Aideen Curran, Prosthetist/Orthotist

Director of Professional and Clinical Services - aideen.curran@ottobock.com

Aideen is the Director of Professional and Clinical Services for Ottobock North America. She studied at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and is a former clinical specialist who joined the Ottobock U.S. Professional Clinical Services Team after 7 years at Ottobock Australia. There, she was responsible for the Ottobock Academy, a dedicated training facility for CPOs and technicians from across Australia and NZ. Aideen has extensive experience with the Ottobock microprocessor knee (MPK) and feet (MPF) portfolios and also has a passion for elevated vacuum systems and hip disarticulation prostheses. She also has experience in upper limb prosthetics, orthotics, and has worked actively in high end patient care fittings.

Ariel Cabana, CPO

Senior Clinical Specialist, Prosthetics - ariel.cabana@ottobock.com

Ariel Cabana, CPO studied Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She received a Bachelor of Science in P&O and then moved to NYC to complete her residencies in both disciplines. Her work in NYC at the Hospital for Special Surgery enabled her to travel to Ghana, Africa and treat underserved people with prosthetic and orthotic needs. She worked in private practice early in her career and then worked for Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics. She has always wanted to work in education and has been delighted to work with Ottobock HealthCare as a clinical specialist in Prosthetics. She joined Ottobock in July, 2009. Her primary role involves providing clinical education related to microprocessor knees, socket technologies and the C-Brace.

Chris Doerger, PT, CP

Senior Manager, Education Strategy and Development - chris.doerger@ottobock.com

Chris is a certified prosthetist and physical therapist. She attended the University of Miami where she received her master’s degree in PT. Following a few years of clinical practice, she returned to school at Northwestern University where she completed her certificate in prosthetics. Chris is an ABC certified prosthetist and licensed in the state of Florida. Her areas of interest include biomechanics, gait training, and CAD CAM technology. In addition to her duties at Ottobock, she teaches in the physical therapy program at the University of Central Florida, serves as a track and field classifier for U.S. Paralympics, and volunteers with the ABC Prosthetics Exam Committee.

Brian Frasure, CP

Senior Manager, Professional and Clinical Services - brian.frasure@ottobock.com

Brian’s passion for prosthetics was ignited by his career as a Paralympic sprinter. As a ABC Certified Prosthetist, Brian has over 20 years’ experience in advanced prosthetics as a world-class amputee athlete, patient care provider, and as a bionic clinical expert. He has spent the past 14 years working with prosthetic manufacturers to advance bionic technology, most recently serving 7 years as the Director of Clinical Operations with Bionx. Brian joined ottobock in 2017 following the acquisition of Bionx Medical Technologies. There, he plans to continue his life mission of assisting other amputees in regaining their mobility, confidence and independence. Brian has a BS in Engineering from North Carolina State, and he received his ABC certification from Northwestern University in 1998.

Ted Friedmann, CO

Manager, Orthotics - ted.friedmann@ottobock.com

Ted received his advanced specialty diploma in Orthotics from Century Community College in White bear lake Minnesota and his Bachelors in Manufacturing Technology from the University of Northern Iowa. Ted has been a certified clinical orthotist since 2005. He practiced for 8 years at Chladek O and P and 3 years at Hanger clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. He now is traveling the country supporting our customers for all their orthotic needs.

Cale Konetchy, CP

Senior Clinical Specialist, Lower Limb Prosthetics - cale.konetchy@ottobock.com

Cale Konetchy is an ABC certified prosthetist who graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire with a B.S. in Biology in 1998. He earned his prosthetics certificate from Century College in White Bear Lake, MN in May of 2002. After graudation, Cale spent 10 years working in direct patient care to include managing a private orthotic and prosthetic clinic in Minnesota. Cale previously worked at Otto Bock HealthCare from 2008-2018 and returned to our team in October of 2021. Cale is looking forward to supporting our customers and their end users to achieve optimal outcomes.

Ara Mirzaian, CO

Clinical Specialist, Orthotics -  ara.mirzaian@ottobock.com

Ara Mirzaian is a certified orthotist with 30 years of experience in orthotics. After graduating from San Diego State University with a degree in Food and Nutritional Sciences Ara underwent an extensive surgical procedure to repair his left ACL. In an eager attempt to get back to surfing and snowboarding at a high-level Ara sought out a local orthotist to fabricate a custom molded carbon/titanium knee brace that was waterproof. This process sparked an interest in orthotics which led Ara back to school to obtain a certificate in orthotics. Ara lives in Carlsbad California with his family and still enjoys surfing, snowboarding, fishing and golfing in his spare time. Just recently Ara treated a premature baby giraffe, Msituni(see-TOO-nee), at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance with the same exact custom molded carbon/titanium brace that was made for him over 30 years ago. Now the giraffe is out in the wild with all the other giraffes and hippos and she no longer requires bracing.

