Questions for the President or Board can be emailed to president@physiotherapy.ca.

Amanda de Chastelain, President
Calgary, Alberta

Amanda was elected to the Board in June 2018 and currently sits on the Governance Committee. Her post-graduate education started at Queen’s University, from which she completed a BA in Life Sciences while working towards her bilingual BSc in Physiotherapy at the University of Ottawa, graduating summa cum laude in 1992. She then returned to Kingston, Ontario working in various settings from hospitals to sports fields to universities for several years prior to returning to academia, obtaining a Master of Kinesiology from the University of Calgary in 1998.

Following some time working as a casual physiotherapist at the Rockyview and Alberta Children’s Hospitals, consulting for the College of Physical Therapists of Alberta, and a family move to the USA, she returned to Canada, re-certified, and returned to work at the Alberta Children’s Hospital working full-time treating patients from many clinics including orthopaedics, complex pain, oncology, and burns. She is passionate about the physical therapy profession and is excited about serving on the Board to make a positive impact on the profession and its highly skilled members.

Jason Coolen
Vancouver, British Columbia

Jason was elected to the Board in 2017 and currently serves as the Chair of the Insurance Risk Committee, and as members on both the CPA and PFC CPA Finance Committees. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in Biology from St. Francis Xavier University in 1997 and completed his Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy in 2002 from Queens University. Jason has been very active with his provincial association, first as a Board Director in 2009, followed by four years as President of the Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia in 2017. He has been involved with private practice orthopaedics his entire career in various Metro Vancouver communities.

Jason has worked with athletes of all ages and is proud to have been part of the New Westminster Salmonbellies Senior Men’s Lacrosse Team for the past 10 years; in that same timeframe, he has also been co-owner of three clinics.

Kate Grosweiner
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Kate was elected to the Board in 2020. After completing her degree in Physiotherapy from Dalhousie University, Kate worked in Edmonton, Alberta from 2005 to 2008. She then returned to the Maritimes and has been working since as a staff physiotherapist at the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA). Kate has worked clinically in orthopaedics, neurotherapeutics, cardiorespiratory, and general medicine; her experience has spanned acute to rehab settings, as well as in-home treatments in both urban and rural communities. Kate has also worked as a part-time Clinical Lab Instructor at the Dalhousie University School of Physiotherapy and has delivered care in several clinical research trials through Dalhousie and the NSHA.

Recently, Kate has returned to the academic environment and is now teaching as a full-time instructor at her alma mater. She continues to complete post-graduate education courses locally, nationally, and internationally.

Kate has always been very active in her community both personally and professionally and continues to serve on many volunteer committees, including on the NSPA Board, from 2009 to 2014, including a term as President from 2010-2013.

Kate currently sits on the Insurance Risk Committee and is the Board Liaison to both the National Student Assembly (NSA) and the Canadian Council of Physiotherapy University Programs (CCPUP).

Jean-Paul Hernandez
Oshawa, Ontario

Jean-Paul was elected to the board in 2021. In 2018, he began his studies at Durham College in the Occupational Therapist Assistant & Physiotherapist Assistant program, graduating in spring 2020. Later that fall, he earned advanced entry into Ontario Tech University (formerly the University of Ontario Institute of Technology), studying to earn his Bachelor of Health Sciences in Kinesiology. Upon graduating, he hopes to engage and work with children regarding the positive impacts of physical fitness in order to combat the childhood obesity epidemic.

He is proud to be a Durham College alumni and currently sits on the Program Advisory Committee of the OTA & PTA program at the College. While balancing his studies, he works as a Physiotherapist Assistant at Fundamentals Physiotherapy and Wellness Clinic in North Oshawa, and volunteers with a local sports performance group for children and youths to promote active and healthy lifestyles while supporting their athletic goals.

Jean-Paul is passionate about being a PTA and the profession, and is very excited to serve on the Board to help promote its importance in clinical settings and in collaboration with physiotherapists and other clinicians.

John Nagy
Richmond, British Columbia

John was elected to the Board in June 2018 and currently serves as the Chair to both Finance Committees – i.e., CPA and PFC.

As the co-owner of Reid Hurst Nagy Inc. Chartered Professional Accountants, John brings a wealth of knowledge and creative thinking in business and financial planning to the Board of Directors. Further, his organization works with several not-for-profit organizations in various sectors such as education, health, and social services.

He graduated magna cum laude with a Diploma of Technology in Accounting from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in 1977 and received his Certified General Accountant (CGA) designation in 1980. John has also served on a number of volunteer boards, and as a result has participated in developing and maintaining accounting standards across the country. He has served on the Boards of CGA BC and CGA Canada, rising to the role of Chair of both organizations. In addition, he sat on the Board of the newly created Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.

Dr. Sandy Rennie
Ottawa, Ontario

Sandy was elected to the Board in 2016. He graduated with a Diploma in Physiotherapy in 1972 and finished a one-year degree (BPT) in 1976 at the University of Alberta. He then completed his MSc in Physical Education (1985) and PhD in Educational Administration and Leadership (2002) at the same university. He began teaching physiotherapy in Australia in 1977, followed by teaching at the U of A from 1981 to 2004. He then taught at the University of Toronto for two years, and from 2007 to 2012, served as the Director of the School of Physiotherapy at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor of Physiotherapy at both Dalhousie and U of T, and also is a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa. He has been an active volunteer at the Association, namely as the Chair of the Sports Physiotherapy Division and as a member of the Board of Directors from 1992 to 1993 and from 2003 to 2004. He was also awarded a Life Membership at the CPA in 2010, and the Enid Graham Memorial Lecture in 2014.

Sandy is currently the Chair of the Governance Committee and serves as both the Board Representative on the Awards Review Committee and as the Board Liaison for Physiotherapy Education Accreditation Canada (PEAC).

George Roumeliotis
Saint-Laurent, Quebec 

George was elected to the Board in June 2021. He began his involvement in the disability sector when he was a teenager, beginning as a volunteer for community-based organizations, and then working as a caregiver. Through these experiences, he witnessed the impacts that various neurological disorders had on the daily life of clients. These experiences led to his pursuit of a kinesiology degree at McGill University.

George graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology (Honours) in 2018 and completed his master’s degree in Physiotherapy in 2020 from McGill. During his studies, he was elected as the President of both his undergraduate student association, the Education Undergraduate Society, and his graduate association, the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy Graduate Student Association.

His area of focus as a clinician is in neurological rehabilitation. Since graduating, he has been working in an interdisciplinary stroke in-patient team at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital in Laval, Quebec.

Besides his clinical work, George serves on the Board of the Centre d’Activités Récréatives et Éducatives, a Montreal-based non-profit organization supporting adults with physical disabilities. There, he acts as the Board’s healthcare representative.

Allison Stene
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Allison was appointed to the Board in 2021. She graduated with a Degree in Biology in 2004 and a Bachelor of Physical Therapy in 2007 from the University of Saskatchewan; she then completed her Masters of Rehabilitation Science from McMaster University in 2014. Allison has worked in public practice for the bulk of her career with a special interest in critical care. Currently, she is transitioning from managing an interdisciplinary therapy department at Royal University Hospital to a role as the Provincial Pediatric Subspecialty Manager with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

Allison has been very involved in the professional Association since her role as President of the National Student Assembly in 2006/2007. She also served two terms as President of the Saskatchewan Physiotherapy Association from 2011 to 2016.