Dr. Emily Gee, PT, DPT, OCS

Dr. Gee is running for Delegate at Large in the 2023 APTA Colorado Elections. 

Dr. Emily Gee is a physical therapist and certified yoga instructor in Denver, CO. She currently works as the lead PT for Synergy Health Partners, an inter-professional clinic specializing in treating patients following motor vehicle collisions. In 2022 she completed her orthopedic residency through Regis University and recently became a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist. A former professional cellist, she has a special interest in improving health and wellness education and injury prevention for musicians. She collaborates regularly with former music colleagues to provide wellness and injury prevention tips via online educational content.

As a yoga instructor, she co-founded Sister City Yoga in 2020 with her sister, a free online yoga community to provide live classes during the COVID-19 shut down. She is a passionate teacher and enjoys finding creative and effective ways of integrating her yoga training into her PT practice to provide holistic care.

Originally from Berkeley, CA, Emily graduated from the University of California San Francisco/ San Francisco State University DPT program in 2018. She was an active member of the California PT Association and enjoyed learning about the history of the profession and the importance of professional advocacy. She is grateful to have multiple PT mentors including her father, who are devoted to the profession and value the APTA. They‘ve shown her the importance of serving the PT profession through patient care, advocacy, volunteering, and by seeking out every opportunity to learn and grow. She is excited to follow her mentors’ examples by volunteering to serve APTACO!

Outside of professional interests, Emily continues to love playing music, cooking, hiking, and exploring the outdoors with her husband Dmitri. She is thrilled to call CO her home for the past 4.5 years and is excited to lay down personal and professional roots in this beautiful place.

Identify and describe current or previous leadership positions and/or work experiences that make you qualified for this position:
My current position is the Lead PT for Synergy Health Partners. In this position I've had the opportunity to lead a team of PTs and PTAs across 3 clinics in the context of an interdisciplinary healthcare clinic. I support the PT team by listening to their questions and concerns, communicating with our supervisor and other departments, facilitating meetings, and taking initiative to suggest changes that can improve our daily functions and patient care. I also serve as the liaison between the PT department and other providers, promoting the importance of physical therapy and discussing quality patient care. Over the past two years I have also had the awesome opportunity to mentor new-grad PTs and PTAs as well as to provide mentorship to students applying to DPT programs.
As a yoga instructor I've had the opportunity to create and lead an online yoga community and teach classes in-person and online. I've also created yoga-based PT interventions and led inservices for our team regarding evidence based yoga and effective ways to incorporate it into PT practice.
During PT school I served as the student director for Word on the Wards, an inter-professional inpatient health-coaching elective at San Francisco General Hospital. In that roll I enjoyed learning how to communicate with an inter-disciplinary team, organize meetings and trainings, and how to be pro-active about asking for support when needed.
 

What strengths do you bring to the Colorado Chapter and what strengths would you bring to the position you are running for?
I will bring creativity, positivity and compassion to these roles. I enjoy listening to and learning from others and I value unique and diverse perspectives. I have the ability to bring people together, to help others feel heard, and to stay calm and flexible amidst chaotic and challenging situations. I am passionate about helping and serving others whether it is patients, colleagues, friends or our profession as a whole. I am a warm and welcoming person and believe that I can help people feel a part of this community by forming relationships and sharing experiences and ideas. I come with grace and humility in knowing that I am still new to this profession and am excited to learn from more experienced members and our professions' history to help us move forward.

What are weaknesses of the Colorado Chapter and what improvements would you like to make?
One area of improvement I see is in increasing membership in the organization especially within our new-graduates. I would like to see APTACO clearly promoting the value, purpose and mission of the organization in a way that excites and invites our community to actively participate. This includes promoting and supporting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the CO chapter and APTA as a whole. I believe it's important for us to find ways to make membership and organization activities more accessible and affordable to our community to help everyone feel they can be a part of APTACO. I would also love to see more opportunities for students and young professionals to learn about the importance of professional advocacy and to learn about what the state chapter and national organization does for them, so they will see the value of investing in its future.