Staff
Donald Sanchez, PT
Founder/President · All Paradigm Locations
Donald graduated from UNM’s Division of Physical Therapy in 1983. He has worked in several clinics throughout the Southwest but returned to his hometown of Los Lunas in 1996 to fulfill the dream of owning his own practice. He has dedicated his life to physical therapy and the application of a comprehensive, all-inclusive approach to patient care. He believes that physical therapy is a perfect venue to be able to help people and touch lives. Donald is committed to the advancement of the profession of PT and the ongoing conversation of the healing capacity of the human body.
Donald lives in Los Lunas with his wife Loraine and their son Estevan. He enjoys gardening, classic cars, exercise, and the outdoors.
Nicole Rejda
Chief Administrative Officer · All Paradigm Locations
Nicole is the heart and soul of Paradigm. She helps to bridge the gap between clinical staff and administrative staff and has more responsibilities than can be listed. She has been with Paradigm since 2010 and in her time has effected very positive change. She is married with 2 children and lives in Valencia County.
Los Lunas Staff
Steve Waghorn, PT
Staff Physical Therapist · Los Lunas
Steve graduated in 2004 from UNM’s Division of Physical Therapy with a Master’s degree. Steve has been with Paradigm Physical Therapy since 2000, starting out as a therapy technician. His relationship with Paradigm influenced him to return as a therapist.
Jason Sedillo, PT, DPT
Staff Physical Therapist · Los Lunas
Jason graduated in 2017 from UNM’s Division of Physical Therapy with a Doctorate degree. Jason has been with Paradigm Physical Therapy since 2007, starting out as a therapy technician and working in the gym program. His experience working with Paradigm and patients influenced him to return as a therapist.
Eryk Ocasio, PT, DPT
Staff Physical Therapist – Los Lunas
Eryk is originally from Alamogordo, NM, received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration at NMSU in Las Cruces, NM in 2009 and his Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Washington University in St Louis, MO in 2015. After working in a hospital based clinic in northern Missouri doing outpatient and inpatient care for a couple years, he is happy to be back in his home state near family and friends (and with much better weather!). His treatment philosophy involves incorporating not only exercise prescription but also addressing the mechanics of functional motions one does in everyday life that can aggravate or lead to an injury (getting up from a chair with knees together, standing with slouched posture, walking with feet pointing outward). He has a lovely, wonderful wife and a cool dog and enjoys hiking, climbing, biking, playing bass, and martial arts.
Sara Sollars, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Los Lunas
Sara graduated from Pima Medical Institute and became a licensed PTA in 2018. She continues to challenge her skills and knowledge in the field of physical therapy by attaining an advanced degree while practicing here at Paradigm. She enjoys the variety of patients she treats and strives to make therapy an engaging and fun experience. In her free-time she can be found on the lake, camping, snowboarding, jogging, and competing in long-distance obstacle races.
Steven West, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Los Lunas
Steven has been an Albuquerque resident for over 20 years, and loves the culture and environment of New Mexico. Steven found his love for physical therapy while working as a therapy technician, and found himself seeking a PTA degree. He graduated in 2015 from Carrington College as a Physical Therapist Assistant. Steven has experience in hands on care with techniques of manual therapy, modalities, therapeutic exercise, and taping. In his off time he enjoys technical challenges working in the garage or spending time with the family.
Steven Clark, PTA, BSPTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Los Lunas
Stephen graduated from Pima Medical Institute and began working as a physical therapist assistant in 2018. During his time gaining experience and honing his skills at Paradigm, Stephen obtained his Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapist Assistant from Pima Medical Institute. Stephen places a large emphasis on combining manual therapy and therapeutic exercise to improve patient outcomes. In his spare time Stephen enjoys exercising, rock climbing, archery, and obstacle course racing.
Adrian Avitia, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Los Lunas
Adrian graduated in 2018 from Central New Mexico Community College. He believes in establishing great rapport with patients to help them live a better quality life. He is committed to growing as a healthcare professional with Paradigm and furthering his education. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM and he is driven to serve his community. Some of his favorite activities include swimming, kickboxing, hiking, volleyball and fishing. professional with Paradigm and furthering his education. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM and he is driven to serve his community. Some of his favorite activities include swimming, kickboxing, hiking, volleyball and fishing.
Frances Lowenberg, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Los Lunas
Francie is from Dallas TX, and moved to Albuquerque in 1993 to attend the University of New Mexico to study Art and Education. She has been a PTA since graduating from Carrington College in 2012. Before becoming a PTA, Francie was a gymnastics instructor. Besides gymnastics, she has been involved in equestrian vaulting, and is the conditioning coach for a vaulting club in Corrales. When not working or vaulting, she enjoys spending time with family, hiking, gardening and creating fiber art paintings.
