Meet the Team
therazona physical therapy
Cassie hippensteel
PT, DPT, CIDN
Director of Physical Therapy
specializes in pelvic floor
Cassie earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from CSU Long Beach and completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Wyoming in Kinesiology and Health Promotion. Cassie’s physical therapy career started with a passion for helping athletes reach their goals using in-depth knowledge of the needs for high-level athletes, having over 10 years of experience in advanced level soccer including a collegiate career at UW. Cassie noticed the gap between early postpartum care and fully returning to prior function including running and weight lifting after having her own children. This developed into a passion for helping other women recover fully after pregnancy. Cassie pursued a certification specializing in Women’s Health and Pelvic Rehab to further enable her to assist women in their recoveries.
Cassie incorporates a “whole body” approach when assessing the needs of each patient. Cassie’s approach to recovery is a dynamic balance of hands-on therapy, activity specific exercise and patient education. Cassie uses current research, clinical expertise and patient input to make individualized plans for her clients, in order to optimize movement, performance and overall life experience.
When Cassie is not in the clinic, she enjoys working out, running, hiking and spending time with her husband, their 2 kids and dog.
Sarah Brinkman PT, DPT
Physical therapist: specializes in pelvic Floor
Sarah earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University and her Bachelors of Arts in Physiology at the University of Minnesota. Sarah knew when she started the PT program that she wanted to pursue a career in pelvic floor. She is passionate about providing care to underrepresented populations in healthcare and breaking stigmas around pelvic issues. She has a special interest in postpartum return to fitness and therapy after gender affirming surgeries. When not at the clinic she loves reading fantasy books, pretending to hike more than she does and watching anime with her husband and cat Loki.
Emily Tatsumi PT, DPT
Physical therapist: specializes in pelvic Floor
Emily earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University and her Bachelors of Arts in Human Physiology with a double major in Japanese at the University of Oregon. Her physical therapy career started with a special interest in movement analysis, working at an outpatient sports physical therapy clinic when she developed a passion for applying these biomechanics to Women's Health and pursued a certification specializing in Women's Health and Pelvic Rehab from the Herman and Wallace Institute. She incorporates whole person healthcare considering the mind, body and spirit when encouraging patients to achieve their specific goals. Emily’s treatment approach includes educating on self care and management techniques, improving neuromuscular and postural awareness, and restoring symptom free movement. When not at the clinic she loves spending time with loved ones, running, reading, practicing yoga, exploring nature, making vegetarian food and shopping.
Rachel Lemley, PTA
Specializes in Pelvic Floor
Rachel graduated from the PTA program at BYU- Idaho along with her degree in Exercise Physiology. She previously worked in a women’s health clinic in Washington state where she and her husband lived before moving to Arizona for her husband’s pilot school. She first became interested in pelvic health during one of her clinical internships and was drawn to the specialty after seeing how many women endured inconvenient symptoms for years thinking this was just a part of being a woman and a part of life. She has a special interest assisting patients with management strategies for endometriosis and post mastectomy patients. She loves helping breakdown the awkwardness with taboo topics to decrease their symptoms and getting them back to living their best life. When she isn’t at work she loves paddle boarding, hiking and listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks on repeat.
April ward, PTa
Physical therapy assistant: specializes in pelvic health
April has been interested in physical therapy since she was a young athlete. When she was in high school her co-captain tore her ACL at practice. It was devastating to see her injured but April was amazed at how she healed, rehabbed, and came back even stronger the next year. After seeing how the rehabilitation process enabled her teammate to get back into what she loved, April knew she wanted to be a part of physical therapy.
April attended PTA school and graduated from Pima Medical Institute. She is so happy to be working in this field, as it’s been a dream of hers for so long! April loves seeing progress in each patient and the difference she can make in their journey. She’s excited to be a part of Therazona and to meet more our awesome patients.
Cat AllreD PT, DPT,CIDN
physical therapist: Specializes in Pelvic Floor
Cat received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Franklin Pierce University in Goodyear, Arizona. Prior to graduate school she attended California State University Dominguez Hills where she played collegiate soccer and majored in exercise physiology. Throughout graduate school Cat developed a passion for women's health and pursued a certification specializing in Women's Health and Pelvic Rehab from the Herman and Wallace Institute. Cat enjoys playing and watching all sports especially wake boarding, snowboarding, and wake surfing.
