Meet the Matheson Team

Hi, I'm Adam.

I've never been interested in being average.

Not because I want to beat someone else. I just think people deserve our best.

Over the years, I've learned that the difference between average and exceptional rarely comes from one big breakthrough. It comes from the little things. The extra question you ask. The way you explain an idea. The follow-up that nobody expected. The willingness to make one small improvement today that makes tomorrow just a little better.

That belief has shaped my career as a physical therapist for more than 21 years and continues to guide my work as President of Matheson Education & Training Solutions.

What motivates me is helping people succeed at what they find important. Sometimes that's helping an injured worker return to work. Other times it's helping a clinician develop practical skills or partnering with an employer to create a healthier, safer workplace. No matter the situation, my goal is always the same: create solutions that people can actually use.

That's also how I approach education.

I don't want manuals that collect dust on a shelf. I don't want courses that people forget a week later. I want someone to leave thinking, "I know exactly what I'm going to do differently tomorrow." If something we build helps a clinician make a better decision, helps a worker get back to doing what matters, or helps a company prevent the next injury, then we've accomplished something worthwhile.

Throughout my career, I've worked in ergonomics, work conditioning, early intervention, job demands analysis, post-offer employment testing, injury prevention, and Functional Capacity Evaluations. I've had the privilege of partnering with more than 25 companies on-site, helping improve the health, safety, and performance of their workforce. Those experiences have reinforced something I believe deeply: the best ideas aren't always the most complicated. They're the ones people understand, trust, and put into practice.

I'm always looking for ways to make things better. Sometimes that means refining a course. Sometimes it's creating a better tool. Sometimes it's simply asking one more question because I believe there's usually a better answer waiting to be found.

Outside of work, I'm a fan of just about anything from the '80s, especially the music. I enjoy spending weekends behind the smoker, always convinced the next brisket will be even better than the last. Most importantly, I enjoy sharing life with my high school sweetheart, who has been my biggest supporter through every stage of this journey.

In the end, I've found that being exceptional isn't about one extraordinary moment. It's about doing the little things extraordinarily well, day after day. That's what I've tried to build my career on, and it's the standard I hope people experience every time we work together.

Ralph Cheesman is the President of Re:Function Health Group Inc. and an Occupational Therapist by training. He has specialized in the provision of Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE) within the vocational rehabilitation health sector for 31 years. Ralph provides expert witness testimony in the Supreme Court of BC, at Union Arbitration hearings, and at Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunals. Ralph has been a clinical instructor within the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of British Columbia, where he developed the vocational rehabilitation training module for the Masters of Occupational Therapy curriculum. As well, he has provided lectures pertaining to FCE services to a wide variety of conferences/organizations – Canadian Defence Lawyers Conference, WorkBC, ICBC Defence Counsel Forum, Victoria Bar Association, Managing Employees with Disabilities Conference, WorkSafeBC Healthcare Professional Conference, BCIT Disability Management curriculum, and the Canadian Institute’s Forum on the Employer’s Duty to Accommodate Conference. Ralph has been the clinical instructor for the mastery level course, Advanced Concepts in Functional Capacity Evaluation, with Matheson Education and Training Solutions since 2018.

Ralph embraces academic process within continuing practice. Using the lens of an Occupational Therapist, where meaningful activity, inclusive of work tasks, is part of any assessment and/or therapeutic process, Ralph combines standardized testing protocols with work simulation activity to best meet his clients and understand their functional challenges and capabilities. This adds much needed validity into the FCE testing structure. He will share clinical journeys and supportive literature that can assist you to better design and better defend your FCE testing process and subsequent functional conclusions.

I am an ergonomic and rehabilitation professional with 14 years of experience in employer clinic-based rehabilitation, occupational health functional evaluations and ergonomic consultation. Throughout my career, I have led large teams within a national employer clinic network and partnered with organizations to build practical, effective solutions that improve worker safety, reduce injury risk, and support long-term performance.

My experience includes delivering high-level ergonomic consultation across a wide range of industries, including meat packaging, paper making, paper converting, construction, vehicle assembly, and food manufacturing. I have guided a Fortune 500 company location earn recognition for having the best ergonomic program across all of its manufacturing locations, and I have supported multiple new employer clients in launching on-site injury management, prevention, and ergonomic programming from the ground up.

In addition to my consulting work and daily patient care, I regularly guest lecture at universities on ergonomics and work practices, sharing real-world insight with the next generation of professionals. I hold the Certified Ergonomic Evaluation Specialist and Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist credentials, which reflect my commitment to professional excellence and ergonomic-focused advancement.

