Penticton Staff
Occupational Therapists
Louise started with Meridian as an OT in our Kamloops office back in 2017 and has now made her way down to our Penticton office. Growing up in the small-town Rothesay in New Brunswick, Louise went on to complete her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at St. Francis Xavier University, following with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at Queen’s University. Since then, she has continued to expand her OT skills and knowledge through her work and additional courses. Part of why Louise loves her job as an OT is that she is able to build therapeutic relationships with her clients and empower them in their recovery, and to be able to do ‘real life’ activities with her clients too. Possibly Meridian’s most organized member of staff, Louise has a hobby for bullet journaling, as well long-distance running, yoga, basketball, and exploring the beauties of BC, especially with her partner Aaron and dog Jett!
Qualifications and Memberships
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy – Queen’s University
Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Minor in Nutrition – St. Francis Xavier University
Member of the British Columbia College of Occupational Therapists (COTBC)
Member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT)
Matheson Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) Certification Program
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Certification
Occupational First Aid Level 3 and CPR Certification
Nonviolent Crisis Intervention
Areas of Practice
Case Management
Community Rehabilitation
Chronic Pain Rehab
Functional Capacity Evaluation and Critique
Cost of Future Care Assessments and Critique
Post-Concussion Rehab
Seating Assessments and Prescription
Stroke Rehabilitation
Brain Injury Rehabilitation
Work Hardening and Work Conditioning Programming
Job Sit Visits and Job Demands Analysis
Return to Work Coordination
Ergonomic Evaluations
Long Term Care and Complex Care contract service
Alisha is our Penticton office manager and contract lead for our Assessment Services. After finishing her BSc degree at UBC-O she completed her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Western Ontario. She moved to Penticton in 2020, and enjoys an outdoorsy lifestyle, including mountain biking adventures with her husband. Alisha‘s love of rehabilitation stems from passion of helping people realize and achieve the goals that are important to them. Specifically, she is interested in the full spectrum of brain injury rehabilitation (from concussion to severe traumatic brain injury), return to work programming, and medical-legal functional capacity evaluations where she’s been accepted to provide expert witness testimony in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Qualifications and Memberships
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy – University of Western Ontario
Bachelor of Science – University of British Columbia
Member of the British Columbia College of Occupational Therapists
Member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
Matheson Functional Capacity Evaluation Certification Program
Matheson Advanced Functional Capacity Evaluation course
Certified Work Capacity Evaluator designation (Matheson)
Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP)
Qualified as Expert Witness in the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Areas of Practice
Case Management
Functional Capacity Evaluation
Cost of Future Care Assessments
Medical-Legal Services
Post-Concussion Rehab
Brain Injury Rehabilitation
Job Site Visits and Job Demands Analysis
Return to Work Coordination
Progressive Goal Attainment Program Services (PGAP)
Hospital Discharge and Coordination
Kamila comes to us from Calgary where she got her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at University of Calgary and then completed her Master of Occupational Therapy at UBC. Kamila loves the variety of people that she gets to meet and work with as an OT. Kamila is married to her wonderful husband and has 2 children. Fun fact about Kamila- she was born in Poland and speaks fluent Polish! She also speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese. Kamila loves to travel and explore the world and enjoys doing outdoor activities.
Qualifications and Memberships
Master of Occupational Therapy – University of British Columbia
Bachelor of Arts in psychology – University of Calgary
Member of the British Columbia College of Occupational Therapists
Member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
Member of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists
Certified yoga instructor (200hr)
Areas of Practice
Case Management
Community Rehabilitation
Chronic Pain Rehab
Functional Capacity Evaluation and Critique
Cost of Future Care Assessments and Critique
Post-Concussion Rehab
Work Hardening and Work Conditioning Programming
Job Sit Visits and Job Demands Analysis
Return to Work Coordination
Ergonomic Evaluations
Born and raised in Vernon, BC, Ava is thrilled to return to the beautiful Okanagan valley after completing her Master of Occupational Therapy at UBC Vancouver.
Prior to her Master’s, she earned a Bachelor’s in Human Kinetics at UBC-O, laying the groundwork for her commitment to the field of rehabilitation.
Ava’s professional journey has been marked by a keen interest in pediatrics, complemented by a rich background in aquatics, and experience lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons.
With a genuine passion for the Okanagan lifestyle, Ava finds joy in exploring the region’s natural beauty. Outside of the office, you’ll often find her immersed in activities that celebrate the great outdoors, or playing team sports. Whether she’s swimming, playing volleyball or ringette, embarking on a scenic hike, or snowboarding, Ava embraces the diverse recreational opportunities that the Okanagan offers.
Bachelor of Human Kinetics – University of British Columbia (Okanagan campus)
Master of Occupational Therapy – University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus)
Member of the British Columbia College of Occupational Therapists
Member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
Areas of Practice:
Pediatric services
Autism Services
Rylee completed her Bachelor of Science at Mount Royal University, followed by her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at University of Alberta. She loves working as an OT where she has the opportunity to meet many people and help make meaningful differences in their lives. She has widespread interests in adult rehabilitation, including return to work programming, neurological and mental health populations. Rylee also spends as much time as possible appreciating the beauty of the Okanagan while hiking, biking, and rock climbing.
Qualifications and Memberships
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy – University of Alberta
Bachelor of Science – Mount Royal University
Member of the British Columbia College of Occupational Therapists
Member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
Member of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists
Areas of Practice
Community Rehabilitation
Chronic Pain Rehab
Post-Concussion Rehab
Brain Injury Rehabilitation
Stroke Rehabilitation
Work Hardening and Work Conditioning Programming
Job Site Visits and Job Demands Analysis
Return to Work Coordination
Ergonomic Evaluations
Hospital Discharge and Coordination
Speech-Language Pathologists
Brooke completed her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Victoria before going on to do her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of British Columbia. While at UBC, she had the opportunity to complete a variety of practicums with both children and adults. Since becoming a practicing SLP, Brooke has been working with children (from toddlers to youth) and their families. When not in the office, Brooke loves getting outside and exploring on her bike!
Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts from University of Victoria
M.Sc. Speech-Language Pathology from University of British Columbia
Member of College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of BC (CSHBC)
Member of Speech-Language Audiology Canada and Speech and Hearing BC (SAC)
PROMPT-trained
Areas of Practice
Pediatric speech, language, and communication services.
Kinesiologists
Raeanne has her Bachelor of Human Kinetics from UBCO and specializes in posture correction and functional training. Raeanne grew up in Jackfish Lake, a tiny lake in the country just west of Stoney Plain in Alberta. Raeanne enjoys how varied her work is and working with people from all different works of life and with a multitude of various problems. She loves the challenge and pushing herself in her work. Raeanne has two loves in her life, her cats Neville Longbottom and Fawkes! Fun fact- Raeanne was once a former national and collegiate volleyball player. In the summer you will find her playing volleyball on the beach!
Qualifications & Memberships
Bachelor of Human Kinetics – University of British Columbia – Okanagan
Practicing Member of BC Association of Kinesiologists (BCAK)
Areas of Practice
Gym-Based
Exercise Programs
Aquatherapy
Post-Concussion Exercise Programs
Administrative Staff
Julia immigrated to Canada 19 years ago and grew up in Winnipeg, where she also completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Newly arrived to Penticton, she is excited to explore, swim and hike in the beautiful Okanagan region. Julia is happy to join the Meridian family and looks forward to getting to know everyone.