WCR Brace
Certified Practitioners
Grant Wood, MS, CPO
Align Clinic, San Mateo - CA
Is the co-founder of Align Clinic in San Mateo, California and has over 30 years of experience in the areas of prosthetic and orthotic patient care, management, product development, and scientific research. He is an active presenter, researcher, and winner of awards in prosthetics and orthotics. Grant Wood is also a specialist in scoliosis bracing with the Cheneau brace and the Rigo-Cheneau braces. He has the unique qualification of having trained and mentored Dr. Rigo and Dr. Cheneau since 1996. Since then, Grant Wood has worked on numerous research publications, studies, and workshops on the Cheneau and Cheneau Rigo braces, and he has gone on to create his own brace type: the Wood Cheneau Rigo WCR Brace®.
Grant Wood’s professional career as an orthotist and prosthetist spans work in the USA, England, and Spain, where he worked for eight years at Group IDEO in Sevilla and Malaga. Grant Wood holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Salford, School of Prosthetics and Orthotics in England. His post-graduate thesis was on idiopathic scoliosis treatment using the Cheneau brace at the Research Institute for Health, University of Salford. As well as being British certified in prosthetics and orthotics, he completed his American Board Certification in Orthotics, to become an ABC Certified Orthotist (CO) and US Board Certified in Prosthetics.
Emery J. Maloney, CO
Align Clinic, Green Bay - WI
Emery has 30 years of technical, clinical, and managerial experience and works for Align Clinic specializes in scoliosis bracing for children and adults. He also provides cranial remolding orthoses, pediatric orthotics, and other various bracing needs.
Emery is native to Northeast Wisconsin and started his career as a technician in 1985 with Tyo & Tyo LTD. He is a US Army Combat Veteran and was deployed to Operation Desert Storm in 1991. After a six month deployment, he returned to his technician role, later starting school to become certified. Emery worked part-time as a staff orthotist while putting himself through school and in 1998 graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration. In 2000, Emery was certified in Orthotics by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC). While in school, the company was acquired by Rehab Designs of America where he was the Area Clinic Manager for Green Bay, Manitowoc & Sheboygan. In 2004, this company was acquired by Hanger, Inc. where he was the Clinic Manager until his departure in 2014.
Emery will also continue to serve the scoliosis patients of Central Wisconsin at Scoliosis Rehab Inc. in Stevens Point, with Schroth physical therapist Beth Janssen
Raul Ferrera Hernandez, CPO, PT
Align Clinic, Zaragoza - Spain
Miguel Bustamante, CPO
Align Clinic, San Mateo - CA
Miguel Bustamante has been promoted to Director of Clinical Care of Align Clinic San Mateo (AC SM), he has over 17 years of experience in the orthotics and prosthetics field. Before joining Align Clinic, Miguel served as Clinic Manager with his previous employer at their Mountain View, CA location and at an additional satellite clinic in Redwood City, CA. He has practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area for his entire career.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis in 2001, where he first discovered the O&P field, he went on to earn a post-baccalaureate certificate in Orthotics in 2002 from Northwestern University. In 2004, he returned to Northwestern University to earn the certificate in Prosthetics.
Miguel is an ABC Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist who has extensive experience in pediatric orthotics, including Cranial Remolding Orthoses (helmets). His interest in pediatrics began early in his career during his Orthotics residency working under Align Clinic’s very own Steve Baum, who served as his Residency Director. Miguel has vast experience working with adults as well, like those with neurological conditions including stroke, muscular dystrophies, Multiple Sclerosis, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. He is listed on the CMTA website as a CMT clinician.
Miguel has specialized in advanced technologies for orthotic management of the lower extremities, like the Walk Aide System for foot drop and Stance Control orthoses including the microprocessor-controlled Otto Bock C-brace. He was one of the first clinicians in the state of California to fit a C-brace.
As a Certified Prosthetist, Miguel has fit various levels of lower limb amputations, from partial foot amputations to hip disarticulations. He has provided lower limb microprocessor-controlled prostheses and elevated-vacuum prosthetic sockets from various manufacturers.
Miguel brings his passion for helping others, his experience, and his determination for successful outcomes to Align Clinic.
Stephanie Legare-Romero, CO
Align Clinic, Boulder - CO
Stephanie Romero is a WCR Certified Orthotist and is currently the Clinical Education Manager for Align Clinic. You may see her mentoring new clinicians during video-assisted brace fittings or training new practitioners on ZOOM. She also runs a monthly scoliosis clinic in Colorado, helping to evaluate, measure, fit, and follow up on the Wood-Rigo-Cheneau braces in Boulder at Avanti Therapy.
Stephanie has over 10 years of experience treating pediatric scoliosis, with experience at patient-focused centers such a Boston Children’s Hospital, Carrie Tingley Hospital for Children and most recently, Avanti Therapy in Boulder, CO. She loves to make connections with her pediatric patients and has been known to exchange “favorite book” lists with her patients to pass on to her kids.