Jaime (JP) Perez-Pineda, CPO

Cranial Clinical Specialist -  jaime.perez-pineda@ottobock.com

JP is an ABC Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist who received his master’s degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2012 and a bachelor’s degree in biology and studio art from Lake Forest College in 2010. After finishing his master’s, JP completed his orthotic residency at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center where he developed a passion for working in pediatrics. Since then, JP has worked in clinics all over the country dedicating his O&P career to cranial remolding orthoses.

Mark Profeta, CPO

Senior Clinical Specialist, Prosthetics -  mark.profeta@ottobock.com

Mark is an ABC Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist who studied at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, FL. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Orthotics and Prosthetics and moved to Baltimore, MD to complete his residencies in both disciplines. He has been working in private practice until he joined Ottobock in 2019. Mark has extensive experience with elevated vacuum and microprocessor knees. He enjoys working with customers and their patients to help them regain their mobility and achieve their goals.

Dana Schack, CPO/L

Clinical Specialist, Upper Limb Prosthetics - dana.schack@ottobock.com

Dana is an ABC Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist who graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. Before joining Ottobock, she practiced in north and central Florida, where she treated prosthetic and orthotic patients and served on the board of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists. In addition to patient care, she developed clinical education for medical providers and physical therapists to cultivate knowledgeable local teams able to provide advanced treatment for prosthetic users. She also enjoys offering outreach to children and students, encouraging them to become the next generation of O&P professionals.

Tim Shride, CPO, FAAOP

Senior Clinical Specialist, Prosthetics - tim.shride@ottobock.com

Tim is an ABC Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist. He joined Ottobock Professional and Clinical Services as a Clinical Specialist in 2009. His responsibilities include presenting introductory and advanced courses on upper limb prosthetic technology, and developing educational materials. As a Clinical Specialist for Ottobock, he has presented locally, nationally and internationally. Prior to joining Ottobock, he was in clinical practice in New England and the Pacific Northwest for 8 years. He is a graduate of the University of Washington with a BS in Prosthetics and Orthotics and a BA in Business Administration.

Erica Swanson, CP/L, MOT, OTR/L

Manager, Prosthetics - erica.swanson@ottobock.com

Erica Swanson, CP, MOT, OTR/L, received her certification in prosthetics from California State University in 2005 after completing her Master's degree in occupational therapy from the University of North Dakota in 2004. Erica then received her ABC certification in prosthetics in 2007. After several years of working in the field and gaining experience with working with a variety of levels of amputation among a diverse population of clients, including pediatrics, adult, geriatrics, and athletes, Erica decided to make the career change into education. In 2011 Erica joined Ottobock and is now working as a Clinical Specialist for both upper and lower extremity prosthetics. She travels the nation fitting patients with advanced prosthetic technology and teaches certification courses to train prosthetists and therapists to fit this high-tech componentry.

Jackie Valdez, CO, BOCP, FAAOP, M.Ed.

Clinical Education Specialist - jackie.valdez@ottobock.com

Jackie has over thirty years of experience in the Orthotics & Prosthetics profession. She is certified by the American Board for Certifications in Orthotics and is certified by BOC in Prosthetics. She is a Fellow of the Academy (FAAOP), a member of the Gait Society, a Mentor, and an ABC Orthotic Examiner. She has served as the PT liaison for AAOP since 2018 as well as serves as the Board member for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for AOPA. She was also an OPAF board member for several years. She attended Century College for O&P and was trained at Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine and was also certified by the NATA as a Certified Athletic Trainer. She also has a master’s degree in Integrated Science with a focus of study in online learning and teaching.

Ron Wilkinson, CPO/L

Senior Clinical Specialist, Orthotics - ron.wilkinson@ottobock.com

Ron began his O&P career in 1994 as an Orthotic Technician. Having already received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1991 and Master of Education degree in 1993 from Auburn University he attended Northwestern University Orthotic-Prosthetic Center for his O&P education. He received his Orthotic Certificate in 1997 and his Prosthetic Certificate in 1999. He worked for 22 years with Hanger Clinic in various roles from Technician to Clinic Manager. Most recently before joining Ottobock he worked for 2 years serving our Veterans at the Atlanta VA. Now at Ottobock he serves as an Orthotic Clinical Specialist primarily for the West Region. His responsibilities are customer education, product support and technical liaison.

Technical Support Team

Jerry Gohman, Marc Rynda, Jason Puchalla, Robert Michalewicz, and Agustin Serrano - naproductsupport@ottobock.com

Education Team

Araceli Jacobo and Briana Falcon - na.education@ottobock.com