Anna Espeland OTD, OTR/L

Joined DHPT in 2024. She earned her undergraduate degree from Montana State University and her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from the University of Mary.

With a diverse range of experience, Anna has worked with individuals facing musculoskeletal, orthopedic, and neurological conditions. One of the aspects she values most about occupational therapy is its holistic approach. She enjoys building personal connections with her patients and developing individualized care plans to help them achieve their goals and return to their daily lives.

Anna is currently pursuing certification as a hand therapist and is an active member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

In her free time, she loves to spend time outdoors, whether it’s golfing, playing tennis, hiking, kayaking, snowboarding, or rock climbing. Her favorite life motto is: “The grass is always greener where you make it.”

Donna M.  Gilbert, OTR/L, CHT

Donna attended Kearney State in Nebraska and the University of Nebraska in Omaha before obtaining her B.S.  in Occupational Therapy at Loma Linda University in California in 1992. She has enjoyed working in the specialty field of Hand and Upper Extremity Rehabilitation for the past 23 years in Kansas City and Phoenix areas. She obtained her Hand Therapy Certification in 2001.

She joined the team at Desert Hand Therapy in 2001. She continues to treat patients at our Avondale clinic location while acting as a director of our North Phoenix, Surprise and Avondale locations. She is an active member of AOTA, AriZota, NBCOT, and ASHT. Currently, she is the Legislative Co-chair for the Arizona Occupational Therapy Association.

Avondale Location

Joy Ramsey, MS, PT

Joy graduated from Sanford University in 1989 and earned her Master’s in Physical Therapy from the University of Alabama Birmingham in 1991. For over 29 years, she has worked at in-house rehabs, outpatient clinics, school systems, and home health addressing a variety of diagnoses as it applies specifically to every age group. This includes patients with strokes, head and spinal injuries, work injuries, amputees, orthopedic procedures, sports weekend warrior injuries, back, shoulder & neck pain, TMJ issues, and developmental delays.

In June 2015, Joy joined the Desert Hand & Physical Therapy team as a hand therapist, while also developing a full-body PT program at the Estrella office.

Her hobbies include golf, gardening, travel, and spending time with family. Joy is native to Nashville, TN. She has practiced PT in Birmingham AL, Naples FL, and Phoenix AZ for the last 20 years.

Avondale Location

Mikayla Murphy, OTR/L

Joined DHPT in 2024 after earning her degree from Midwestern University.

Her career has been marked by a passion for helping individuals regain independence in their daily activities. Mikayla particularly enjoys identifying meaningful activities that have been disrupted and applying her knowledge of anatomy through activity analysis to create personalized intervention plans for her patients.

She is eager to further her career by becoming a certified hand therapist and is a member of both the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the Arizona Occupational Therapy Association (ArizOTA).

In her free time, Mikayla enjoys spending time with friends and family and is always exploring new places around the Phoenix area. Her favorite life motto is: “The race is not for the swift, but those who endure to the end.”