Stephanie has a passion for teaching, believing that biomechanics and a high-quality patient evaluation lead to “what makes sense” in a scoliosis brace. Despite a background in engineering, she hates “formulas” in bracing and strives to teach each practitioner how to have a “scoliosis institution” that helps lead to the best possible outcome, rather than just checking the boxes to get things done.
Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys biking with her two daughters, hiking colorful Colorado, and, on a really good day, maybe actually having time to curl up and read a book.
Megan Elizabeth Glahn, CPO, LPO
Align Clinic - The Woodlands, TX
Megan E. Glahn officially joined the Align Clinic team in 2021 and currently works out of the Woodlands, TX office. She enjoys working with neuromuscular and orthopedic patients and has a particular passion for pediatric scoliosis patients. This passion drove her to study under Grant Wood during her residency and earn her WCR Brace certification.
While she loves dissecting scoliosis biomechanically, Megan equally enjoys coaching her patients through the bracing process. Her desire to revamp how healthcare practitioners approach the psychological side of scoliosis care ultimately led her to start Scolios-us, LLC. She founded Scolios-us in 2016 with two goals in mind: Helping scoliosis patients transition into bracing and helping clinicians nationwide address the emotional side of bracing.
Megan also works as an Instructor in the Orthotics and Prosthetics Department at Baylor College of Medicine. In her free time, Megan enjoys spending time with her fiancé Josh and their two dogs.
Hosna Sharafi, MSPO, CPO
Align Clinic - CA
Hosna Sharafi is an ABC Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist and has specialized in pediatric orthotics. She officially joined the Align Clinic San Mateo team in 2022 after working for her previous employer for 10 years. Hosna first became interested in the field of Prosthetics and Orthotics during her undergraduate research pursuing a biomedical engineering degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. She then received her M.S. in Prosthetics and Orthotics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She completed her orthotic residency at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, CT, and her prosthetic residency at the Hanger Clinic in San Francisco, CA.
Early on in her career, Hosna was drawn to the field of pediatrics and has dedicated her clinical practice to this population. As a pediatric clinician, she sees a high volume of patients with a wide variety of diagnoses including deformational plagiocephaly, pectus carinatum, cerebral palsy, and scoliosis. Hosna has a particular interest in working with pediatric scoliosis patients and appreciates the complexity involved in the successful orthotic treatment of idiopathic and neuromuscular scoliosis.
She strongly believes in teamwork and collaboration in order to provide high-quality patient care. She enjoys cultivating close relationships with her patients, their parents, and the referring physicians. Hosna is passionate about her career and takes great pride in improving her patients’ quality of life.
Hosna lives in San Mateo and has called the Bay Area home for many years now. Outside of work, she enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and traveling.
Megan D'Apice, CO.
Align Clinic - CA
Megan (Meg) received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland, College Park (2019) before going on to receive her Master of Health Science in Prosthetics & Orthotics from California State University, Dominguez Hills (2021). She is a Certified Orthotist and Board-Eligible Prosthetist after completing both residencies in Orthotics (2022) and Prosthetics (2023) at the University of California, San Francisco. During her residency, Meg participated in two research studies to develop a multidisciplinary tool to improve functional status of lower limb prosthetic users and establish treatment parameters for orthotic intervention of Pectus Carinatum.
As a former gymnastics coach, swimming coach, and nanny, Meg has always enjoyed working with children. Her professional interests include pediatrics, interdisciplinary healthcare, and biomechanics of gait.
Outside of work, Meg enjoys spending time outdoors running, climbing, camping and travelling.
Michael Mangino, CPO, CPed
Huntington Station, NY - Bay Othopedic Scoliosis Brace Clinic / Bay Orthopedic & Rehabilitation Supply Inc.
Mr. Michael Mangino is both a licensed and American Board Certified Orthotist and Prosthetist and he is also a Board Certified Pedorthist. He holds several patents in the Orthotics and Sports Medicine field. His research has been published and he has been interviewed by various journals within the profession. Mr. Mangino is considered an expert in the field of Three Dimensional Scoliosis Bracing for both children and adults. He has been published in these disciplines and regularly teaches bracing protocols to Physicians and Schroth Physical Therapists throughout the Middle Atlantic and the New England States.
He has served the profession as a founder and Board member of the New York Orthotics and Prosthetics Association. During his eleven-year tenure with that organization, he served as both a corporate officer and Chairman of the Continuing Education Committee.
Presently Mr. Mangino is President of New York States’ largest and oldest Managed Care ABC Board Certified O & P Network called P.O.M.A.C. (Prosthetics and Orthotics Management Associates Corporation) a corporation in which he was a co-founder.
Mr. Mangino has also served as an instructor to several of New York’s Universities both in undergraduate and postgraduate programs on the field of Orthotics and Prosthetics. He also routinely lectures insurance companies and hospitals regarding the latest advancements in the field. Mr. Mangino is the exclusive provider of Wood Cheneau Rigo Scoliosis Braces (WCR Braces) in the New York Tri-state area. He routinely conducts Scoliosis Clinics around the nation with Grant Wood.
