Gretchen started out volunteering at Forward Stride, offering her Physical Therapy skills as a bonus to the treating therapists. She quickly fell in love with the environment at Forward Stride and became passionate about equine assisted therapy as she saw incredible changes in clients. When Gretchen was offered a position on staff, she completed the Level I AHA course and said “yes”! She has worked primarily in pediatric rehabilitation and Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education.
She is a member of the American and Oregon Physical Therapy Associations (APTA/OPTA) and AHA. Besides an MS in Physical Therapy from Pacific University, Gretchen also has a BS in Engineering-Physics from Pacific Lutheran University and spent 8 years in the electronics industry.
Although Gretchen is a native Oregonian, she definitely prefers sunshine. Her three favorite things are hiking, going on vacation with her family and friends and drinking espresso coffee.