Our physical therapy staff members are educated and skilled to provide you with the care that you need to enhance your movement.


Staff members

Cole Carson, PT

Cole co-founded Equinox Physical Therapy with his wife, Ruth Carson, in 1992. He graduated with a degree in Physical Therapy from St. Scholastica in 1984. Recently Cole has enjoyed doing ready to work and return to work assessments as well as practicing in the home health field. In his spare time, Cole likes to ride his motorcycle, ski, boat, be in the outdoors, and spend time with friends and family. 

 

 

 

Ruth Carson, PT

Ruth is a 1982 graduate from Luther College and continued on to Physical Therapy school at the College of St. Scholastica, graduating in 1984. She and her husband, Cole, opened Equinox PT with an emphasis in orthopedic medicine. She enjoys all rehab challenges with special interests in manual therapy and exercise progression. More recently she has started seeing woman's health clients, and is certified in dry needling. She is grateful everyday for the opportunity to work in a community like Fairbanks with a dynamic and talented staff

 

 

Monica Olson, PT

Monica graduated in 1984 from University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy.  She enjoys practicing in the outpatient orthopedic setting managing multiple orthopedic conditions. She enjoys the wide variety of orthopedic conditions and utilizes her manual skills, exercise, dry needling and patient education to achieve successful outcomes for her clients.  Outside of work she enjoys hiking, camping, skiing and being outdoors. She has a wonderful husband and two great children and has enjoyed living in Alaska and raising her family here.

Daphne Keeney, PT

Daphne graduated from Loma Linda University, California in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy. She has enjoyed practicing orthopedic rehabilitation with her patients at Equinox Physical Therapy since 1992. In addition to work she loves to ride her motorcycle, bike, golf, camp, exercise, and cheer on Nanook basketball and volleyball.

 

 

 

Kelsi Johnson, PT, DPT

Colin Campbell, PT, DPT

Cassidy Reinartz PT, DPT

Julie Ament, PT, DPT, MOMT, OCS

Kelsi graduated from University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences with a Doctor of Physical therapy degree in 2014. Shortly after she relocated to Fairbanks to begin her career. She has a passion for running and has directed her continuing education towards the examination and treatment of injured runners, however, enjoys treating all orthopedic concerns with a combination of manual therapy, exercise and education. She is currently certified in dry needling through Optimal Dry Needling Solutions. In her free time she enjoys running, hiking, plants, knitting and skijoring with her two huskies.



Colin was raised in Alaska and then graduated from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California with a doctor of physical therapy in 2021. He spends summer and fall in Alaska and then works in California in the winter. He is a strong believer in exercise, movement, and educating patients in anatomy and biomechanics. He is a Vinyasa yoga instructor and uses principles from this in his physical therapy practice. Colin enjoys running, yoga, biking, traveling, and carpentry/building projects in his free time.

Cassidy graduated from the College of St. Scholastica in 2023 with a doctorate in Physical Therapy. She was here, at Equinox, as an intern in 2022, absolutely loved it, and relocated to Fairbanks a couple weeks after graduation. She has a passion for exercise, patient education, and developing individualized home exercise programs for patients to be successful on their own after learning physical therapy. In her free time she enjoys hiking, running, biking, reading, cooking and spending time with friends. Extra fun fact: she can also juggle and picked up the skill in elementary school where she was on an organized juggling team.

Julie has been practicing physical therapy in North Pole since 1995. She earned her Master of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from Arcadia University in Philadelphia in 1990. She completed her Doctor of Physical Therapy with Regis University in 2012. In her spare time Julie likes to garden, fish, camp, bike, ski and enjoy the Alaskan outdoors. She is a supporter of Nanook Sports, and is a fan of the Seattle Seahawks, the North Pole Patriots, and the Eielson Ravens.

Diane Hebert Office Manager

Diane joined Equinox as the office manager in 2001. She is originally from New England but has been in Fairbanks for 40 years! She has been working in the medical field since 1976 starting in dentistry and working in various other medical positions. She has a wonderful husband, two great children, and two grandchildren. She loves Alaska and the people she has met here. She enjoys her family and friends, the outdoors, traveling and she especially likes to laugh and make others laugh. 

Jaclyn Mitchell

Administrative Assistant/Billing

Jaclyn was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, and started at Equinox in 2020. She recently graduated from UAF with a degree in Political Science, and hopes to have a ceramics studio down the road. She also works at Little Owl. She enjoys kayaking, writing, traveling, drinking coffee, baking, and spending time with those she loves.

 

Emily Brown Administrative Assistant/Billing

Jayden Neal Administrative Assistant/Billing

Ashtyn Hess Administrative Assistant/Billing

Emily was born and raised in Danville, Virginia, and started at Equinox in May of 2023. She currently lives in North Pole, Alaska with her husband and four pets.  Emily loves all things Taylor Swift, reading, playing with her four fur babies, and spending time with her husband exploring Alaska! She is currently in school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks pursuing a degree in Business Administration.

Jayden was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska and started at Equinox in 2020 with her best friend Jaclyn. She recently came back from studying film in the United Kingdom, and loves to travel. She enjoys analyzing film, spending time in cafes, and being near the ocean.

 

Ashtyn was born and raised in Alaska and joined the Equinox team in 2014 as a billing specialist. She enjoys being at the barn with the horses, driving her truck with her loyal beagle by her side, and, most of all, spending time fishing, camping, and four wheeling with her big family!