Julia Chevan, PT, PhD, MPH is a Senior Program Manager in the Center for Advancing Healthy Communities with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. Julia has a clinical background in both physical therapy and public health and well over 30 years of experience in physical therapy and higher education, building innovative academic and health programs. Julia is a three-time Fulbright recipient. Julia’s research focuses include publications at the intersection of physical rehabilitation and health services research and physical therapy education. Her academic credentials include an MPH in health policy and management from UMass and a PhD in health-related sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Brian Schaudt (pronounced “shout”) holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from George Fox University and a Master’s in Kinesiology from Southern Arkansas University. He has served as the primary physical therapist for the two least populated counties in Oregon while also providing pediatric services across three counties and a Native American reservation.

Ashley Cassel, PT, DPT, OCS  is a board certified orthopedic physical therapy specialist with experience practicing in a direct access, primary care physical therapy setting. Ashley serves as the Chief of Outpatient Physical Therapy at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System where she has 15+ years of clinical experience practicing in an outpatient setting including primary care direct access physical therapy. Ashley is a subject matter expert member of the VHA National PACT PT Diffusion Team working to spread the best practice of embedding PT in Primary Care throughout VHA by 2025. She co-founded and serves on the board of the APTA Federal Primary Care Special Interest Group where she is project lead on the petition to establish Primary Care PT as a recognized area of specialty and residency practice. 

Dr. Brandon Peterson has practiced physical therapy at the Sioux Falls VA Healthcare system since 2013.  He created a Primary Care (PACT – Patient Aligned Care Team) physical therapy program at the Sioux Falls VA in 2016 and has since worked in Primary Care full time.  In 2017, he was appointed the Chair of Embedding Physical Therapists into Primary Care across VISN 23 (Veterans Integrated Services Network).  Due to the success of this program, Dr. Peterson and other members of VISN 23 submitted the Primary Care PT program into the VA Shark Tank competition.  In 2020, the program was awarded a promising practice and later a national diffusion project.  Dr. Peterson currently serves as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Primary Care Physical Therapy National Diffusion project through the VA Diffusion of Excellence.   The goal of the project is for every VA or CBOC (Community Based Outreach Clinic) to embed physical therapists into their PACT team by 2025.

Dr. Rebekah Griffith PT, DPT, NCS, FiT is a physical therapist who specializes in care in the Emergency Department and ICU settings. She believes that physical therapy should not be a luxury and should be accessible to everyone, particularly in life’s most critical moments. Dr. Griffith is the founder of the ED DPT, a business focused on making Emergency Physical Therapist practice well-known and well-practiced. She also serves her profession as APTA Colorado Chief Delegate. A believer in life-work flow, she is a dedicated mother of 3, wife of 22 years, an avid reader, writer, and photographer, and also holds a Black Belt in Taekwondo. Dr. Griffith firmly believes that we rise by lifting others, which is at the core of being a physical therapist and human.

Ryan is a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy, currently serving as professor and assistant program director at George Fox University in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Teaching courses in pediatrics, orthotics, research, and professional practice, his current research endeavors are around implementing pediatric primary care physical therapy and leveraging person-centered outcomes measures to affect improved, collaborative models of care across the lifespan. Outside of physical therapy innovation, Ryan plays competitive volleyball, loves creative endeavors with his daughter Alex and wife Stephanie, and eats way too much dark chocolate. 

Dr. Genevieve Correa Soares is a dedicated physical therapist specializing in primary care and manual therapy. She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from the University of the Pacific in 2012 and completed a Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Residency at Kaiser Vallejo the same year. In 2015, she further specialized through a Fellowship in Manual Therapy and Primary Care Musculoskeletal at Kaiser Vallejo.

With a passion for education and mentorship, Dr. Soares served as adjunct faculty at the University of the Pacific for seven years and currently teaches Primary Care Physical Therapy at Hawaii Pacific University. She also contributed to professional advocacy as a Delegate for three years with the Hawaii Chapter of the APTA.

As the owner of a clinic in Moloka'i, Dr. Soares integrates Primary Care Physical Therapy with Traditional healing practices to serve the rural community. Her work emphasizes culturally responsive, patient-centered care, blending Indigenous knowledge with Western healthcare approaches. She has been serving as a Clinical Instructor in her clinic, sharing her knowledge and gifts with those interested in learning from her expertise.

Dr. Soares is currently completing an Educational Doctorate (EdD) at the University of Hawai'i Mānoa, focusing on the integration of Indigenous Knowledge and healing into clinically appropriate spaces. She is honored to contribute to the advancement of Primary Care Physical Therapy, helping to shape the profession’s future and prepare clinicians for expanded roles in patient care.