THERATOGS - Key Persons
Beverly (Billi) Cusick PT, NDT, MS, COF is an internationally-known pediatric physical therapist whose specialty is the management of lower extremity deformity, particularly in children with cerebral palsy, hypotonia, orthopedic malalignments, and other CNS deficits. She is known particularly for her passion, her diligence in bringing current developments in the rehabilitation sciences, her methods for obtaining and using precise and relevant patient observations, and for sharing informed and effective management strategies.
After five-years of R&D, her company, Progressive GaitWays, launched her invention, TheraTogs, in 2002. She and her spouse, Lee Taylor, co-founded TheraTogs, Inc. in 2006.
Ms. Cusick received her BS in PT from Bouve College at Northeastern University (Boston) and her MS in Clinical and College Teaching for Allied Health Professionals from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She remains on call as an Associate Professor for the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions - Pediatrics Program - Provo, Utah, and is NDT basic- and baby-trained.
Ms. Cusick worked for 9 years on staff at Children's Rehabilitation Center (now the Kluge Center) in Charlottesville, VA. She then taught pediatrics-related courses for 3 years as a member of the PT Education faculty of the College of Health Related Professions at MUSC in Charleston, SC. In Charleston, she also initiated and directed PT services for the Division of Developmental Disabilities at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Since 1977 she has written or co-authored numerous publications- texts, journal articles, and chapters, and has conducted more than 400 courses, keynotes lectures, and guest presentations all over the world.
Since 1993, Billi has been consulting and practicing privately in Telluride, Colorado, where she devotes most of her professional effort to generating literature and educational materials, to teaching, and to developing therapeutic products, including new TheraTogs systems.
Bill Sonn is a graduate of Michigan State University and did graduate work in American History at the University of Denver. He has since earned multiple certifications in marketing, communications, administration and, not least, publishing.
Bill was a cofounder and CEO of Interrobang, Inc (which produced two education news syndicates and an education newsletter eventually acquired by Tribune Media), and Forte Information Services (a corporate publishing firm specializing in the pharmaceutical industry). He has also served as Vice President of Business Development for The Business Word (a health care publishing company) and, most recently, as Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Physician Relations for UCHealth. His clients since starting The Sonn Group in 2014 and joining Gelb Consulting as Senior Healthcare advisor have included Siegel Energy, Partners in Pediatrics, the Governor's Office of Information Technology (Colorado), Ochsner Healthcare, FFG Retirement Counseling, Alphasite and RidgeTop Research.
As a journalist and commentator, his writing has appeared in Becker's Healthcare News and Fierce Healthcare Hospitals. In his more focused journalism days, it has also appeared in Outside, Chicago magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, The Progressive, Denver Business Journal, Boston Globe, Rocky Mountain News, The Progressive, What They Think, Physicians Practice, and The Seybold Report. He has edited numerous publications, including some he founded. His book, Paradigms Lost: the life and deaths of the printed word, was published in 2006 by Rowman & Littlefield/Scarecrow Press.
Bill has served on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Direct Marketing Association, Colorado Healthcare Strategy & Management, Colorado Authors' League and The Conflict Center. He is former chair of the Chief Marketing Officers Council of University HealthSystem Consortium, and has been an active member of The Innovators Society, the Business Marketing Association and Colorado Healthcare Communicators.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Senior Executive
- CFO, ComplianceEase
Mr. Rodskog is a senior executive and consultant in corporate finance, operations, capital raising and strategy with over 23 years of experience. He co-founded the startup WatershipBlue, a seawater desalination startup focused on utility-scale project development. He has served as an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank, and was Vice President at Point West Capital.
Chris has an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BS in Economics and Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Support Specialist
Colleen's early work experience included sales positions with Bionx Bioabsorbable Implants, Johnson & Johnson's Mitek products, and Integra NeuroSciences, where she loved being a part of surgical procedures entailing the brain. After a brief entrepreneurial phase as the founder of a Post Rehab personal training studio - which included bringing Core Barre classes to the Boulder area - Colleen found her home with TheraTogs almost nine years ago.
