Meet the staff of Femina Physical Therapy
Our Mission:
Femina Physical Therapy is dedicated to restoring the physical, emotional and sexual well -being of our patients. Our best practices include individualized evidenced-based treatment interventions in a one on one caring and compassionate environment to achieve the highest outcomes for each individual. We are dedicated in improving accessibility of care and healthy lifestyles in the communities we serve through our education programs, social media and grant funding.
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- Written by Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
Femina PT Founder Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
Heather Jeffcoat (she/her/hers) is the author of Sex Without Pain: A Self-Treatment Guide To The Sex Life You Deserve and a recognized expert in the field of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. She is also the President of the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy and on the Advisory Board of the International Pelvic Pain Society. After receiving many emails from people around world, she noticed there was a gap in access to quality pelvic floor physical therapy providers, and women deserved answers and a treatment plan for the painful sex they were experiencing. She developed her book as a way to get her proven techniques to all who needed it. Heather is proud to have opened the first pelvic health physical therapy program in the Pasadena / Glendale area, and has continued to serve the area since 2004. Since then, her staff and services have expanded to the Mid-Wilshire district and Sherman Oaks, where her mission continues to emphasize quality of care in order to optimize her patients' goals. With her expanding mission to provide access to the specialized pelvich health services her office offers, she also launched The Origin Fund in 2019, a nonprofit with 501(c)3 status, providing no-cost care to low-income, marginalized populations.
She has been a featured guest on Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Livestrong, Mom.me, ABC Radio, Health Magazine, and many other media outlets.
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- Written by Laureen McVicker
Laureen McVicker, PT, CLT
Laureen (she/her/hers) is an accomplished physical therapist with over 35 years of clinical and supervisory experience. Born and raised on Oahu, Hawaii, she received a Bachelors of Science in Health Education from California State University, Long Beach and her degree in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Laureen has a strong clinical interest in orthopedics and neurological disorders including women’s and men’s health and pelvic floor dysfunctions. She is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist and worked closely for over 23 years with the Cancer Center and Colorectal Institute of Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center. There she specialized in pelvic floor disorders and she was a frequent guest speaker at breast and prostate cancer support groups as well as other community education seminars.
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- Written by Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Kasia (she/ her/ hers) earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Mount Saint Mary’s University, and her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Santa Cruz. She has established herself as a compassionate, effective, and respected clinician treating pelvic floor and women's health, orthopedic, neurological, and sports-related injuries and conditions.
Kasia utilizes a whole-body, whole-person treatment approach that is unique to each patient and is focused not only on improving pain and difficulty with activities, but also getting them back to doing what they love. She empowers her patients to become an integral part of their recovery and healing process through providing education, self-care, meaningful goal setting, and incorporating activities that they love into their treatment plan.
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- Written by Debbie Dy, PT, DPT
Debbie Dy, PT, DPT
Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
Director of Clinical Education
Debbie (she/her/hers) earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine in Miami FL, and her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois in Chicago. Upon graduating with her DPT, she was accepted into the Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency at the University of Miami where she began working towards becoming a specialist in orthopedic physical therapy. Debbie received her distinction as a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist in June 2022, a distinguished honor that is shared by less than 10% of licensed physical therapists in the United States.
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- Written by Sarina Karwande PT, DPT, CAFS
Sarina Karwande PT, DPT, CAFS
Doctorate of Physical Therapy, Certification in Applied Function Science
Sarina (she/her/hers) earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona CA. After graduation, she worked in a variety of settings treating all ages and working her way to specializing in pelvic floor dysfunctions. Sarina’s passion for pelvic floor physical therapy began when she was a teenager as a patient herself. After years of experiencing pelvic pain, she became an advocate among her friends, family and now her patients to find the care they need.
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- Written by Stephany Tritt, PT, DPT
Stephany Tritt, PT, DPT
¡También hablo español!
