Mill Valley Physical Therapy Staff

Physical Therapists

Rodney R. Heschong – Physical Therapist / Owner / Director

Rod was born in St. Joseph, MO, attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, and earned a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy in 1977. He practiced in hospital and private office settings in Santa Barbara for four years before relocating to Mill Valley. In 1981, he opened Mill Valley Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation and then founded Marin Home Physical Therapy to provide patient home care. In 1983, he established and became director of the physical therapy department at Ross Valley Medical Clinic. In 1988, he founded and was the co-director of the North Bay Physical Therapy Clinic. Rod is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the APTA California Chapter. He also volunteers physical therapy services for several local high school sports teams and assists the Marin Catholic baseball team as an athletic trainer. Rod specializes in orthopedics, sports injuries, spinal injuries and manual therapies.

Shirin Gonili - Staff Physical Therapist

Shirin was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved to the U.S. in 1987, where she attended
San Francisco State University, working on her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Biology. She went on to receive a Masters degree in Physical Therapy from Western University and Health Sciences, in Pomona, California! Shirin specializes in Orthopedic and Sports therapies, and teaches many seminars concerning shoulder and back pain issues. Her hobbies include photography, wind surfing, swimming/snorkeling, tennis, and yoga.

Tara Rasmussen - Staff Physical Therapist

Tara was born in San Francisco, CA and raised in Marin County. She traveled to the southwest and received her BS as an undergraduate in Exercise Physiology in 1997, at University of Arizona, Tempe. She adventured to the East Coast, and went on to earn her Masters in Physical Therapy in 2004, at Elon University, in Elon, North Carolina. Tara specializes in general orthopedics, manual therapies, and lumbar spine injuries. Her hobbies include hiking, bicycling, and taking her dog to the beach. She has now returned to the West Coast, and joins our team as a staff physical therapist.

Personal Trainers / Massage Therapists/ PT aides

Natalie Tillotson
Physical Therapy Aide
Personal Trainer
Massage Therapist

Veronica Nazarova
Physical Therapy Aide

	Brad Benson Physical Therapy Aide Massage Therapist	Robert Rangel Physical Therapy Aide

	David Lopes Physical Therapy Aide Exercise Specialist	Stacia Enos Physical Therapy Aide

Office Staff

	Joelle Johnson Office Manager	Penny Thatcher Accounting

	Ashia Ismail Front Desk / Receptionist	Elizabeth Ferguson Front Desk / Receptionist


Student Interns
	Jim Cegelnik Jim grew up Larkspur, Ca. enjoying every outdoor activity Marin County has to offer. After a stellar baseball career, he graduated from Redwood HS, and attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, earning his BS in Kinesiology/Pre - Physical Therapy. He is currently attending Chapman University, and will complete his Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy in 2008. After graduation, he intends to return to the Bay area to practice Physical Therapy. We are happy to welcome Jim to our clinic, and hope he enjoys his training experience. Best of luck in your final year of training and clinical internships Jim!

	Ellora Weston Ellora grew up in Sonora, CA, just a stone’s throw from Yosemite. Born and raised there, she knew she would always come back to the West coast. However she was drawn to the mountains of Colorado for 5 years where she studied Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado, at Boulder. She returned to the Bay Area in 2005, and has been studying at UC San Francisco and San Francisco State University to receive her Masters in Science in PT. With graduation finally behind her, she has come to MVPT for one of her final clinical rotations before going out on her own. She is currently completing her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Northeastern University. Ellora is an active triathlete, an avid outdoors person, and a former concert violinist, where she draws on all of her former experiences to help her patients. Good luck with her final internship and graduation this summer.

	Cameron McDonald-Hyem Cameron attended Tamalpias High School locally, and is currently attending Carleton College in Minneapolis, MN, where he is working on his Pre-Med degree, expecting to attend Medical school and pursue his goal to become an Orthopedic Surgeon. He also plays baseball on the Varsity College team as the starting left fielder, and was a member of the summer Semi-Pro baseball team, the Novato Knicks! His hobbies include golf, fishing, and traveling, where he wants to travel the Mediterranean, after he finishes school. We have enjoyed having Cameron spend the summer with the MVPT staff, and wish him well at school, and in all his future endeavors."