Meet the experts

Dr. Jason E. Cook, DPT, PhD is a board-certified pediatric specialist, a core faculty member in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Tufts University, Boston, MA, and is a practicing clinician at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. Dr. Cook earned his bachelor’s degree from Drake University, his master’s and doctoral degrees in physical therapy from Des Moines University, and his PhD at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He teaches and focuses his clinical care in the areas of neurologic and pediatric physical therapy. His area of research is in evaluating pain, distress, comfort, and well-being in individuals with cerebral palsy and incorporating phenomenological and mixed-method research design. He is the Director of Membership, Communications, and PR and a board member of the APTA Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy.

Dr. Brianna Durand (she/they) moved to Seattle after earning her Doctor of Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, TX & her Bachelor’s of Athletic Medicine at University of Texas San Antonio. She founded Empower Physiotherapy in 2019 to provide much-needed affirming care to the LGBTQIA2S+ community with her training in orthopedics & pelvic floor physical therapy. Since then, they have become an international educator to other healthcare providers, sharing their expertise in caring for gender & sexual minorities. As a competitive powerlifter, she enjoys working with athletes & is passionate about combating misinformation regarding incontinence on the platform.

Angie Kiger, M.Ed., CTRS, ATP/SMS earned a Master of Education degree in Assistive Technology from George Mason University. She is an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), Seating and Mobility Specialist (SMS), and a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS).  Angie has over 20 years of experience working in the field of assistive technology serving infants, children, and adults in inpatient, outpatient, school, and community settings with a variety of diagnoses. In addition to working as a clinician, Angie has served as an adjunct instructor at George Mason University and presented hundreds of clinical education trainings both in-person and virtually for global audiences. She has written articles for trade publications and has been involved in clinical research. Angie currently works for Permobil Americas as a Portfolio Marketing Manager.