ROAD TO RECOVERY PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY - Key Persons


Baburam Thapa

Baburam graduated from from India in 2012 and after working 1 year in hospital in his home country Nepal in hospital setting he moved to USA. In USA he worked in various nursing homes before joining R2R in 2015 as physical therapist. He is highly skilled with manual therapy techniques with advanced courses in ortho and neuro who believes in functional approach of treatment by use of manual therapy, exercises and education with maximal patient interaction to achieve maximal goal. Baburam is always willing to learn new things and upgrade hi knowledge.

Chana Rabinowitz

Job Titles:
  • Personal Trainer
Chana is a personal trainer who lives in Brooklyn. Chana got her certificate as a certified personal trainer from NASM and has a bachelors in psychology. She also has a certification as a corrective exercise specialist and is continuing on to further her education in the field of fitness. In her spare time Chana enjoys being in the kitchen cooking.

Chelsey Cioli

Job Titles:
  • Personal Trainer and Marketing Director
Chelsey was born and raised in New Hampshire and completed her studies through high school there before moving to Bloomington, Indiana to attend Indiana University. Chelsey grew up training at New England Civic Ballet Academy and went on to earn a B.S.K. in kinesiology with focuses in dance and exercise science. After college , Chelsey moved to NYC to pursue a field in professional dance. She has performed in theatres and festivals all over the tristate area, Boston, Vermont, Florida and even Italy. Chelsey has since retired from dance and began working as a certified personal trainer. She is also pursuing her doctorate in physical therapy. In her spare time Chelsey likes to travel, hike mountains , rock climb and explore the city with friends. She also loves her cat and dogs.

Christopher Mohammed

Job Titles:
  • Physical Therapist
Christopher Mohammed is a Physical Therapist with over 8 years of experience Prior joining Road to Recovery. Christopher has worked as an out-patent physical therapist and clinical director with a primary focus on all levels of orthopedics Throughout his career. Chris has gained valuable experience treating a diversity of clinical cases such as post-op. orthopedics. neuro, gait,'balance. TMJ and pediatrics. He has developed a strong hands-on manual approach to physical therapy with providing individualized evidence-based care for each patient. Christopher has prided himself on achieving success and results for each of his patients with an emphasis on education and self-motivation. His clinical interests include evidence-based treatment of pre and post-op orthopedic , manual therapy. TMJ,' postural alignment. fall prevention. and pain management

Darien Roach

Job Titles:
  • Exercise Physiologist and Athletic Trainer
Darien was born in Antigua and eventually came to the United States to study. He graduated H.S at Plantation High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL. He continued on to earn his bachelors in Athletic Training from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas and then his masters in Exercise Physiology from Midwestern State University. Darien previously worked as Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Midwestern State University covering women's track and Cross Country along with both male and female Tennis teams. Darien also previously worked as a Personal Trainer at Anytime Fitness in Wichita Falls Texas, Crunch Fitness in Hoboken New Jersey. He has additional experience in personal training from serving as the Personal Trainer Manager at L.A. Fitness in Orange County New Jersey. In his free time Darien enjoys playing sports, traveling and making music.

Deepali Jain

Job Titles:
  • Physical Therapist
Deepali is a seasoned physical therapist who earned gold medals in her field with an excellent academic record. She pursued her bachelors and masters in physical therapy from DAVV, India and specializes in treating neurological disorders. She also earned her doctorate in physical therapy at Touro College. During her time at Touro she upgraded her skills in various areas including manual therapy techniques, geriatrics, orthopedics and vestibular balance disorders. She is truly passionate about her work and has a lively personality with a positive attitude. She enjoys painting, traveling and cooking in her spare time.

