Alexandria Zitnik-McGinty: Take charge, learn all you can

This is one of 12 finalists for The Herald Business Journal’s annual Emerging Leaders awards for 2022. The winner will be named at an event on April 27.

Alexandria Zitnik-McGinty, 32

Chief development officer, Integrated Rehabilitation Group

Alex Zitnik-McGinty was a new physical therapist assistant when she was assigned to to help industrial workers prevent on-the-job injuries and improve their health.

“There I was telling this blue collar, rough-and-tumble crew how they were going to get better,” Zitnik-McGinty said. “I don’t think they believed me, and I don’t think I believed myself.”

She had to convince this very skeptical group — and herself — that she and the program her firm offered were capable of improving their workplace and well-being.

The old adage “fake it till you make it” only goes so far, Zitnik-McGinty said.

“You can only do that for so long, and that’s only 20%. The other 80% is learning, asking questions, calling other organizations, asking what worked for them and figuring out how to implement that,” she said.

At the end of the day, you have to make sure people trust you enough to follow your lead, Zitnik-McGinty said.

Her take-charge, learn-all-you-can approach yielded results.

The rough-and-tumble crew did indeed get better, Zitnik-McGinty said.

The experience taught her two valuable lessons: “Heck, yeah, I can do it!” and, most importantly, “At the end of the day, the more work you put in, the more you achieve,” Zitnik-McGinty said.

Zitnik-McGinty, who grew up in Snohomish County, earned a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology at Washington State University.

She is a physical therapist assistant and chief development officer at Integrated Rehabilitation Group (IRG) in Bothell, where she has worked since 2010.

At IRG, she leads the marketing, outreach and performance service department, which serves several schools in the Mukilteo area.

She is involved with the medical career pathway program at several local high schools, which offers seniors the opportunity job-shadow physical therapists and learn about the business, she said.

Zitnik-McGinty is a member of the Physical Therapy Association of Washington, which promotes professional accountability, representation and excellence.

“Collaboration is so important for the health care profession,” she said of her involvement with the association. “Sharing information and knowledge is how we collectively get better, and I am always happy to educate, present and collaborate with other therapy organizations.”

Zitnik-McGinty chairs the Snohomish County Sports Commission Board and is a member of the Mukilteo Schools Foundation. She volunteers for Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, Imagine Children’s Museum and the American Cancer Society.

“I think a lot of the work I do isn’t super flashy, but the small things build up over time,” Zitnik-McGinty said. “Little things can lead to great things where you live, work and play.”

Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @JanicePods.

The annual Emerging Leaders award by The Herald Business Journal seeks to highlight and celebrate people who are doing good work in Snohomish County. This year’s partners in the award are HeraldMedia, Leadership Snohomish County, Leadership Launch and Economic Alliance Snohomish County. Co-sponsors are Gaffney Construction, Inflection Wealth Management and the Port of Everett.