Dr. Katie O’Bright is a board certified orthopedic Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) who graduated from Temple University in 2014. Upon graduation, she served in the United States Army as a Captain & physical therapist, primarily working in a multidisciplinary Soldier Centered Medical Home.

She furthered her education in the Military Musculoskeletal Residency in 2017, at which point she obtained her OCS. After her time in service, she was the lead physical therapist at the University of Oklahoma’s Stephenson Cancer Center, a team-based clinical setting where she enhanced her skills working with individuals with complex needs. Dr. O’Bright moved on to another multidisciplinary primary care practice in Pittsburgh before starting her own cash-based practice.

Dr O’Bright is a passionate educator who serves as adjunct faculty in several DPT programs. She is also the owner of Redefine Health Education, a continuing education company that focuses on enhancing the primary care and MSK imaging skills of physical therapists. Dr. O’Bright currently resides in the Greater Chicago area, and enjoys exercising and spending time outdoors with her husband, 2 sons, and Chocolate Lab. She dabbles in painting & veggie gardening, enjoys live music, and Buffalo Bills football.

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.

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Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye (BPT, MS, PhD) is a sports physical therapist, injury epidemiologist and an implementation scientist. He is an assistant professor at the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States where he directs the Translational Injury Prevention Lab. Dr. Owoeye is a deputy editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine and has over 55 peer-reviewed publications in top sports medicine and sports physical therapy journals. His research focuses on sports and exercise injury prevention, musculoskeletal health and knowledge translation towards enhancing the safety and wellbeing of athletes and active individuals worldwide. His research work has been supported by several competitive grants, including the NBA, General Electric, International Olympic Committee, Canadian MSK Research Network, and a sub-award from the National Institutes of Health. 

Dr. Rupal Patel is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Houston, Texas. Dr. Patel received her PhD in Health Promotion and Wellness from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, UT. She received her Master of Science in Physical Therapy from TWU in Houston and her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Physical Therapy from TWU in Denton, Texas. Currently, Dr. Patel coordinates the two health promotion and wellness courses in the TWU Houston DPT curriculum, one focuses on the physical therapist’s role in impacting individual health behaviors and the other focuses on the PT’s role in community health promotion. Dr. Patel has extensive experience utilizing a service learning pedagogy to teach community health promotion, working with various local organizations with underserved target populations. She also teaches Nutrition in PT Practice content to 2 other DPT programs. Dr. Patel has presented refereed poster and platform presentations at state and national meetings on the utility of the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model for Health Promotion Program Planning in physical therapist education. She has also co-authored a publication on this model in the Journal of PT Education. Her research interests include (1) designing and implementing group based culturally tailored community lifestyle intervention programs to reduce risk factors for Diabetes and (2) applying the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model to foster community engagement during service learning projects in the DPT curriculum. Dr. Patel is an engaging speaker that has taught numerous courses on nutrition, community health promotion, education, ethics, and advocacy related topics at local, regional, state, and national conferences. She is a regular content contributor at APHPT and and consults on design and delivery of community engagement projects.

Nicole Eddy, PT, DPT, is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy with a deep passion for improving health and wellness within neurological populations. As an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University, she shares her expertise and dedication with students, preparing them to make a difference in the lives of their patients. Dr. Eddy also plays an active role in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), where she chairs the Health Promotion and Wellness Network Member Engagement Group, focusing on fostering collaboration and engagement to advance wellness initiatives. Her work is centered on enhancing the quality of life for individuals with neurological conditions by promoting evidence-based interventions and advocating for holistic approaches to health and wellness. 

Shannon Richardson, PT, DPT, EdD is an Assistant Professor for the College of Saint Mary's Blended Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in Omaha, Nebraska. He received two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. He completed an orthopedic residency at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles, California, and became a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy. Before joining the faculty at the College of Saint Mary, Dr. Richardson worked in various settings, but the majority of his time was primarily in an orthopedic outpatient setting as part of a hospital. He also served as a faculty member for that hospital's physical therapy orthopedic residency. His teaching experience began as an adjunct faculty member teaching orthopedic courses to DPT students and he eventually secured a full-time teaching position at the College of Saint Mary. nal Leadership. His areas of scholarship are focused on discrimination within physical therapy education and social determinants of health.

Janet Bezner is professor and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy at Texas State University. She received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy at the University of Texas Medical Branch, a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University, a PhD in health education from the University of Texas, and a DPT degree from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. She also is a national board-certified health and wellness coach. She was vice president of education, governance, and administration at APTA for nine years and served on APTA’s Board of Directors prior to joining its staff. Janet has practiced and held leadership roles in various settings, including hospitals, home health, long-term care, corporate wellness, academia, and non-profit organizations.  Her research has resulted in 15 book chapters, over 30 published articles, eight grants, and numerous conference presentations on health and wellness and leadership-related topics. She is a Lucy Blair Service Award recipient and a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA.  Janet maintains an active health and executive coaching practice, and provides strategic planning and thinking consultation.