AGENDA

Jennifer Dodson, OTD, OTR/L, CHT has been an OT since 1998, is fellowship trained from the Philadelphia Hand Center (2002), and has been a CHT since 2004. She received her Post-Professional OTD from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She also obtained her Advance Practice Certificate in “Teaching in the Digital Age.” She currently serves as a clinical specialist at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, NC where she teaches in the AOTA approved hand therapy fellowship, coordinates student placement, and organizes OT continuing education courses. She has advocated for the profession by teaching at conferences across the US and Canada on various hand therapy topics and instructing webinars for Medbridge. She is a recipient of the 2021 NBCOT Impact award for her dedication to the population she is most passionate about serving, those that sustain complex traumatic injuries of the upper extremity

Korsh Jafarnia, MD is a board-certified, fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon, who specializes in the hand and upper extremity at Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. He performs the latest procedures in hand and upper extremity, including endoscopic carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel releases, tendon and nerve repair, fracture repair, arthroscopy, trauma, and joint reconstruction and replacement. An assistant professor of clinical orthopedic surgery of Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College, he is a published author and nationally recognized for his work in hand, wrist and elbow injuries and conditions.

Dr. Jafarnia has trained with top hand, wrist and elbow specialists at Baylor College of Medicine, where he received the Teaching Excellence, the Bronze Hammer and the Leonard Marmor Surgical Arthritis Foundation Awards. He has served as a clinical assistant professor for Baylor and an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Dr. Jafarnia’s experience and unique perspective provides both his pediatric and adult patients with the latest treatment options available for some of the most common as well as challenging hand and upper extremity injuries and conditions seen today – from childhood fractures and carpal tunnel syndrome to arthritis and other degenerative joint conditions.

Jill Frickey works in the Select Medical Outpatient Education Department serving as Clinical Education Architect, where she assists with faculty development, onboarding, and ensuring the highest quality of program delivery. Jill earned a doctorate of physical therapy in 2011 from the University of Texas Medical Branch. She obtained certification in orthopaedic manual therapy through the Ola Grimsby Institute and was the first graduate of the Select Physical Therapy Orthopaedic Residency in the Austin market. Jill was the first graduate of the Select Medical Manual Therapy Fellowship Program and was integral to the success of this dually accredited program. While achieving her doctorate in physical therapy, Jill was published on the Physiopedia website for her research in shoulder impingement. Jill has been involved as national faculty and within the Select Medical COMT program since 2014.

Mike Staino is the Hand Program Clinical Coordinator for NovaCare in Southern NJ. With 30 years of experience in the field, Michael supervises and mentors hand therapy staff, students and hand therapy fellows. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Science of Occupational Therapy from Temple University in 1993. He achieved his CHT in 1999 and COMT-UE in 2014. Michael is also known as an educator in the field of hand therapy lecturing on the national level for Select Medical Corporation and the American Society of Hand Therapists.

Chemaine Crane completed her Masters of Occupational therapy and Doctorate of Physical Therapy degrees at the University of St. Augustine and became a CHT in 2013.  She assists Sue Blackmore on a national level in Select Medical’s Outpatient Division with mentorship along with regional program and clinician development.  She is also part of Select Medical’s Continuing Education Department as COMT faculty and also teaching stand-alone courses on the upper extremity. 

Laura earned her Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University in 1998 and became a certified hand therapist (CHT) in 2005 and a COMT UE in 2016. She has over 24 years of experience in hand and upper-extremity rehabilitation with an emphasis on trauma, proprioception and orthosis fabrication. She is currently the Hand Program Coordinator for the gulf coast of Florida.

Cheryl Zwerenz is Select Physical Therapy’s Senior Hand Program Coordinator and oversees the hand programs in Kansas, Missouri, N Carolina and S Carolina.  With over 20 years of experience, she is highly skilled in treating traumatic hand injuries, wrist and hand fractures, tendon injuries, upper extremity amputations, compression neuropathies, osteoarthritis, pediatric orthopedics and shoulder injuries. She earned her degree from the University of Missouri in 1998. Cheryl became a CHT in 2010 and then COMT-UE in 2014.  She is also part of Select Medical’s Continuing Education Department as COMT faculty and an adjunct professor for the OTD program at Rockhurst University.

Dr. Roman Ashmyan is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in Shoulder and Elbow surgery including shoulder replacements and shoulder arthroscopy.

Dr. Ashmyan is originally from Queens, New York. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Queens College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. Dr. Ashmyan graduated from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He then completed an Orthopedic residency at the Hughston Clinic in Columbus, Georgia. He continued his training with a fellowship specializing in Shoulder and Elbow surgery at Medstar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.  During residency, Dr. Ashmyan trained in all aspects of Orthopedic surgery. He enjoys serving through medical missions and has traveled to India and Ecuador to provide orthopedic care to the underserved.

He continues to attend continuing medical education courses yearly and has been involved with athletic coverage from high school to the professional level. His hobbies include physical fitness, serving in the local community, and spending time with his wife and their three children.

Ryerson Stinson, MOTR/L, CHT, is an Occupational Therapist and Clinical Specialist at Johns Hopkins. He completed both his Bachelors of Science and Masters of Occupational Therapy at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT (2011/2013) where he also played golf for the Bobcats. Ryerson began working in outpatient hand therapy in 2013 and completed his CHT certification in 2017. Additionally, he holds numerous specialty certifications related to assessment and treatment of golfers (TPI M2 and K-Vest). Ryerson has been a guest lecturer at both Iona and Quinnipiac University’s Occupational Therapy programs and is a past presenter at AOTA and ASHT. At Johns Hopkins, he serves as a faculty member for both the Hand Therapy Fellowship and Physical Therapy Orthopedic and Sports Residencies along with being a lead clinical instructor for the JH Orthopedic Upper Extremity Module.  Ryerson is also the Director of the newly formed JH Golfer Rehabilitation and Performance Programs. In his free time, he enjoys competing in golf tournaments and skiing with his wife Jillian.