decades, Kinny has called St. Joseph’s Health Centre her second home, where she is currently the Advanced Practice Clinician in
Orthopaedics. She holds a Status Appointment with the University of Toronto, as Lecturer. She has been involved with clinical education as a clinical instructor, clinical lab assistant, facilitator to both PT Logic and Clinical Reasoning, and guest lecturer.

Jennifer Agnew – Practitioner

Jennifer Agnew has been working at the Hospital for Sick Children in Respiratory Medicine since 1989 and has pioneered physiotherapy care in the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic and Primary Cilia Dyskinesia Clinic. She is well recognized nationally and internationally for her extensive clinical knowledge and contributions to research and education and was recently accredited as an “Airway Clearance Instructor” by the International Physiotherapy Group for Cystic Fibrosis.
Jennifer’s research contributions include being a co-principal investigator for a multi-centre physiotherapist-initiated research trial and coauthoring Cochrane reviews on airway clearance techniques for cystic fibrosis. She has written and co-authored several textbook chapters on Cystic Fibrosis as well as articles on airway clearance techniques and adherence. Jennifer was the recipient of the Award of Distinction from the Ontario College of Physiotherapists in 2010.

Jeffrey Andrion – Professional Development

Jeffrey J.D. Andrion is a physiotherapist at the Sunnybrook Holland Centre and is the co-chair of the Philippine Working Group of the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation. Since 2006, he has been mentoring internationally educated physiotherapists and is a facilitator and adviser of the Society of Physiotherapists with Foreign Credentials. He completed his equivalency studies in Physical Therapy at McGill University and his MA in Critical Disability Studies at York University where he is currently completing his PhD in Health. He is an Instructor at the Department of Physical Therapy and is a faculty member of the Ontario Internationally Educated Physiotherapists Bridging Program.

Nancy Salbach – Research

Dr Nancy Salbach is a physical therapist and a CIHR New Investigator in Knowledge Translation. She holds an MSc degree in Rehabilitation Science and a PhD degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University. Dr Salbach is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto and an Adjunct Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network and St. John’s Rehab-Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr Salbach’s research program has a clinical stream and a knowledge translation stream. The clinical stream involves the development of effective assessment tools and interventions for improving walking competency after stroke. The knowledge translation stream relates to advancing understanding of how to translate quality-based procedures in stroke and HIV rehabilitation into clinical practice.

2013 Exceptional and Recognition Award Recipients Program