Emily Francis

Emily Francis is Physical Therapy Aide at Road to Recovery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from CUNY Hunter College. During her first two years in school, Emily trained Mixed Martial Arts and competed in novice Jiu Jitsu Tournaments. During her college career, Emily worked in multiple healthcare settings. Through her roles as a Home Health Aide and behavioral therapist treating children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emily's main focus was to improve her patient's ability to be as independent as possible. After realizing this passion, her goal is to become an Occupational Therapist and is

Fruma Rosenfeld

Job Titles:
  • Care Coordinator
  • Therapeutic Care Coordinator in New York City
Fruma has five years of front office secretarial experience working at Road to Recovery Crown Heights. Her duties include insurance verification and authorizations. Fruma educates patients with any questions they have regarding their insurance benefits and ease the process of arranging their first visit to the office. She gets great pleasure when patients thank her for her professionalism and kindness when it comes to assisting them with their visit. Fruma has an Associates's degree in Medical Office Administration and a dual degree in Medical Billing and Coding and is certified in Electronic Health Records Training.

Jivan Ahir

Originally from India, Jivan is an exercise physiologist. In 2011, he graduated from S.P.B. physical therapy college in Surat with a Bachelor degree in physical therapy. Jivan gained physical therapy experience in various treatment settings such as Trauma centers, ICU's, nursing homes and outpatient clinics. Jivan is passionate about giving high quality treatment and is passionate about educating his patients. He values helping his patients achieve a fast recovery. During his spare time Jivan enjoys traveling, reading spiritual books and playing cricket.

Meenal Jain

Job Titles:
  • Front Office Manager in Road to Recovery Boro Park
  • Healthcare Administrator in New York City
Meenal Jain works as the Front office manager in Road to Recovery Boro Park. Meenal holds a Masters degree in Hospital & Healthcare Administration. Previously she was working as a product manager in a home healthcare company in India. She currently lives in Jersey City, New Jersey with her husband and child. Meenal likes to visit new places during her free time.

Olga Bagaev

Job Titles:
  • Front Desk Manager Far Rock
  • Healthcare Front Desk Manager in New York City
Olga has been with Road to Recovery for many years. She works at the Far Rockaway office and runs the front desk. Olga eases the patient onboarding process by verifying insurances and interacting with neighborhood physicians.Olga enjoys managing the front office and has enjoyed her coworkers and the patients over the years.

Rashmi Chaudhari

Job Titles:
  • Staff Physical Therapist
Rashmi Chaudhari is a Staff Physical Therapist working at our Back to Health, Far Rockaway, and Road to Recovery, Brooklyn location. She joined our team starting in June 2019. Rashmi is a licensed Physical Therapist in New York State currently pursuing her doctorate of physical therapy at Touro School of Health Sciences. She earned her Bachelors of Physical Therapy from Pravara Institue of Medical Science, India 2017, and her Masters of Kinesiology from California Baptist University, California May 2019. She is also certified in Kinesiotaping, Functional Mobilization. She has treated patients of all ages in a variety of clinical areas including post-operative, orthopedic, recreational, geriatrics, and balance/vestibular disorders. She practices an evidence-based, patient-centered approach to treatment, with a strong emphasis on therapeutic exercises, posture/core stability, functional manual therapy, and patient education. Rashmi enjoys traveling places, trying different cuisines, and watching movies in her past time.

Regine Auguste

Regine was boran and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She is a physical therapy tech for the Crown Heights office. She comes from a Haitian background and is fluent in Creole. She graduated with her B.S. in Biology in May of 2019 from St. John's University and has always been interested in health sciences. She hopes to be an advocated for future patients as she enjoys helping others. In her spare time Regine likes to practice yoga, explore new places and sing.