After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from UC Santa Cruz, Stephany earned her Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Mount St. Mary’s University then expanded further with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Western University. For the first twelve years of her career, she treated a multitude of orthopedic and neurological diagnoses with a focus on treating people suffering from persistent pain. Stephany has treated people with a wide variety of complicated persistent pain diagnoses such as: Fibromyalgia, Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), chronic migraines, persistent low back pain and persistent pelvic pain.
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- Written by Trinity Franklin
Trinity works as the lead Rehabilitation Assistant and is primarily at our Sherman Oaks office. She has been with the Fusion and Femina team since November 2021 and has enjoyed learning more about diagnoses and symptoms related to the pelvic floor.
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- Written by Iris Xu
Iris Xu
Iris (she/her/hers) works as a Rehabilitation Assistant and Office Administrator at the Montrose office. Iris earned her Bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley in 2020 and studied Political Science and Global Public Health. She got her first glimpse into pelvic health in 2018 when she was a patient of pelvic floor physical therapy. Her passion for biomechanics and rehabilitation only grew as she became more involved in research with the UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco Ergonomics Laboratory.
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- Written by Christina Yen
Meet Christina Yen, Rehab Aide
Christina joined the team in September 2023 at the front desk and around the office as a Rehab Aide. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied International Studies, concentrating on Economics with a focus on Asia, and minoring in Chemistry. She worked at Duke University’s Center for Multicultural Affairs supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. After moving to LA, she worked at Fuller Seminary and Caltech.
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- Written by Webmaster
Judielle is a Rehabilitation Assistant and Office Administrator at the Sherman Oaks office and joined the team May 2023. She is currently studying Business Administration with an option in Healthcare at Cal State Los Angeles. She is passionate about high quality and accessible healthcare. She hopes to effectively deliver the 3Cs of high quality care: Consistency, Continuity, and Coordination.
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Hannah (she/her) works as a Rehabilitation Assistant at the Montrose and Sherman Oaks offices. She joined the team in May of 2023. Hannah currently studies Public Health at California State University Northridge.
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- Written by Mary P. Shriver, CMT
Mary P. Shriver, CMT
Pre- and Post Surgical, Somatic Stress, Trauma and Massage Therapist
Mary P. Shriver (she/her/hers) is an integral part of the Fusion/Femina team. Her work as a Trauma-Informed, Somatic Stress Therapist (Shake Off Stress) is an invaluable part of the healing journey for many of our patients.
Besides being a Certified Massage Therapist, Mary is a The Resilience Toolkit Certification Trainer, Certified Provider of Tension/Trauma Release Exercises (TRE®), Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, and holds a B.S. in Psychology from Denison University. She is also trained in the Trauma Resilience Model and Community Resilience Model through the Trauma Resource Institute, Motivational Interviewing for Behavior Change (MINT), Level 1 Resistance Flexibility with Bob Cooley, Pelvic Floor Piston Science from Julie Wiebe, and is a member of the International Pelvic Floor Society.
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- Written by Christina Lindeman
Christina Lindeman
Christina Lindeman (she/her/hers) became involved in dance and fitness at an early age, beginning her dance training at the age of three. As her training became more intense, she sought education in nutrition and general fitness to support her regimen, and was first introduced to Pilates at the age of fifteen. She became a Certified Pilates Instructor through the Long Beach Dance Conditioning Advances in Pilates Technique program in 2000. This program focused heavily on the application of proper biomechanics and appropriate modifications to classical Pilates repertoire.
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- Written by Mary Beth Kedzior
Mary Beth Kedzior, CMP
Specializing in MFR
Mary Beth has been a Certified Massage Practitioner for over 25 years. After decades of working in the field, she knew she needed more training to find lasting treatments for her clients with chronic pain. Her own struggles with migraines, hip, shoulder and neck pain from gymnastics and childhood injuries had her seeking out a wide variety of doctors and therapists for temporary relief at best. A PT friend introduced her to the John Barnes’ Myofascial Release Approach. After getting treated herself, she started taking his seminars and shadowing trained therapists at his clinic in Sedona.
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- Written by Webmaster
Doris (she/her/hers) is a third-year Student Physical Therapist from the University of Southern California (USC) and will earn her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree in May 2024. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology and a minor in Food Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.