Meet Our Team
Paige Simpson
Front Office Lead
Paige was born and raised in Placer County but is no stranger to Nevada County. In her free time she enjoys exploring local rivers with her dog, 4x4ing with her friends, and photographing all of nature's beauty. When she's not out exploring, her love of the outdoors keeps her digging in the garden all spring and summer. Cooking, reading, and crocheting are a few hobbies that keep her busy when the outdoors aren’t calling. She has explored a few different career paths but has found her true calling with medical administration. Always having a passion for helping others but not interested in a full medical professional position she has found a happy medium helping others from behind the desk.
Lauren Piner
Office Assistant, PT Aide
Lauren is a native to Grass Valley and is currently pursuing a degree in Psychology. Starting at Fit for Life as a floor aide, she enjoyed getting to know patients and helping them with their treatments. She now works primarily as an office assistant but still loves the moments she gets to spend with patients. In her free time Lauren likes to be outside hiking, horseback riding or camping.
Corey Vanderwouw, MPT
Physical Therapist
Corey has been a practicing physical therapist since 1998. She earned her Master of Physical Therapy degree from Chapman University in Orange, CA. She has advanced training in orthopedic manual therapy, myofascial release, neuromuscular retraining, worksite ergonomics, and osteoporosis care. She has spent much of her career treating patients with chronic pain. Her passion as a therapist is to help people to improve the quality of their lives by caringly working through their physical therapy program. She loves to work with a spectrum of people from those who have a single injury to those who have multiple injuries or painful areas, as well as people who have multiple comorbidities.
Ingo Zirpins, MSPT
Physical Therapist
Ingo studied and practiced therapeutic bodywork for a decade, before earning a Master’s of Science Degree in Physical Therapy at University of California, San Francisco in 2003. Through his career, Ingo has continued post graduate studies towards his specialization in orthopedic manual therapy and sports medicine. He has also been the director of rehabilitation for two local skilled nursing homes serving the needs and improvement of quality of life of our elders. Ingo has a lifelong passion and fascination of the human body and believes that healing comes from within each individual. His therapeutic approach emphasizes the integration of body, mind and soul, to reclaim optimum health.
Margaret Matthews, MPT
Physical Therapist
“Mags” specializes in orthopedics, pelvic rehabilitation, and cranial dysfunction such as TMJ disorders. She has had extensive training in Functional Manual Therapy, visceral therapeutic techniques, OB/GYN rehab, and is in process of Board Certification in Women’s Health. Mags moved to Nevada City in 2012 after completing clinical internship in pelvic physical therapy at UC Irvine Medical Center, working at UC San Francisco Medical Center in the Faculty Practice, and running her own pelvic rehab, wellness, and pilates clinic. Mags brings 15 years of experience teaching movement including dance, pilates, and injury prevention to empower and align clients in their bodies (read more).
Brenda Shawley, PTAi
Physical Therapy Assistant
Brenda earned her Bachelor degrees in biology from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1993. She studied and practiced bodywork for five years before earning her physical therapist assistant degree from Sacramento City College in 2020. She is a certified yoga and APPI Pilates matwork instructor as well as a certified personal trainer. She has completed over 150 hours of advanced training in orthopedics, manual therapy, and Mulligan’s mobilization with movement. She completed a clinical internship at UC Davis Medical Center neuro rehab unit as part of her PTA training and has been working as a PTA in an outpatient setting since she graduated. She loves the problem-solving part of her job, and finds it very rewarding to work with people of all ages toward decreasing their pain and achieving their physical therapy goals. She spends a lot of her free time studying for the benefit of her patients.
Katie Garcia, MPT
Physical Therapist
Katie specializes in neurological rehabilitation. She received her Master of Physical Therapy degree in 1995 from The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, Ca. Since beginning her career as a physical therapist, Katie has been passionate about serving individuals with neurological conditions through improving their overall function and independence in the home and community. Her post-graduate training emphasis has been on treating neurological conditions, with emphasis on CVA (stroke) management, and Parkinson’s Disease. In 2010, she became certified in LSVT Big, a program used with Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinson’s-like syndromes, and since that time has continued advanced training in that area. Katie enjoys the interpersonal aspect of physical therapy and meeting people from all walks of life.
Jennifer Kanyuch, PTA
Physical Therapy Assistant
Jen earned her Bachelors degree in Biology Pre-Physical Therapy from Ohio University in 1998 and her Physical Therapist Assistant degree from Ohio State University in 2000. She has advanced training in manual therapy, orthopedic and sports injuries, post-surgical rehab, balance training, as well as lymphedema and oncology rehabilitation. She enjoys working with patients in all stages of life, from adolescent to geriatric, to help them achieve their rehabilitation goals in a fun and supportive environment. In her free time, Jen loves to hike with her husband and their chocolate lab, as well as ski, rock and ice climb, and travel internationally to explore other cultures.