Colleen started as TheraTogs's original National Sales Manager, then helped establish the company's Clinical Support team in 2008, where she provides technical support to clinicians using TheraTogs world-wide. She also manages the company's Loaner Program, by which clinicians can use no-cost "loaner" systems to trial TheraTogs on specific clients.
When the outdoors calls her name, Colleen can be found enjoying activities through all four seasons, putting her anatomical, physiological, and biomechanical knowledge to work through Nordic skiing, mountain biking and road cycling, running trails, backpacking or just enjoying a colorful Colorado sunrise with a good, strong cup of joe!
Job Titles:
- Founder and Owner of Pediatric Therapy Center of Bucks County
Dr. Stack is the founder and owner of Pediatric Therapy Center of Bucks County, LLC, an award-winning early intervention and pediatric therapy service operating since 2009. She has provided early intervention, pediatric, and adult physical therapy services since 1993.
Deborah received her BA from Mount Holyoke College in applied mathematics, and received her MS PT and DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) from Thomas Jefferson University. She is an APTA-certified Pediatric Clinical Specialist (PCS), and has received her APTA Clinical Instructor Certification. She is a Certified TheraTogs Trainer, and provides TheraTogs training worldwide.
She has authored multiple caregiver publications and taught multiple courses since 1994.
When time permits and the waters are calm, she is an avid rower and member of the Swan Creek Rowing Club, and served as the event coordinator of the Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled. She is a consultant to the Bucks County Children's Museum, and formerly served on the Special Needs Task Force of Doylestown Presbyterian Church.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Managing Director of High Country Venture
Dr. Mark Lupa is currently Managing Director of High Country Venture, a venture capital firm in Boulder, Colorado, and has served as founding member of the Board of Directors of Taligen Therapeutics, Mosaic Bioscience, Oberon FMR, Sinopsys Surgical, FitBionic, and Endoshape.
Dr. Lupa holds a B.S. from Northwestern University, an M. Phil. from the University of Sussex (England) in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Lund, Sweden. He conducted neuroscience research for fifteen years at institutions worldwide, including at the University of Colorado and UCSF, before bringing together the founding team of Tabernash Brewing, a craft brewery in Colorado.
Lee is a co-founder of TheraTogs, Inc. and has served as its CEO since the company's opening. The spouse of fellow co-founder Beverly (Billi) Cusick, Lee is also a co-founder of two previous start-ups in the training and event management realms.
Lee has over 30 years of business experience in executive and operations management, information design, and information development, and was a published author on Web technologies "back in the day" before the programmers and filmmakers took over. He has managed purchasing and facilities for a major global law firm; consulted with Fortune 500 clients on information development and delivery systems; and hired and managed teams of technical writers, editors, and illustrators.
Lee was a Program Manager for the groundbreaking InfoZone community network project of the Telluride Institute - the first rural/small community Internet point-of-presence in the US. He has also enjoyed brief stints as a Kelly® Girl temporary, a college English instructor, and served on the board of the non-profit University Centers of the San Miguel.
Lee also serves on the San Miguel County Planning Commission and participates in local efforts towards economic development and sustainability.
Job Titles:
- Business Operations Manager
A longtime Colorado resident, Sylva lives in Montrose on a small family farm. She graduated Cum Laude from Fort Lewis College in 2009 with a degree in Accounting. She worked for specialty design firm Yaseen Design Studio in Durango for eight years, and then as a business administration and tax consultant to businesses in the retail, construction and farm industries as well as for government and non-profit organizations.
Sylva joined the TheraTogs team in May of 2016, and in her free time, she enjoys knitting, gardening, and playing with her family and beloved Bernese Mountain Dog in the great outdoors of Western Colorado.