Dr. Beth Shelly, PT, DPT, WCS, BCB-PMD, is a doctor of physical therapy and board certified in women’s health. Beth has been working in the field of pelvic physical therapy for over 30 years and has authored more than 15 professional chapters and multiple articles. She lectures to medical professionals all over the world and owns a private PT practice in Moline, IL where she treats outpatients with all forms of pelvic floor dysfunctions. Beth started the Pelvic PT Distance Journal Club in 2011 and coordinates and manages it each month. She also coordinates the Spanish version of the Journal club.
Ann Dunbar received her BS in PT from UNC and her Advanced Masters and then DPT degrees from VCU. In 2012, she became Board Certified as a Women’s Health Clinical Specialist. Her 44 years of clinical practice have focused on outpatient orthopedics with a passion for pelvic and women’s health. In addition to her clinical work, she held adjunct faculty positions at VCU having developed and taught the Women’s and Gender Health curriculum for the PT students for 25+ years. Over the years, Ann has made contributions to Journals and books on the topic of women’s health. She has held elected and volunteer positions of leadership in the Section on Women’s Health. She co-developed and instructed the SOWH’s Orthopedic Approach to Chronic Pelvic Pain, teaching for 10 years. Ann is the 1998 recipient of the SOWH’s Elizabeth Noble Award for her contributions to the SOWH as well as the field of women’s health physical therapy. Now retired from VCU Health, Ann continues to contribute to a profession she has loved by assisting Beth with the Distance Journal Club.
Elizabeth Lewis, OCS, WCS, has been board-certified in orthopedics since 2004 and in women’s health since
2012. Although her focus was originally on orthopedics, she has since 2005, primarily focused on women’s health physical therapy. She is CAPP-certified. Elizabeth has served in the SOWH as a committee member/leader and has been a practice manager in MA and also a mentor in women’s/men’s health at Lahey Clinic, and WHPT at Atrius Health, in MA. She now has a full-time private practice in Woburn and Gloucester, MA, which was launched just before the COVID crisis, (so she has also now been doing Telehealth). She has been a course assistant in the SOWH CAPP courses. She enjoys expanding her skills and knowledge and helping others to do the same. She has enjoyed contributing to the Journal Club over the years. She tries to live her advice to patients, of a healthy lifestyle and so enjoys walking or paddling in her beautiful seaside locale, staying fit, and a Zen practice (“meditation”).
Dr. Cynthia (Cindy) Neville, PT, DPT, WCS is a practicing pelvic health physical therapist and Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Jacksonville, Florida. She is a board-certified women’s health certified specialist (WCS). Her outpatient clinical practice at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida primarily serves women and men with pelvic floor disorders. She has developed successful Pelvic and Women’s Health Rehabilitation Programs at premier healthcare organizations including the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now known as the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab), and Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville. Dr. Neville has authored and co-authored several research articles and book chapters on the topic of pelvic health rehabilitation. She has presented her research at national and international meetings including the World Congress of Physical Therapy, the International Continence Society, the World Congress of Low Back and Pelvic Pain, and the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Neville is a nationally and internationally recognized educator and speaker in the clinical practice area of pelvic and women’s health and rehabilitation. She developed the first credentialed physical therapy women’s health residency program in the state of Florida. She has trained hundreds of physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and physicians in pelvic floor examination and rehabilitation. Cindy is proud to have been an active participant, presenter, and supporter of the mission of this Pelvic Physiotherapy Distance Club since its inception in 2011.
Laura Scheufele PT, DPT, WCS is a board-certified Women’s Health Specialist who works full-time at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She has specialized in pelvic floor and gender health for over 20 years. In addition to her clinical practice, Laura is an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware, participates in community and professional education, and has a leadership role in the Section of Women’s Health. She has authored a book chapter, a home study guide, and several journal articles related to pelvic floor dysfunction.
Michelle Spicka, DPT works as an outpatient physical therapist for Husker Rehab in Lincoln, NE. Michelle graduated from Creighton University in 2001 earning a DPT. She completed the CAPP-Pelvic, a Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy in 2008. Michelle has spent the majority of her 16 years in practice focusing on pelvic physical therapy with a strong interest in chronic pelvic pain. Michelle holds a second full-time job being a basketball coach’s wife and personal chauffeur for her two children and all their activities!
