Jana Van Surksum
PT, DPT, OCS
Jana Van Surksum is a Board-certified specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy and an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association. A certified Level 1 Gyrotonic Instructor, Jana utilizes Gyrotonic technology to assess and address bio-mechanical deficits and faulty movement patterns as they relate to her patients’ golf swing. She has received Golf Assessment training from the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) and routinely works with her patients to improve both their golf posture and swing mechanics.
Jana’s post-graduate studies center around getting the maximum output for her patient’s efforts in therapy sessions. She offers a diverse and extensive program repertoire that helps her to identify and eliminate the root cause of pain and dysfunction in the neuromuscular systems of her patients.
RIKESH HIRANI
Jennifer Mazza
PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT
Jennifer is a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant who graduated from Cerritos College in 2014. She also has a Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology that she obtained from Cal State Long Beach in 2010. Since High School, Jennifer knew that helping others was her true calling. Being that she was a former gymnast and competitive cheerleader, she was always interested in how the body worked and functioned.
Jennifer has worked in physical therapy for over 15 years, but her primary focus is outpatient orthopedics. She's worked in a variety of settings, including hospital acute care, hospital acute rehabilitation, outpatient orthopedics, and aquatic therapy.
In her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family and friends and working on fixing up her home. Jennifer and her husband bought a 100-year-old Craftsman Bungalow back in 2020. Keeping up with their 100-year-old home keeps them busy, though they absolutely love its charm and character. They were grateful to be able to find their dream home.
Gerard Del Rosario
PT, DPT
Gerard is a graduate of the California State University of Long Beach, completing a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with an option in Exercise Science in 2011. He went on to attend the University of St. Augustine, completing their Dual Degree program, receiving a Master’s in Occupational Therapy in 2014 and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2015. He has completed clinical internships in numerous settings including acute hospital, ICU, inpatient neuro, outpatient neuro, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient orthopedics. Upon receiving his license he has focused his physical therapy skills into outpatient orthopedics, and his occupational therapy skills into per diem work at various skilled nursing facilities.
He has completed the Manual Therapy Certification course from the University of St. Augustine, with advanced skills in cervical/thoracic/lumbar spine manipulations, subcranial manipulations, SI joint manipulations, and extremity manipulations. Gerard also has extensive experience working with patients with neurological deficits, such as CVA, Parkinson’s, and TBI.
Gerard likes to spend his time powerlifting, breakdancing, and finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie. He does not like long walks on the beach, but rather a nice long drive down the coast.
Lisa Yamagishi
PT
Lisa is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry. She worked as a physical therapy aide for 2 years while completing her pre-requisite courses for physical therapy schools. She got accepted to Chapman University and achieved her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. During her studies at Chapman University, she had experience in orthopedics, inpatient acute setting, and pediatrics. She has been out in the field for 1 year in the outpatient orthopedic setting.
With her pediatrics knowledge, she likes to monitor her 2 children with their developmental milestones.
Rikesh Hirani
DPT
Rikesh Hirani has been a physical therapist since 2018. He began in the field as a PT aide, working alongside expert clinicians for 3 years before attending physical therapy school to get his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from the University of St. Augustine for Health Science where he graduated with high honors. Rikesh has experience working with a variety of orthopedic injuries and conditions as well as with young athletes returning to sports activities. He has been trained in a variety of treatments and interventions including kinesiotaping, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), and advanced assessment and treatment of the spine. He strives to stay up to date with the latest research and new techniques to provide the best care he can for his patients.
In his free time, Rikesh enjoys trying new food recipes, playing and walking his dog, hanging out with his brother finding new donut shops, playing video games, exploring new cities, and practicing photography. His favorite sports include soccer, basketball, Formula One racing, and rugby.
Diego Kim
Clinical Director & DPT
Diego Kim received his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine in San Marcos, California after graduating with his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine.
Since beginning his career in physical therapy, Diego has gained experience in orthopedic manual therapy, treatment for acute and chronic pain, post-operative rehabilitation, and pelvic/lumbar/thoracic/cervical spine manipulation. He continues to hone his skill-set, regularly taking courses with the Institute of Physical Art. Diego is committed to providing quality care to his patients and helping them return to enjoying pain-free lives.
In his spare time, Diego loves to watch basketball, especially his Lakers, work out, try new restaurants, and travel.
Elin Quan
DPT
Elin attended the University of California, Davis, and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Biology. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area all her life, she wanted to explore New York City. She went to Touro College in Manhattan where she received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Elin moved back to Los Angeles and has been working in outpatient orthopedics ever since. She occasionally does home health physical therapy on the side as well. She is also an APTA certified Clinical instructor. She frequently takes continuing education courses to hone her skills and keep up to date on research for the most optimal clinical outcomes. Her approach to physical therapy is often the whole body approach to create a specific individualized program for each patient.
Outside of her passion for physical therapy, Elin’s hobbies include napping, going to spin, barre, HIIT classes, reality television, and hanging out with friends and family. She also loves to travel to different countries and experience different cultures and food.
Joashuan Valdez
LEAD PHYSICAL THERAPY AIDE
Bio coming soon.
Chuck Gaudette
PTA, ATC
Chuck Gaudette is a licensed physical therapy assistant and athletic trainer who brings over 20 years of experience to Gardena Physical Therapy. Chuck is an experienced and nationally ranked athlete of the Nike World Masters and Masters National pentathlon, decathlon and javelin throw.
He also treats and trains high school, college, and professional athletes. Chuck enjoys surfing, golfing and fishing in his free time.
Jamie McLachlan
Director of Operations
Jamie Mclachlan is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Kinesiology. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of physical therapy administration and customer service.
In her spare time, Jamie enjoys traveling, camping, water skiing and spending time with her family.
