Fieke received her Physical Therapy degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1989. Sophia has over 30 years of clinical experience and has worked in a variety of settings including acute rehab, acute care, home health, outpatient orthopedics, and outpatient neuro rehab. She is an APTA credentialed clinical instructor and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Marymount University. Sophia is certified in LSVT Big. In addition, she obtained her APTA Geriatric Clinical Specialist certification in 2017. Sophia was instrumental in establishing the PT presence in the post-COVID clinic at the George Washington University medical faculty associates. 

Dr. Jennifer Zanni is a board certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Specialist and works as a physical therapist with the Johns Hopkins Rehabilitation Network in Baltimore, Maryland. She has over 24 years of experience working with a variety of patient populations, but has a primary interest in the management of patients with complex medical conditions and with those who have survived critical illness. Dr. Zanni currently serves as a lead physical therapist with both the Johns Hopkins Post-Acute COVID-19 Team (PACT) and the Johns Hopkins Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) Program. Dr. Zanni is also a lecturer in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University. 

Corey completed his undergraduate degree in health and human performances in 2011 from the University of Louisville, and graduated with a doctorate in physical therapy in 2013 from Bellarmine University. Corey spent two years practicing orthopedic physical therapy in Baltimore before moving back to his hometown of Louisville, KY in 2016 where he began working at KORT. Corey completed an orthopedic residency program from KORT and was board certified in orthopedics in 2018.  Since 2018, Corey has worked on creating and developing physical therapy programs to help improve the function of patients suffering from severe deconditioning due to conditions such as cardiovascular dysfunction and Long COVID.  His clinical interests are in hands-on therapy, sports-related injuries, restoration of cardiovascular fitness and clinical decision-making.  Corey enjoys living an active lifestyle with his wife and two daughters.

Rebecca works as a speech-language pathologist at George Washington University Hospital in the Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, having received her Master's degree from the University of Minnesota. Rebecca focuses on person-centered, functional approaches for neurogenic disorders and treats patients with stroke, traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and neuromuscular diseases. Rebecca first began working with patient with COVID-19 in acute care in 2020 and has since helped launch the Post-COVID-19 Outpatient Recovery Clinic to serve individuals with persistent cognitive, voice, and swallowing difficulties post COVID-19. 

Becca is an occupational therapist located at GWU Hospital Outpatient Rehabilitation Center. She has been based in DC since graduating from Thomas Jefferson University in 2017 with her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy. She is always striving to further her knowledge and use evidence based tools, completing study in visual impairments after neurologic conditions, splinting for orthopedic and neurologic populations, concussion and TBI with her Certified Brain Injury Specialist, LSVT BIG and dance for Parkinson populations. She strives to use her dance, yoga, and swimming background to incorporate into her orthopedic, geriatric, and neurologic populations to allow for greater joy in exercise. Becca has participated in long COVID-19 therapy since 2020, working interdisciplinary with therapists and physicians to provide greater care to her patients.

Dr. Nickels is a counseling psychologist with expertise in health and rehabilitation psychology. She specializes in adjustment to acute and chronic illness, injury and disability, chronic pain management, and health psychology intervention. She is part of the Post-Acute COVID-19 Team (JH PACT) & Pain Clinic in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Nickels obtained a master of arts degree and master’s in education in psychological counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York. She completed a predoctoral internship in psychology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance in New York and then obtained her doctoral degree in counseling psychology from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She continued her training as a postdoctoral fellow in health psychology and psycho-oncology at Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Research and clinical interests include the role of social and emotional factors in adjustment, health behaviors, and quality of life in prevention and management of acute and chronic health conditions. With a background in the arts, Dr. Nickels also has experience in teaching and performing music and theater.

Dr. Andrew Sprague, PT, PhD, DPT is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2015 at the University of Delaware (UD) and then completed his PhD under the advisement of Karin Grӓvare Silbernagel in the UD Tendon Research Lab (2020). His research and clinical practice have focused on evaluation and rehabilitation of lower extremity tendinopathies. The goal of Dr. Sprague’s research at the University of Pittsburgh is to identify measures that will allow for individualized load and recovery prescription for patients with overuse tendon injuries. Dr. Sprague has shared his research and clinical expertise at numerous national and international conferences and received honors for his work from the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research and the Imaging Special Interest Group of the American Physical Therapy Association. 

Johnny Owens iss CEO and Director of Clinical Education for Owens Recovery Science, a corporation recognized in the INC 500. He manages a research portfolio of over 40 clinical trials being conducted worldwide primarily studying the effects of Blood Flow Restriction Rehabilitation in clinical populations. He is the former Chief of Human Performance Optimization at the Center for the Intrepid (CFI) at San Antonio Military Medical Center and continues to serve as a consultant and clinical researcher at the CFI. He completed his undergraduate course work in Biology at The University of Texas at Austin and earned his Masters in Physical Therapy at The University of Texas Medical Branch. He serves as a medical consultant for teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and collegiate sports.

He is involved in numerous clinical trials involving regenerative medicine, sports medicine, blood flow restriction and high-energy trauma. Owens has been published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature, regularly speaks at the national and international level and his work has been featured on 60 Minutes, Time Magazine, NPR, Discovery Channel and ESPN.

Dr. Helminski is a Professor of Physical Therapy at Midwestern University, and a physical therapist at Midwestern University Multispecialty Clinic.  She received her PhD from Northwestern University’s Institute for Neuroscience. Her clinical focus is treating atypical BPPV and uncompensated peripheral vestibular hypofunction.  Her current research includes differential diagnosis of atypical BPPV, acquired vertical diplopia, and acute vestibular syndrome in the emergency department.

