CORE PT Links:
The staff at Core Physical Therapy welcomes you! Though our clinical staff hails from diverse professional backgrounds, we are dedicated to providing excellent physical therapy services in a positive, supportive environment.
Clinical Staff
Angela Savelli, DPT, OCS
Angela (“Angie”) graduated as one of the top students in her class from Daemen College in Amherst, NY with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy.
Prior to coming to Core, Angie worked for a prominent, orthopedic surgery practice for the past several years as their senior/lead therapist. There, Angie obtained extensive experience treating spine, post-surgical, and post-traumatic orthopedic injuries (adolescent through adult) – as well as treating clients (particularly, the geriatric population) with multiple and complex medical conditions.
Known for her compassionate and caring manner, Angela’s treatment philosophy is that each patient is unique and should be treated as such. She therefore strives to create individualized treatment plans that target restoration of function in order to meet the demands of work, sport, and every day life. Value is also placed on patient education with emphasis on body awareness, injury prevention, and enhancing one’s understanding of the diagnosis/condition in order to better manage it.
A strong proponent of evidence-based practice, Angie obtained her certification as an “orthopedic clinical specialist” (OCS) in 2015.
Within the orthopedic setting, she has particular interest – and has undergone further training in both the assessment and treatment of running injuries and the mechanical diagnosis and treatment (MDT) of low back pain. Angie is excited to have developed, and will lead, Core Physical Therapy’s new specialty Running Program in Fall 2016.
In addition to treating athletes within the clinic, Angela has treated them outside as well. She was invited to become one of the physical therapists for the US Freestyle Ski Team, and has volunteered her skills and services to them for the past few years.
A soccer fan, Angie played competitively for over 17 years in both the classic and premiere class club soccer leagues, including four years of Division II at the collegiate level.
Marci Silverberg, MPT
Marci graduated from the State University of New York at Syracuse with a Bachelors degree in Health Sciences and a Masters degree in Physical Therapy. Following graduation, she worked in an acute care community hospital where she had the opportunity to work with patients in the medical/surgical, intensive care (ICU), cardiovascular, and neurological units.
Spurred by a desire to venture across the United States, Marci spent a few years as a traveling physical therapist, gradually making her way to Northern California. For the past several years, she worked at Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, providing treatment to patients in the acute care neurological rehabilitation unit, eventually becoming the Senior Physical Therapist on the Brain Injury Team. Recognizing the excellence in care that she provided to the neurologically-impaired patient population, as well as a knack for teaching/mentoring less-experienced therapists, Marci was invited to become an instructor at Kaiser’s internationally-recognized Post-Graduate Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) program.
As one of the PNF program instructors, Marci played a key role in providing instruction of the PNF curriculum to graduate students in the physical therapy program at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland.
Marci is a great resource for clients who have experienced pregnancy and diastasis rectus abdominis (DRA). Moreover, given her background in clinical teaching, she is the primary instructor for Core Physical Therapy’s specialty exercise classes: “Introduction to Prenatal Exercise” is a series designed for pregnant women. “Balance and Fall Prevention” and “ChairFit”, are two different series designed for those with balance and mobility impairments.
Clients in need of a more individualized approach to their balance and mobility impairments, or those with dizziness and imbalance caused by vestibular dysfunction, can also be treated by Marci on a one-to-one basis.
Outside of work, Marci keeps fit with Zumba and yoga – and also incorporates components of these into the exercise programs she creates for fellow enthusiasts.
Stewart Lin, DPT
Stewart graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology. He obtained his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt University, where he graduated with Honors.
Stewart then attended an intensive six month residency in Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) at Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, California, where he also worked as part of the interdisciplinary team. He credits his experience at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo and San Ramon Regional Medical Center for granting him the opportunity to treat patients (pediatric through older adult populations) with a diverse range of both orthopedic and neurological dysfunctions.
In addition to his post-graduate training in PNF, Stewart has also taken numerous courses in the Spine and Sacroiliac Joints, as well as Vestibular Rehabilitation. Along with Kris, Stewart also provides ergonomic assessments for employees in the workplace.
An avid sportsman, Stewart has engaged in sports all of his life. He played soccer and ran track in high school – and to this day, enjoys skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking.
