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Meet the Team
Amanda Koppes, MPT
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Amanda graduated from St. Mary’s College of California with a BS in Health Science and went on to receive her Masters in Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt College. She began her career as an inpatient rehab therapist at John Muir Hospital working with adults with neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases. After a move to Seattle, she worked on the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Seattle Children’s hospital, specializing in patients with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, and traumatic injuries. After leaving active practice, she has spent the last nearly 2 decades working in various non-profit environments and has extensive knowledge around fundraising, event planning, and development. She is extremely excited to be at Pushing Boundaries where she gets marry her passion for working with this community and her love of development, events, and fundraising. When not at work, she is usually found in her garage woodshop, indulging her hobby as an amateur woodworker, in the bleachers cheering on one of her sons on the baseball field, or just enjoying time with her family.
Teri Mayo
Executive Director
Teri Mayo, LMT
Teri has owned rehabilitative practices for 27 years as a massage therapist, including a medical massage clinic that employed 19 therapists and staff. After a shift to health care administration with Swedish Medical Group and Seattle Children’s Hospital for several years, Teri was happy to move back into the word rehabilitative services when she joined PB in the fall of 2019.
Teri brings a background in business and team management, and professional mentoring; she enjoys bringing her strategic vision, business expertise, and non-profit board/fundraising experience to Pushing Boundaries. She loves working with the clients, board, staff, and volunteers to help push Pushing Boundaries into the potential that lies ahead.
In her spare time, Teri enjoys listening to jazz, cooking, traveling, and hanging out with her spouse and two chocolate labs.
Kristen Knight
Operations and Facilities Manager/ Grant Writer
Kristen Knight, MS, NSCA-CSCS, ACSM/NCHPAD CIFT
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Kristen graduated from Salem State University in Massachusetts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport and Movement Science, with a focus on fitness and wellness and a minor in Psychology. She also has a Master's in Sport Administration and Management from the University of Northern Colorado.
She has over 12 years of personal training experience, is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and is a Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer. Kristen’s experience as a personal trainer has helped her develop a passion for helping others with their health and fitness goals so that they can live their happiest and healthiest lives possible.
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Amanda Koppes
Development Director
Amanda Koppes, MPT
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Amanda graduated from St. Mary’s College of California with a BS in Health Science and went on to receive her Masters in Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt College. She began her career as an inpatient rehab therapist at John Muir Hospital working with adults with neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases. After a move to Seattle, she worked on the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Seattle Children’s hospital, specializing in patients with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, and traumatic injuries. After leaving active practice, she has spent the last nearly 2 decades working in various non-profit environments and has extensive knowledge around fundraising, event planning, and development. She is extremely excited to be at Pushing Boundaries where she gets marry her passion for working with this community and her love of development, events, and fundraising. When not at work, she is usually found in her garage woodshop, indulging her hobby as an amateur woodworker, in the bleachers cheering on one of her sons on the baseball field, or just enjoying time with her family.
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James Scott
Senior Exercise Therapist
James Scott, MS, ACSM-CPT, ATA-AIT, CF-L1, USAW-L1
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James graduated from Washington State University with a Master’s in Kinesiology. While in school he taught undergraduate kinesiology courses and worked in the WSU Exercise Physiology and Performance Laboratory as an ultra-endurance triathlon medical researcher. His passion for fitness as well as health and wellness led to leading personal training, coaching CrossFit, and Olympic Weightlifting. He has a passion for coaching adaptive athletes and aims to bring light of adaptive athletics and exercise therapy to universities with exercise science, kinesiology, and strength and conditioning curriculum. In his free time, James trains as an amateur Disc Golf athlete, competing in local tournaments. He also spends as much quality time as possible with his family going out to restaurants, participating in recreational sports, or just relaxing at home with TV shows and board games.