Jennifer Druffel, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Los Lunas
Bio Coming Soon!
Belen Staff
Jesse Swann, PT, DPT
Staff Physical Therapist · Belen
Jesse grew up south of Belen, in the small town of Contreras, and has lived in Albuquerque and Bosque Farms throughout his coursework in undergrad and graduate school. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 2013 and his Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy in 2016, both at the University of New Mexico. Jesse enjoys the orthopedic setting due to the variety of age groups and diagnoses he gets to work with. He is especially interested in sports rehabilitation, working with various hand/wrist and foot/ankle diagnoses and patients with amputations. He is excited to go to a variety of continuing education courses to expand on the knowledge he has gained in his school coursework. He works to incorporate full-body, multi-system treatment approach with all patients, including working to improve breathing and diaphragm control in patients with chronic back pain.
Jesse is excited to be back in the town he grew up in and to be able to give back to the community of Belen.
Leah Rigdon, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Belen
Leah grew up in Wisconsin, and has lived in New Mexico since the fall of 2012. Leah graduated from Carrington College in 2014, and has been a PTA w/ Paradigm since graduating. She is very happy to have had the opportunity to learn and grow w/ the company, and looks forward to continued growth. She enjoys helping others reach their goals, and being able to meet so many people. Leah enjoys working w/ return to sport athletes, and has completed her certification in Kinesio Tape. In her spare time Leah enjoys golfing, tennis, fishing, horseback riding, and reading.
Mary Porcher, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · Belen
Mary, known as Maggie to her friends and patients, is a Belen local who has been with Paradigm since 2017, starting out as a gym technician and then as a part of our fantastic front desk staff. She graduated from CNM and became a licensed PTA in 2019 and her attachment to the community and previous experience with patients inspired her to return as a therapist. Maggie believes in taking a holistic approach to healing and giving patients the opportunity to take an active role in their recovery and health and she’s looking forward to giving back to the community she grew up in. In her spare time she enjoys going to the lake, hiking, and spending time with her family and dogs.
South Valley Staff
Donald Sanchez, PT
Founder/President/Physical Therapist · South Valley
Donald graduated from UNM’s Division of Physical Therapy in 1983. He has worked in several clinics throughout the Southwest but returned to his hometown of Los Lunas in 1996 to fulfill the dream of owning his own practice. He has dedicated his life to physical therapy and the application of a comprehensive, all-inclusive approach to patient care. He believes that physical therapy is a perfect venue to be able to help people and touch lives. Donald is committed to the advancement of the profession of PT and the ongoing conversation of the healing capacity of the human body.
Donald lives in Los Lunas with his wife Loraine and their son Estevan. He enjoys gardening, classic cars, exercise, and the outdoors.
Simon Guteirrez, PT – Se Habla Espanol
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · South Valley
Simon was born and raised in Albuquerque, graduating from Del Norte High School. He completed his studies in Sweden and received his Bachelors in Physical Therapy from the University of Linköping in 1997. He as spent the past 18 years practicing outpatient care in southern Colorado. As an experienced Manual Therapist, Simon treats a wide range of diagnoses including Orthopedics and Sports Rehabilitation. Simon is a certified Functional Dry Needle clinician. As an avid runner, Simon competed nationally and internationally for over 30 years. He has represented the United States in cross country and mountain running ten times and has won the local La Luz Trail Run a record 11 times. This experience lends itself to a special niche for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of overuse injuries in runners. Outside of the clinic, Simon enjoys traveling to Europe and running daily along the Bosque trails with his wife, Mary, and their 2 small terriers.
Jamila Nicks, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · South Valley
Jamila graduated in 2010 with a BS in Exercise Science from UNM. She worked as a Physical Therapy Technician for a number of years before becoming a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant in 2013. She has been with Paradigm since July 2013.
Jennifer Dominique, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · South Valley
Jenny Dominique is a recent PTA graduate from San Juan College. She is also a certified yoga instructor with over ten years experience of working with a wide variety of clients. She has a passion for empowering individuals to understand their bodies and take an active role in their healing. She has called Albuquerque home for the last ten years, and enjoys hosting potlucks, family game nights and camping trips with her husband, two awesome sons, and her goofy 95-pounds-of-love mutt, Olivia.
Sean Lichtenberger, PTA
Staff Physical Therapist Assistant · South Valley
Graduated 2014 from NWTC in Green Bay Wisconsin. Sean moved to New Mexico in late 2019 from San Antonio Texas and started that year with Paradigm. He enjoys interacting with his patients to make each session enjoyable. In his spare time Sean enjoys working out and being outdoors hiking and exploring New Mexico.