Dr. Schubert is a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery as well as the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University.  He completed his PhD at the University of Miami followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins.  His clinical focus is treating gaze and gait instability in people with loss of vestibular sensation.  His current research investigates novel methods for identifying pathology within the oculomotor system and differences in motor learning in the vestibulo-ocular reflex using different types of error signals.  

Dr. Worth graduated from the University of Wisconsin–LaCrosse, double majoring in physical therapy and psychology, received his Master’s in Orthopedic Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine and his DPT from Massachusetts General Institute of Health Professions.   He has been in private practice since establishing Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine in 1998, with 28 clinics in northeast/central Wisconsin, plus 8 on-site clinics at YMCA’s and providing on-site care for 60+ companies and municipalities.  Rob has presented at the APTA Innovation Summit and his practice was selected as the 2013 Private Practice of the Year by the APTA Private Practice Section.  In addition to his private practice, teaching at two universities and an orthopedic residency program, and leading international medical missionary work, he is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association, previously serving as the President of the American Physical Therapy Association Wisconsin, currently serves as Wisconsin Delegate to the American Physical Therapy Association, and is a Director on the APTA Private Practice Board of Directors. Dr. Worth has also received the Outstanding Service Award from APTA Wisconsin and the IndUS International Award for cross-cultural contributions in healthcare.

Mike is President and CEO of Rock Valley Physical Therapy, a Private Practice with 60+ locations in Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. Mike received his MPT and his MBA from the University of Iowa. He is an adjunct faculty member in the DPT Programs at St. Ambrose University and the University of Iowa.  Mike has served on numerous Private Practice Section (PPS) committees, co-founded Peer2Peer Networks, started the PPS KPI Benchmarking Initiative, been a Director on the PPS Board and is currently serving as the PPS President. Mike is also a co-founder and current Board Member of Midwest Therapy Network, a collaborative of 100+ clinics throughout the Midwest that assists therapist owned companies with contracting, credentialing, outcome management, education and group purchasing.   

Dr. Karen Litzy, PT, DPT is a licensed physical therapist, international speaker and owner of Karen Litzy Physical Therapy, PLLC.

As the host of Healthy Wealthy & Smart, a top 200 podcast on Apple Podcasts, she has interviewed influencers in the worlds of health, medicine, and entrepreneurship. She also shares how she has prevailed with her own experience of chronic pain.

Karen’s expertise has been featured in The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Well + Good, and more. She was recently added to the Medical Advisory Board of Prevention Magazine.

Dr. Steffes has over 35 years of experience as a physical therapist and over 25 years as a Healthcare Consultant, specializing in Private Practice Marketing, Compliance and Practice Management. She has served as adjunct or Guest Faculty for 6 Doctoral Physical Therapy Programs on business topics. Dr. Steffes has served on the Board of Directors for the Private Practice Section and speaks annually at every Private Practice Annual Meeting, as well as for the Section at the APTA Combined Sections Annual Meeting. She is also a frequent contributor to PPS Impact Magazine on marketing and a variety of business development topics and serves as the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association Payment Specialist.

Dr Steffes is a passionate advocate for the Physical Therapy Profession and has served as a Key Contact for both PPS and the APTA. She has testified, helped in both reviewing and writing policies as they relate to PT Practice. She has been on faculty and involved in the curriculum development for the EPPM Program since its inception and also serves as a lead instructor for the EIM Business Course offered to EIM Residents and Fellows.

Dr. Vidale is the CEO of Momentous Sports Medicine. He currently serves as a Physical Therapist for the Baltimore Ravens and was formerly the Physical Therapist and Assistant Rehab Coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. He was featured in Forbes magazine as one of the top 1000 Entrepreneurs of 2021. Dr. Vidale is a graduate of Florida A&M University where he was a hurdler and decathlete on the track and field team. Dr. Vidale went on to attain his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Rutgers University. Following graduation, Dr. Vidale relocated to Washington, D.C. where he earned his MBA from George Washington University. He completed his Sports Physical Therapy fellowship(FAAOMPT) at the Institute for Athlete Regeneration. Prior to that he served as an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Howard University. He was the Head Physical Therapist for the DC Slayers and DC Furies Rugby clubs from 2012-2016 and served Team USA as a Physical Therapist at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada with the United States Olympic Committee. He also served as the Physical Therapist for the USA Softball National team. Dr. Vidale is a published author, with publications in internationally distributed textbooks and scholarly journals and is also a content reviewer for the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. Dr. Vidale specializes in treating sports and orthopedic injuries. He sits on the State Board of Physical Therapy for Washington, DC, and currently serves on the Nominating Committee for the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy(AASPT). Dr. Vidale is also the chairman of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and serves on the Practice Committee in the AASPT, and is also involved in the American Physical Therapy Association, American College of Sports Medicine and the Private Practice Section. He resides in Washington, DC.

Jason graduated from Gordon College in 1996 with a Bachelors degree in Kinesiology. He earned his Bachelors/Masters degrees in Physical Therapy from Thomas Jefferson University in 1999. Jason has 23 years of leadership experience in the rehab industry. He served as a membership committee volunteer for the NYPTA, and regularly lectures at local PT programs focusing on professionalism and fiscal responsibility. Jason has recently begun to consult with newly developing physical therapy programs who desire to introduce curriculum content which will better prepare future therapists to excel under alternative compensation models. In 2016 he cofounded OnusOne, an online employee compensation portal system that that is currently being used in 36 states in the US. Jason is an internationally recognized expert in best practice design and implementation of alternative employee compensation models, and he regularly speaks on the topic at national, state, and regional conferences. He has authored 2 separate articles for the APTA PPS Impact magazine over the past 12 months, and is a regular guest contributor to various podcasts both in the US and abroad.