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Caleb Volkoff
Exercise Therapist
Caleb Volkoff, BS, ACE CPT, ATA-AIT
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Caleb Volkoff holds a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Physiology from Central Washington University, where he studied how healthy and clinical populations react to exercise, rehabilitation, inactivity, and disease. After Graduation, he started personal training in an orthopedic therapy physical therapy clinic, which included pre- and post-surgical rehab. This exposed him to many situations involving individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities and fueled his love for functional training and therapeutic exercise. Now, Caleb sees Pushing Boundaries’ mission as a perfect fit for his future growth in neurological rehab and feeds his drive to understand the human body. Outside of work, he enjoys mountain biking, hiking, weightlifting, solving puzzles, experimenting with recipes, and photography. He is dedicated to inspiring clients at PB and motivating them through the power of movement.
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Pia Richards
Exercise Therapist
Pia Richards, MS, ACSM CPT, ATA-AIT
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Pia graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science followed by a Master’s in Kinesiology. During her time at WSU, Pia worked in the Exercise Physiology and Performance Laboratory and taught two undergraduate kinesiology courses - introductory jogging and health & wellness. When she wasn’t studying, she was competing in cross country and track & field with her main event being the 3,000m steeplechase. Prior to joining the PB team, she worked as the director of operations and assistant women’s distance coach for her alma mater’s xc and t&f teams. Pia is excited to shift her focus toward her passion of improving the quality of life of people of all backgrounds through movement and exercise. In her spare time, she runs for fun, rock climbs, plays soccer, hikes, and dabbles in a variety of arts in crafts like sewing, knitting, and crocheting.
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Sumi Uchiage
Programs Manager/ Lead Exercise Therapist
Sumi Uchiage, BHK, ACSM/NCHPAD CIFT
Sumi graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Human Kinetics, majoring in Kinesiology. She worked as a Kinesiologist, personal trainer and Rehab Assistant for 6 years in Vancouver before moving to Seattle. Her clientele ranged from the clinical population to elite athletes. Sumi is a 9x Karate National Champion and has competed internationally as a member of the Canadian national team for 15 years. Her love of sports and fitness has led to her passion of using exercise as a means to achieve benefits in health and wellness. Sumi strongly believes in the power of exercise and its impact on PB clients.
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Kevin Carpenter
Senior Exercise Therapist
Kevin Carpenter, BS, ACSM/EP, ACSM/NCHPAD CIFT
Kevin graduated from the University of Mary with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, focusing on Clinical Exercise Physiology. Kevin is a Certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine and is also a Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer. While in school, Kevin was a two-time academic All-American for the Marauder’s cross-country team. When he wasn’t tearing up the roads during the school year, he spent his time in the University of Mary’s free health clinic that the students operated for the surrounding community. Kevin spends his spare time searching for new places he hasn’t been before, reading, and playing the drums.
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Tavis Duncan
Senior Exercise Therapist
Tavis Duncan, BS, ACSM/ NCHPAD CIFT
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Tavis Duncan is a born and raised Seattleite who earned his bachelor’s in biology with an emphasis in Kinesiology, Medicine, and Health from the University of Washington. He has grown up exposed to many situations involving individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities through his time volunteering at Crista Ministries, Ronald McDonald House, hospice care in the Seattle area, and working at the UW Northwest Outpatient Therapies. In line with his previous experiences, Tavis wishes to pursue a doctorate in Physical Therapy specializing in neuromuscular rehab and chronic pain management. He believes the specialized mission of Pushing Boundaries parallels his pursuit and will make him a better clinician. In his spare time, he enjoys a variety of things: Sports (outdoor & indoor), weightlifting, music, audio design, language, cooking, board games, video games, and trivia. In addition, Tavis is open to and readily accepts new opportunities that come his way.
Meet the Board
Annie LaCroix
Board President
Annie is a Massage School Owner and Educator. She has been in the massage therapy profession for the last twenty years. Throughout the course of her massage career, Annie has volunteered with related organizations including American Massage Therapy Foundation and Healwell.
Additionally, Annie has a Master's of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine.
Sharon Northrup
Director; Founder
With 40+ years of Office Management/Bookkeeping experience, Sharon has been a vital an integral part of Pushing Boundaries since its inception. Sharon holds a B.A. from Nebraska Wesleyan.
