About Us

Our Mission

To promote education, mentorship and networking while connecting the greater San Diego hand therapy community.

In 1988 Debbie Summers and Judi Coulthard started the San Diego Hand Special Interest Group (SIG) with the purpose of providing ongoing local educational opportunities and networking for therapists who treated individuals with hand injuries. The first meeting was on May 5th, 1988 at Sharp Upper Extremity Center.

Over the years we have also had the pleasure of being hosted by Children’s Hospital, the VA Hospital, and UC San Diego Health. During the height of the COVID pandemic we adapted to meeting on Zoom and starting in 2022 resumed in person education opportunities. A variety of local physicians and therapists have presented during this time frame to help elevate the skills of our members.

After many years of leadership and community service to the SD Hand SIG, Jill Peck Murray and Maureen Harrington have stepped down from leadership positions and Adrienne Tesarek accepted the board's presidency in 2023 and included mentorship as part of the SIG’s mission statement.

Moving forward, the SD Hand SIG aims to continue to foster opportunities for networking, learning, and career development through mentorship. We will proceed with a hybrid of online and in person meetings as we continue to build our SD hand therapy community.

What we hope to achieve

A sense of community
Fostering collaboration
Online and in person education event opportunities
A mentorship program

A membership program including benefits
Quarterly events
Source for resources
Hosting networking opportunities