MJ Strauhal is a pelvic health physical therapist at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. She has dedicated more than 30 years to developing and implementing therapeutic programs for the special needs of women, and for pelvic floor dysfunction for multiple populations (men, women, and children). Her special interests include pregnancy and postpartum pelvic girdle pain, bladder and bowel incontinence, constipation and obstructed defecation, chronic pelvic pain, post-menopause health, and cancer survivorship. She is the author of “Therapeutic Exercise in Obstetrics” in Therapeutic Interventions: Moving Toward Function. She became the first PT to collaborate with the non-profit organization Our Bodies, Ourselves to revise and update content on pelvic organ prolapse. She is a contributor to Goodman and Fuller’s Pathology: Implications for the Physical Therapist 5th edition, and developed the course “Pelvic Floor Intervention Strategies for Urogenital and Breast Cancer Rehabilitation”. MJ is board-certified in Biofeedback for Pelvic Muscle Dysfunction (BCB-PMD). Since 2006, she has helped create the curriculum and has been on the faculty for the American Physical Therapy Association Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Certificate in Pelvic Physical Therapy (CAPP) program. MJ received the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy 2002 Elizabeth Noble Award for her outstanding contributions to pelvic health physical therapy. She has also received the Academy’s CAPP Instructor of the Year and Distinguished Years of Service awards. MJ is an internationally recognized speaker and author.
Meghan Swenck is a full-time physical therapist at VCU Health in Richmond, a large hospital-owned outpatient facility, and works within the multidisciplinary Pelvic Health Clinic. She graduated from the University of Delaware’s Physical Therapy Doctorate program in 2006 and holds a B.S. in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. She has been working in the field of Pelvic Physical Therapy since 2006 and currently treats a caseload of Pelvic Health patients. Meghan has completed the CAPP-Pelvic, a Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy, and in 2013 became a Board Certified Women’s Health Specialist. She also has been an adjunct faculty member of VCU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program since 2016, as well as an active member and presenter with the Pelvic Physiotherapy Distance Journal Club since 2017. Interests outside of work include competitive Masters Artistic/Synchronized Swimming and spending time with family.
Melissa Eagleton graduated from Shenandoah University’s Physical Therapy program twice to earn her master’s and transitional doctorate degrees in PT. She began treating pelvic health in 2006 and became a board-certified Women’s Health Specialist in 2013. She works at Rehab Services of Stafford, an outpatient clinic of Mary Washington Healthcare, in Stafford, VA, where she was privileged to be a founding partner in the development of the healthcare system’s pelvic health program. She is passionate about providing pelvic health education to patients, PT students, and the community. Outside of work, Melissa is an avid reader, trying to become an avid gardener, and cherishes time with family.
Lauren Trosch, PT, DPT is a pelvic floor physical therapist and board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist practicing in the DC metro area. She has served in a number of leadership positions with the American Physical Therapy Association’s Academy of Pelvic Health and was selected as a recipient of APTA’s Emerging Leader Award in 2020. She has presented with the International Pelvic Pain Society and myPFM, a non-profit pelvic health organization. When not working, she enjoys the outdoors, podcasts, reading, and just spending time with her friends and family.
Rachel Worman, PT, DPT, MPT, PhD (c) is a licensed physical therapist (PT) and doctoral researcher from the United States who has extensive dual training, clinical and teaching experience in both musculoskeletal and pelvic health physical therapy. She holds two-year-long post-graduate training certificates from the Manual Physical Therapy program at Folsom Physical Therapy, where she also trained, worked, and taught. She has worked as a musculoskeletal provider and founded a pelvic health program in the private outpatient setting and most recently held a senior physical therapy position as a pelvic health provider in the Women’s Health and Urology clinics of a large medical group in Northern California. She has held part-time and adjunct faculty positions at both the California State University (CSU) at Fresno and Sacramento, as well as a clinical lecturer position at the University of California (UC) at Davis School of Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine. She received her Master of Physical Therapy (MPT) from CSU Fresno in 2007, and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from the joint program at UC San Francisco and CSU Fresno in 2008. She has published numerous journal articles on the topics of muscle physiology, pelvic pain, men’s health, and lifestyle medicine as well as book chapters on cervical spine sprain and strain (Physical Therapy Treatment of Common Orthopedic Conditions 2016) and pelvic pain topics (Primary Care Pain Management 2020). In 2019 she was awarded a full scholarship from the University of Queensland in Australia for a PhD candidacy under the advisory team of Professor Paul Hodges, PhD and Ryan Stafford, PhD. Her research focuses on pelvic health outcome measures and male pelvic health. She has been an invited national and international speaker in her area of research. She was recently appointed to serve on the Research Committee for the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy.