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Sharon and her late husband Allan founded Pushing Boundaries after Allan sustained a spinal cord injury. Sharon was instrumental since our inception in applying the knowledge, passion and real-life experience to make Pushing Boundaries what it is today. She is also a member of Bellevue LifeSpring, a non-profit organization.
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You will often see Sharon helping out around the office, supporting clients and their caregivers, and surprising staff with lunch.
Nancy Nicholas
Nancy Nicholas is a retired executive of the Boeing Company where she began her career in research and development and culminated in program management. She is a former client of Pushing Boundaries and is passionate about the work they do to bring exercise therapy to the paralysis community. While eager to stay fit and healthy, Nancy also leverages her scientific training and personal experience to improve the lives of others living with spinal cord injury by serving as the Spinal Cord Injury Community Liaison for the Blackmore Lab at Marquette University, by sharing her lived experience with researchers at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) in Vancouver, Canada, and as a member of the Harborview Medical Center Assistive Technology Laboratory Advisory Board.
Director
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Aaron Petras
Aaron Petras is the WW Head of Strategy & Operations for AWS Global Services Sales & Delivery, helping technology professionals around the world in developing complex workloads to grow their businesses and their careers in the cloud. With nearly two decades of experience, Aaron has a proven track record in leading corporate strategy, optimizing revenue generating businesses, leading organizational transformations, and hiring world-class teams. Aaron’s work has taken his family to San Francisco, Beijing, and Singapore and now resides outside of Seattle with his wife and two kids.
Aaron aims to bring his diverse experience to the mission of Pushing Boundaries as we support our clients and our community.
Director
Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy is a retired financial executive and CPA with 35+ years of service at The Boeing Company. Born and raised in Seattle, he received both his undergraduate degree in business administration and Executive MBA at the University of Washington, where he has served as a board member of the Accounting Development Fund for the University of Washington School of Business. He also remains active as a supporter of the University’s Meany Center for the Performing Arts.
Board Treasurer
Teri Mayo
As the Executive Director of Pushing Boundaries, Teri fills a vital role on the Board- providing a conduit between the Board and the daily operations of the facility. In her non-voting role, she is the expert in client services, staffing, budgeting and operations- ensuring the Board is fully informed as decisions are made.
Director
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Heather Galgon
Dr Heather Galgon, a native of Philadelphia, loves calling the Pacific Northwest her home. She is a spine and sports physician at Swedish Issaquah, who is trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Heather has a passion for helping others identify their barriers to health and wellness along with optimizing their individual performance goals. She is the proud mother of four children who keep her busy with lacrosse tournaments and hockey games. She enjoys running with her dog, exploring the PNW and a rowdy card game with friends.
Director
Advisory Committee
Meet the Committees
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Kellye Y. Testy is the president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admission Council, where she leads the organization in its committed efforts to advance law and justice by encouraging diverse, talented individuals to study law and by supporting their enrollment and learning journeys from prelaw through practice. In addition to her role at LSAC, she is currently an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School. Testy joined LSAC after leading the University of Washington School of Law for eight years as the school’s first female dean. She is a nationally sought-after speaker and consultant on legal and higher education, leadership, diversity and access, and corporate law and governance, and has received numerous honors and awards for her teaching, leadership, and service. Testy earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, and her law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington. She currently serves on the boards of the Washington Law Institute and LSSSE.
Kellye Testy
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Dr. Young has been caring for patients on Seattle's Eastside since 2001. She enjoys treating adult and adolescents with a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, non-surgical approach to musculoskeletal/sports and spine issues. She works to educate her patients about their health conditions, perform precise diagnostic tests and recommend appropriate treatment. She believes in giving patients ample information about their specific conditions and then allowing them to make the healthcare decisions that best fit their personal situation. Dr. Young was selected by Seattle Magazine as a Top Doctor in 2022.
Irene Young, MD
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Bio Coming Soon.
Erik Waterland, DPT