Jessica is a Senior Occupational Therapist and Certified Work Capacity Evaluator with over 15 years of clinical experience across the United Kingdom and Canada. She graduated top of her class from Cardiff University's Department of Occupational Therapy in Wales and has been practicing occupational therapy since 2011.

Since 2017, Jessica has specialized in work capacity and functional assessment, completing Functional Capacity Evaluations, Work Capacity Screens, Work Site Evaluations, Ergonomic Assessments, Return-to-Work Programs, and Occupational Performance Assessments. Her clinical experience spans a diverse range of populations and conditions, including orthopedic and soft-tissue injuries, persistent and chronic pain, concussion and traumatic brain injury, neurological conditions, and psychological disorders.

Jessica is a Certified Work Capacity Evaluator and has been qualified as an expert witness in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, providing expert opinion in the areas of Functional Capacity Evaluation and Future Care. She also serves as Clinical Faculty (Clinical Instructor) with the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia.

Drawing on her extensive clinical, functional assessment, and vocational expertise, Jessica is passionate about sharing practical, evidence-informed knowledge with other professionals and supporting the development of high-quality Functional Capacity Evaluation practice.

Tom is an occupational therapist working inside manufacturing plants across Wisconsin, covering ergonomics, early intervention, job demands analysis, and helping employees back to work after an injury.

That fieldwork is what he brings into the Matheson classroom. Tom teaches ergonomics and worksite injury solutions courses from the perspective of someone doing the work, not reciting a textbook. He came to instruction after years of applying the methods himself, and teaches with the assumption that his students will be doing the same on Monday.

Outside of his civilian work, Tom is a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he plays trumpet with the 484th Army Band and serves as its Operations Sergeant. Whatever time is left usually goes to a golf course with his wife, usually playing worse than he'd like.

Tania is a registered Occupational Therapist who specializes in OT assessment and treatment of adolescents and adults, medical legal practice for defense and plaintiff firms, and educates other rehabilitation professionals through Matheson Education and Training Solutions (METS), the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT), and other firms and organizations, including special interest groups of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Tania has been practicing for 30 years with certification in Functional and Work Capacity Evaluation (CWCE), Cost of Future Care / Life Care Planning (CFC/LCP Advanced) and Occupational Therapy and Case Management services for individuals with complex physical, cognitive and psycho-emotional challenges. Tania is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS) with the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists through the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA).

Tania has been accepted as an expert in the field of Occupational Therapy at the Supreme Court level (British Columbia Supreme Court and Ontario Superior Court of Justice) where she has provided expert testimony and opinion on individuals’ functional capacity, work capacity, and future care needs.

Tania is the clinical instructor for Cognitive Functional Capacity Evaluation, a Mastery Level Series course for Health Care Professionals with METS since 2009. She is also a clinical instructor for the Certification and Advanced Certification Cost of Future Care / Life Care Planning Program, Mastery Level Series course with METS since 2016.

Tania is an active and contributing member of a multidisciplinary and international Clinical Research Consortium (CRC) on assessment, neurorehabilitation, and evidence-based practices and publications relating to neurological rehabilitation (i.e. assessment and treatment of TBI, cerebral palsy, stroke, mental health, and a broad range of neurological conditions) for children and adults.

Aman Rangi is an Occupational Therapist, Certified Work Capacity Evaluator (CWCE), and Clinical Instructor with the University of British Columbia's Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. With training in both kinesiology and occupational therapy, Aman brings a broad perspective to functional assessment and work-focused rehabilitation.

Aman's practice focuses on functional capacity evaluation, return-to-work rehabilitation, job demands analysis, case management, and cost of future care planning. He has completed both basic and advanced Industrial Residency training through the Matheson Functional Capacity Evaluation Program and has extensive experience working with individuals with complex musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain, and psychological conditions.

Aman also brings a strong background in mental health assessment, allowing him to integrate physical, cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial factors when evaluating an individual's functional abilities and barriers to work.

In addition to his clinical practice, Aman has provided expert witness testimony before the Supreme Court of British Columbia and is experienced in translating complex assessment findings into clear, objective, and defensible conclusions.

As an instructor, Aman emphasizes practical application, clinical reasoning, and evidence-informed decision-making. Students benefit from his ability to connect the principles taught in the classroom with the challenges clinicians encounter in real-world functional assessment and occupational rehabilitation.