Sports Physical Therapy Residency Faculty
You’ll train alongside experienced faculty and staff who are invested in your learning needs, professional goals and personal well-being.
Residency leadership team
Our residency leaders are committed to providing the highest quality training and patient care. We leverage our vast professional experience and varied medical interests to help you develop advanced clinical skills in sports physical therapy—rooted in evidence-based practice.
Ryan Swetkovich, PT, MPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS
Ryan is a 2002 physical therapy graduate at the Mayo School of Health-Related Sciences in Rochester, Minn., and 2008 graduate of Gundersen’s Sports Physical Therapy Residency. He has been board certified in sports physical therapy since 2009 and in orthopedic physical therapy since 2012.
Ryan’s clinical interests are diverse in sports and orthopedic physical therapy. Additional professional interests include residency education and physical therapy specialization. He is active in the orthopedic certified specialist (OCS) exam development with the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS). He also sits on the ABPTS Orthopedic Specialty Council.
Outside of the clinic, Ryan enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 children. He likes running, camping, hiking, kayaking and paddle boarding. Ryan enjoys a variety of sports, primarily following teams from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Other interests include reading, cooking, gardening, traveling and exploring trout streams in the Driftless region of southwest Wisconsin.
Program leadership
C. Nathan Vannatta, PT, DPT, SCS
Associate program director
Dr. Vannatta serves as staff physical therapist in Gundersen's Sports Physical Therapy department, instructional faculty of Gundersen's Sports Physical Therapy Residency and is a member of the La Crosse Institute for Movement Science (LIMS) research group at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L).
Nate is involved in several areas of the residency program including associate program director, clinical and research mentoring, as well as assisting with instruction in evidence-based practice, differential diagnosis and management of lower extremity conditions, running gait analysis, functional testing and return to sport decision making.
Nate graduated from the doctoral program in physical therapy at UW-L in 2014 and completed the Gundersen Sports Physical Therapy Residency in 2015. He has a broad range of clinical interests ranging from the management of acute lower extremity injuries to chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions. His research interests are primarily focused on biomechanics with a specific emphasis on neuromuscular adaptations to pain and injury and their role in the development of repetitive stress injuries, persistent pain syndromes and osteoarthritis.
Outside of the clinic, Nate is a family guy through and through where he enjoys swimming, biking, running and playing sports with his wife and 7 children. He also loves coffee and a good book (or research paper).
George J. Davies, DPT, MED, PT, SCS, ATC, LAT, CSCS, PES, CSMS, FAPTA
Residency consultant
Dr. Davies is an internationally known speaker who has presented at hundreds of conferences on sports physical therapy and athletic training. He is a clinician, educator, speaker, researcher, author, editor and consultant. Dr. Davies has been involved in the clinical practice of sports physical therapy/athletic training for more than 55 years. He was one of the original co-founders and co-directors of the Sports Physical Therapy Residency program at Gundersen Health System. He also served as the president of the Sports Physical Therapy Section – American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) from 1992 to 1998.
Dr. Davies has been active in the professional community and has earned many awards during his career for his contributions, including the 1994 recipient of the APTA's prestigious Baethke-Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching. He also received the Hall of Fame Award - Sports Physical Therapy Section – APTA in 2006 and was elected into the SPTS-Hall of Fame. Dr. Davies won the National Athletic Trainers' Association President's Challenge Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sports Medicine in 2007. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Education Achievement Award by the SPTS in 2013. Dr. Davies was also honored as the first non-orthopaedic surgeon to be elected into the AOSSM – Hall of Fame.
He has authored numerous textbooks, book chapters, journal articles and presentations. Dr. Davies worked at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City in the sports medicine polyclinic, as well as several venue sites as the field of play athletic trainer. The United States Olympic Committees (USOC) Sports Medicine Division and Sports Medicine Advisory Committee selected him as a member of the USA Medical Staff for the 2008 Olympic/Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Paul Reuteman, DPT, MS, OCS, ATC
Teaching coordinator-PT, UW-La Crosse
Dr. Reuteman is a clinical professor in the Program of Physical Therapy at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. His primary teaching responsibilities include musculoskeletal examination and intervention principles, clinical decision-making and clinical radiology.
Dr. Reuteman also maintains an active clinical practice affiliated with Riverside Corporate Wellness in La Crosse. He is the co-founder of Specialized Physical Therapy Education and is the program director and instructor of their Orthopedic Residency Program. He also serves as faculty of Gundersen’s Sports Physical Therapy Residency program in Onalaska. His credentials include being a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist from the ABPTS, and he is credentialed through the McKenzie Institute and is a board-certified athletic trainer from the National Athletic Trainers' Association.
Dr. Reuteman recently received the College of Health Sciences Professional Achievement Award from Marquette University and is a 2-time recipient of the Sports Medicine Teacher of the Year by Gundersen Medical Foundation.
Bradley L. Fowler, MD
Medical director
Marie Heath, MBA
Residency/fellowship program administrator
Program faculty
Geoffrey Betz, PT, DPT, OCS
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (DPT)
Foothills Sports Medicine Residency, Phoenix, Ariz.
Staff physical therapist
Kristen F. Brinks, PT, DPT, LAT, TPI-CGFP
University of Indianapolis (DPT)
Staff physical therapist
Pamela Johnson-Stuhr, PT, MS, ATC, CSCS
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (MS)
Clinical manager
Michael Conway, PT, DPT, SCS
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (DPT)
Gundersen Sports Physical Therapy Residency
Staff physical therapist
Samuel Wenzlaff, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS
University of Texas – Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (DPT)
Gundersen Sports Physical Therapy Residency
Staff physical therapist
Sadie Zebell, PT, DPT, ATC
Regis University, Denver, CO (DPT)
Staff physical therapist
Dustin Billups, MS, PES, LAT/ATC
University of Toledo (MS)
Athletic trainer
Joseph La Mere MS, ATC, PES
Illinois State University (MS)
Supervisor, Athletic Training Outreach Program
Megan Richason, MS, LAT, ATC, CES
Ohio University (MS)
Athletic trainer
Medical staff
Brad Fowler, MD
Justin Mitchell, MD
Scott Escher, MD
Sports Medicine - Onalaska
Erin Maslowski, MD
Mike McCormick, PA-C
Mike Luter, PA-C
Laura Jacobson, MD
Laura Koerner, ATC, LAT, PA-C
Research consultant
Thomas W. Kernozek, PhD, FACSM
Professor, Biomechanics of Human Movement, Research Methods and Statistics, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
Founder and Director, La Crosse Institute for Movement Science (LIMS)
Why Gundersen
Call La Crosse Home
We have it all in La Crosse, Wis. Our vibrant city and region support your dream lifestyle with a welcoming community, culture and outdoor adventure.
Housing
Steps from our flagship medical center in La Crosse, our housing options allow you to enjoy the company of your family and the comradery of your colleagues.
Prioritizing Your Wellness
As you learn how to become the clinician you aspire to be, we’ll provide space to prioritize your mind and body wellness, and reach the work-life balance you need.