Renuka Wadhwa

Job Titles:
  • Member of the American Physical Therapy Association
Renuka is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and has been a practicing physical therapist for 11 years. She began her physical therapy career in India by earning her Bachelor's in Physical therapy in 2010. Following this, she received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Loma Linda University, California in 2018 and an Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency at Touro College, New York, 2020. Renuka has experience in different clinical settings such as acute and sub-acute rehabilitation; outpatient orthopedics, neurological, and pediatrics. She has worked with all ages of the life spectrum, gaining extensive experience over the years. Renuka is interested in treating musculoskeletal and orthopedic pathologies. She has been treating a wide range of conditions, including, but not limited to, TMJ disorders, neckpain causing headaches, pelvic floor disorders, a diverse variety of post-surgical rehabilitation,athletic rehabilitation, and vestibular rehabilitation. Her treatment approach focuses on manualtherapy, therapeutic exercises, core strengthening, and patient education about activity modification, use of appropriate body mechanics, and injury prevention. She has certification in Yoga which allows her to complement Yoga asanas to promote a more comprehensive treatmentby addressing multiple problems simultaneously and treating regional interdependency.When not working, Renuka can be found using her creative culinary skills because she truly believes that nothing brings people together like great food!

Rivkah Siegel

Job Titles:
  • Healthcare Coordinator in New York City
Rivkah has a backing in art earning a degree in Textile Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked in the industry for 15 years. She has an artist Instagram account called @rivkahdesigns. She has been working at our Crown Heights office for many years as a receptionist and insurance verifier. Rivka enjoys making connections with patients and is grateful to be in such a positive and friendly work environment.

Rutu Purohit

Job Titles:
  • Senior Physical Therapist
Rutu is a senior physical therapist working at Crown Heights. She started her journey with Road to Recovery in September 2019. Before that she was working in a skilled nursing facility in Brooklyn. She is a licensed PT currently pursuing her doctorate at Turo College. She graduated with a masters degree in Kinesiology from California Baptist University . Being an immigrant in the USA, she has done her Bachelor's degree in PT at Gujarat University in India. Apart from studying in schools, she is also a certified neuro dynamic solutions therapist which includes diagnosis and treatment of neurological dysfunctions. She is a certified Practitioner for Mulligan Technique. She has experience in various specializations and works in a variety of settings such as geriatric, pediatric, neurological pediatric, cardiovascular, neuromuscular and orthopedic patients. Outside of work Rutu likes to travel and taste good food. She believes in helping patients to alleviate the pain and live a normal independent life.

Shane Williams

Shane Williams, a graduate from New York Institute of Technology with a Masters in Occupational Therapy is a New York State Licensed Occupational Therapist with extensive outpatient orthopedic experience. He is a member of The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Shane has experience with clients who suffer from various types of neurological conditions and upper extremity orthopedic impairments, with an emphasis in hand therapy. At Road to Recovery, Shane's primary objective is to help any and every individual return to their meaningful and purposeful daily occupations. Shane is able to achieve this goal by incorporating the most therapeutic, evidence based and client centered practices to accomplish each individual's desired goals. In my leisure time, I enjoy exercising and researching new occupational therapy tools and or ideas that can be utilized in daily practice.

Shani Shah

Shani graduated from K.L.E's institute of Physiotherapy, Belgaum in India where he earned Bachelor's of Physiotherapy degree in 2013. He then came to New York in 2016 to pursue a career in Physical Therapy in the United States. Shani continued on to earned a Masters of Science degree in Exercise science and Rehabilitation from the CUNY Brooklyn College, New York in 2018. He became licensed Physical Therapist Assistant in New York in 2018 and joined Road To Recovery PT,PC in March 2019. Shani became a licensed Physical Therapist in New York in 2020. Shani's clinical interests are to work toward helping each individual achieve their

Sonia Benn

Sonia graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2018 with a Bachelors in Health Science. She is on the path to apply to doctoral physical therapy programs this fall. Some of her hobbies include running, acting and traveling.

Vignesh Rao

Vignesh received his Bachelor's degree from India in 2009, has Master's degree in exercise physiology and completed his Doctorate in physical therapy program in the year 2018 from EVIDENCE IN MOTION academy of higher education. Vignesh has over 10 years of experience as a physical therapist. His Treatment focus is on manual therapy and exercise programs to achieve optimal outcomes for each patient. In his free time Vignesh loves to travel and spend time with his family and friends.