Gavin Hassell, CO/LO, Cped/LCped
Pittsburgh, PA - De La Torre Orthotics & Prosthetics, INC
Gavin is the Director of Orthotics at De La Torre Orthotics and Prosthetics and oversees a staff of 24 orthotic clinicians and 8 clinical offices. He has 26 years of scoliosis, pediatric and adult orthotic experience.
Gavin has spoken at many local and national conferences on Scoliosis and commonly speaks at a number of Physical Therapy schools on Pediatrics and is and adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh Master’s Program in Orthotics and Prosthetics.
Glenn Paul, BOCPO
Bronx, NY - Bay Orthopedic & Rehabilitation Supply, INC
Glenn’s practice is exclusive to Scoliosis and orthotic intervention for Spinal Conditions. Previously owner of O&P facility in NYC, currently working with Bay Orthopedic and Rehabilitation providing Scoliosis treatment to patients all over the Eastern US. Glenn is a Past President of the IAOP and has lectured at multiple educational events.
Chelsey Pullman, CPO, LPO
Seattle, WA - Seattle Children's Hospital
Chelsey Pullman is an American Board Certified Prosthetist Orthotist based in Bellevue, Washington. She graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics and has over 10 years experience. She specializes in pediatric orthotic management and became passionate about orthotic treatment for scoliosis during her residency at at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
Jed Jacobson, CPO
Orange, CA - Active Life Orthotics. Prosthetics. Compression
Jed Jacobson, CPO, is an American Board for Certification (ABC) certified prosthetist and orthotist who is based in southern California. He is currently Clinical Manager, a prosthetist and an orthotist at Active Life Orthotics, Prosthetics and Compression in Orange, California. He was certified as a CPO in 2009 and can perform any WCR consultations, evaluations, scanning, fitting, follow-up, parts repair and adjustments for the Align Clinic WCR brace in the Southern California area.
Amira Mouad, CPO
Asheville, NC - Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics
Amira Mouad, CPO, is an American Board of Certification (ABC) certified prosthetist and orthotist in the Asheville office of Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics.
Amira fell in love with the field of orthotics and prosthetics through her desire to help others achieve their goals while exercising her creativity. She began her career working with a prosthetic manufacturing company. Her time was spent gaining technical experience, specializing in elevated vacuum, and troubleshooting devices for other clinicians around the world.
In addition to her passion for working with amputees and advanced devices, Amira finds working with the pediatric population to be extremely rewarding.
In 2015, Amira gained additional certification as a cranial remolding specialist. She worked as the sole clinician under a pediatric craniofacial surgeon and neurosurgeon in private practice as well as at Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. She gained experience in remolding for positional deformities as well as designing, fitting, and monitoring orthoses for infants who have undergone endoscopic release for craniosynostosis.
Advancing her skills further in the field of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, in 2019 Amira gained certification for the Wood Cheneau Rigo (WCR) scoliosis orthosis through Align Clinic in San Mateo, CA. She is the twelfth certified clinician in the US, fourteenth overall.
Amira attends annual conferences on topics focused on effectiveness, outcomes and improving the patient-practitioner experience through technology, documentation updates and a dedicated, team approach to patient care.
Frances Ann Berg, CPO
Frances Ann Berg, CPO is an ABC Board certified Orthotist & Prosthetist (O&P) and WCR certified orthotist working at Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital in Albuquerque, NM.
She began her O&P career fabricating devices as a technician. She was inspired to create devices that assist her patients in their desired goal. Shortly after beginning as a technician she decided to advance in the field and returned to school to enhance her knowledge and become a certified practitioner.
Frances has now been in the field for more than 15 years. She has worked with many ages and pathologies while working at the Veterans Association Hospitals (VA) and multiple children’s hospitals.
Treatment of scoliosis has become a cornerstone of her career. She enjoys the architecture of supporting the spine and has found the WCR TLSO to be one of the most effective and beautiful ways to address scoliosis. She enjoys the challenge of combining aesthetics, comfort, function, and daily activities to enable those with scoliosis to live their best life.
Marlies Beerli Cabell, CPO
Bay Orthopedic (Baltimore)
“Marlies Beerli-Cabell has 16 years of experience in the prosthetics and orthotics industry. She is an American Board Certified Prosthetist Orthotist, Cranial Remolding Specialist, and certified in the United States since 2018 as Wood Chêneau Rigo Clinician. She is a strong multi-tasker with a joyful, energetic spirit. She is a career-long learner, continuously undertaking additional and advanced coursework and certifications to broaden her value. She is a sought-out conference speaker, is published in her field, and holds a patent: Weighted Ankle Foot Orthosis, Beerli Cabell; Marlies (Frederick, MD) Sept 22, 2022. #20220296402. Marlies Beerli Cabell, CPO presented her WCR outcomes at SOSORT 2019 that revealed her treatment success in a 10month old Ehlers Danlos patient and an 80+yr old Osteogenesis Imperfecta Scoliosis treatment.