Anu Mukherjee PT, MHS works as an outpatient pelvic health therapist for Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Tx. She has been a physical therapist for over 20 years. Her journey being a Pelvic Health physical therapist started in 2010 and she has been solely seeing pelvic floor pts for the last 5 years. She is a Certified Pelvic Rehab Practitioner through Herman and Wallace since 2021 and a Board Certified Women’s Health Specialist since 2022. She is passionate about pelvic health therapy and has presented in services in the hospital as well as in the community to create awareness and educate about pelvic health. Aside from work, she is an avid reader, loves to travel, and is still figuring out the do’s and don’ts of gardening in Texas.
Onita Turner, PT, DPT is a physical therapist in an outpatient setting at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California. She received her doctorate degree from Mt. St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, California, and serves as a Clinical Instructor for Mt. St. Mary’s students who express an interest in Pelvic Health. Onita has more than 12 years of experience caring for pelvic floor patients with a special interest in treating postpartum pelvic floor and pelvic girdle issues. Onita has established two Pelvic Health Programs, and she has advocated for this underserved population by educating other birth professionals about the benefits of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. Outside of Pelvic Health, Onita is an excellent schedule-keeper, planner, and multitasker for her two children.
Jane O’Brien Franczak, MSPT, WCS, CMTPT, has practiced physical therapy for over 28 years. After graduating from Boston University in 1992 with a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy, Jane moved out west and focused her clinical practice in orthopedics. Five years later, Jane refocused her practice on Myofascial Release (MFR) while working and studying in Sedona, AZ, under the guidance of the founder, John Barnes, PT. She is considered an expert in MFR and assists the Myofascial seminars as an instructor, teaching alongside John Barnes. Through Myofascial Release, Jane began training in pelvic health. She followed the Section on Women’s Health (aka APTA Pelvic Health Academy) coursework. Her advanced training in pelvic health was recognized with the Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy (CAPP) in 2008. After closing her clinic in Lake Tahoe in 2014, she returned home to Maryland to work at Johns Hopkins. There, she exclusively treated clients with pelvic floor disorders. Jane is honored to be one of less than 500 Board Certified Women’s Clinical Specialist (WCS). She served a 2-year term as an Item Writer for Specialization Academy of Content Experts, developing examination questions for the certification exam. She is certified in Dry Needling through Myopain Seminars to address pain from trigger points. The skills and education of Mrs. Franczak lend well to patients of all varieties. She enjoys the challenges of clients who report that they have tried everything yet continue to have their issues. Jane looks at the entire being when addressing her clients. She allows her physical therapy skills to blend with her intuitive senses to listen to the body, providing healing at the core level. Outside of work, Jane loves to spend her time with her family and enjoys outdoor sports and traveling.
Sheree DiBiase PT, PRPC, ICLM, DN, is the Founder and President of Lake City Physical Therapy, PA, a leading provider of high-quality and personalized physical therapy services in the Northwest, with nine offices. With over 40 years of experience in the profession, she has developed a strong expertise in Women’s Health, Oncology, Sports, and Ortho. She holds two prestigious credentials: the Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner Certification (PRPC) and the International Lymphedema Management Certification (ICLM). Her mission is to empower and educate our patients, staff, and community on how to achieve optimal health and wellness throughout their lifespan. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generation of physical therapists, has taught at Loma Linda University, School of Physical Therapy, and owned her own continuing education company. Sheree is also a public speaker, a contributing writer for CDA Press, and an active member of various professional associations and networks. She graduated from Loma Linda University, School of Physical Therapy, in 1984, and is married with three grown sons. Sheree loves the great outdoors and enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and kayaking.
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