PTA Faculty Bios

Jennifer W. Bresnick, PT, DPT, MPT

DIRECTOR, PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT PROGRAM

Doctor of Physical Therapy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Masters in Physical Therapy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Associate of Science in Allied Health, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD
Dr. Bresnick’s ePortfolio

Dr. Bresnick earned a Masters in Physical Therapy degree, and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore.  Prior to that she attended Marist College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, with a concentration in Public Relations.

Dr. Bresnick’s clinical experience is in inpatient facilities, including hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, in the Baltimore and Boston areas.  Special interests and experience include wound care, post-operative total joint care and geriatrics.

Dr. Bresnick is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, and served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Physical Therapy Association for seven years.  She is an APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor.

Dr. Bresnick is the inaugural director of the PTA program at NCC, having started in this position in 2007.  The program was successfully accredited in April 2011.

Dr. Bresnick lives in Shelton with her husband and two daughters.  She enjoys skiing, hiking, and oddly, computer programming and web design.

L. Roger Silva, PT, DPT

ACADEMIC COORDINATOR OF CLINICAL EDUCATION, PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT PROGRAM

Doctor of Physical Therapy, University of St. Augustine, St. Augustine, FL
Masters in Physical Therapy, University of St. Augustine, St. Augustine, FL
Bachelor of Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Dr. Silva graduated from the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, MA with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 1996.  He also received his Massage Therapy degree from the Massage Institute of New England in Boston, MA in 1997.  In pursuing his dream of being a Physical Therapist, Dr. Silva enrolled at Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies in 1998 in the school’s first Master’s of Physical Therapy Program.  After completing the first semester of studying with the medical students, Dr. Silva returned to the mainland and enrolled at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in St. Augustine, FL.  There he earned his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Physical Therapy in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

Upon graduation, Dr. Silva practiced in various outpatient physical therapy facilities in the Fairfield County area.  He enjoyed working with patients of all ages, but his specialty included treating young athletes recovering from orthopedic sports injuries and post-operative joint replacement.  As a Certified Manual Therapist, his treatments focused on joint and soft-tissue manual therapy and functional training exercises.

In 2009 Dr. Silva joined the staff at Norwalk Community College in the newly developed Physical Therapist Assistant Program.  Dr. Silva is involved in both the didactic and clinical components of the program.  He is the lead instructor in six PTA courses and is the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) for the program where he coordinates and manages the student internship placements in various in-state and out-of-state Physical Therapy facilities, such as, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, schools, private practice, etc.

Dr. Silva lives in Norwalk, CT with his wife and 2 children.  His interests include sports (hockey, soccer, and golf), traveling and spending time with his family and friends.

 

Katherine Robshaw-Turnbull, PT, DPT, MS

ADJUNCT FACULTY

Doctor of Physical Therapy, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY
Advanced Masters, Adult Neurology, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY
Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy, SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, NY
Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts, SUNY at Stony Brook, NY

Graduated with a Bachelors of Science from Downstate Medical Center in 1992, and continued my education with an advanced Masters from Long Island University with a concentration in Adult Neurology and ultimately with a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Long Island University.  I have been teaching since 1998 as an adjunct instructor at Hunter College, Long Island University, Columbia University and Touro College.  I took over as the Chair person of the PTA program at Touro College in 2006 and then became the Associate Director of the DPT program at Touro College in 2009.  After leaving Touro College, I began teaching at NCC in the fall of 2010 for the PTA program.  My clinical expertise is Adult Neurology with experience in Outpatient, Acute care, Inpatient Rehabilitation and Subacute Care.

 

Denise Totura, PT, MSPT

LABORATORY ASSISTANT

Denise Totura graduated from New York University in 1986 with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy. She completed an advanced Master’s degree in Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy from Long Island University in 1991.

Ms. Totura worked at Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopaedic Institute for over 5 years. She then worked at two different out-patient facilities as a clinician and  administrator. Her clinical expertise is in orthopaedics and geriatrics.

Since moving to Fairfield County over 10 years ago, she has worked as a homecare PT at Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut. She is a member of the APTA.