Outside of physical therapy and sports, Stewart has a passion for cooking different cuisines from a variety of ethnicities, especially curries. Our team at Core plans to invite ourselves over for dinner at his place sometime in the near future.
Nicholas Verville, DPT
Nicholas Verville graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Diego State University with a BS in Kinesiology. He obtained his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt University, where he graduated with Honors.
Nicholas has worked in outpatient orthopedics for the past several years, where he has treated a wide variety of post-surgical, trauma, repetitive strain, and sports injuries in the teenage through older adult populations. Nick is well-regarded by clients and coworkers alike for his friendly, down-to-earth manner.
An avid snowboarder, Nick is particularly interested in treating/training all things sports-related.
He has undergone additional sports training in the Running Analysis and Selective Functional Movement Assessment courses through the University of California, San Francisco. Along with Angie, Nicholas will be involved in our upcoming specialty training program for runners.
When not at work, Nick enjoys spending time with his family in the great outdoors.
Kris Wittman, OT/L, MPT, CEAS
Kris received her undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy at San Jose State University, and her Masters degree in Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt College.
As both an occupational and physical therapist, Kris has diverse clinical experience treating a broad range of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders in a variety of settings that include acute rehabilitation, transitional care, acute care, and hand therapy. For the past several years, Kris has practiced in the outpatient orthopedic setting. Seeking to strengthen her skillset in this area, she underwent additional training in orthopedic manual therapy via the Australian Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy (AMSPT) Yearlong Course (2009-2010) in Redwood City, CA.
Based upon her own personal experiences, Kris developed an interest in a specialized area of outpatient orthopedics called pelvic floor physical therapy. She has pursued further education and training in this through the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute, and is excited to offer this growing area of physical therapy to Core clients.
An additional area of interest for Kris is ergonomics. For the past several years, she has performed workstation evaluations for various offices within the Meritage Medical Network and Prima Medical Group, as well as for private entities.
Outside of work, Kris enjoys hanging out with her husband and their four-legged “kids” (two german shepherds and a border collie). Melding her love of fiction-writing and dogs, Kris has written childrens books inspired by their canine antics.
Per Diem Clinical Staff
Lisa Michael, MPT
Lisa graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a double major in Biology and Psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy from New York Medical College.
Inspired by her love of children, Lisa has dedicated several years of her physical therapy career treating pediatric patients. Formerly, she worked as a full-time physical therapist with California Childrens Services (CCS) Medical Therapy Unit (MTU) in Antioch. There she worked with children (infants through teens) with a variety of both congenital and acquired orthopedic and neurologic conditions. Examples include (but are not limited to), cerebral palsy, torticollis, developmental delay, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and spinal bifida. Later, she worked full-time as a contract physical therapist for the San Francisco Unified School District where she provided school-based physical therapy services to children (grades K-8th).
Given her passion for watching children flourish under her care, Lisa strives to turn each session into a positive, enjoyable experience for her pediatric clients. Through skillful use of “play activities, Lisa is able to incorporate strengthening and balance activities – oftentimes without the child even aware that they are “working their bodies because they are having so much fun!
Lisa has also treated adults with a wide range of orthopedic and neurologic diagnoses in both the home health setting as well as in several rehabilitation facilities throughout the San Francisco area.
Having played soccer and lacrosse in both high school and college, Lisa has also coached soccer and currently umpires women’s high school lacrosse games.
When she is not busy working, Lisa enjoys hiking, camping, playing soccer, and spending time with family – especially her young son.
Leela Satyendra, PT, DPT
Leela graduated from the University of California, San Francisco with a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy (1998), and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy (2005). Additionally, she holds both a Bachelor and Masters of Arts degrees in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Leela has extensive experience in outpatient physical therapy, particularly treating the older adult population, as well as patients with persistent pain. She was formerly a Senior Physical Therapist in the Chronic Pain Management Program at Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael, CA. There she evaluated and treated patients with complex medical and orthopedic conditions. As part of a multidisciplinary team at Kaiser, she also developed and provided instruction to participants in therapeutic groups and classes.
Besides attaining advanced degrees in both Physical Therapy and Dance, Leela has been a practitioner of Acupressure and Massage for over 25 years and a Qi Gong Instructor since 2013.