As many of you may have already heard, I am running for President of the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy of the APTA.
It’s with great honor that I accept the nomination from my peers. It truly was humbling. I want to say thank you for the nomination and support from my mentors and past presidents of the Academy, including Kevin Wilk, George Davies, Mike Voight, Tim Tyler, and Tab Blackburn. Knowing that you trust me with the future direction of the Academy means so much.
I wanted to take some time to share why I decided to accept the nomination, and what I would plan on accomplishing as president.
I also want to say that it takes a team effort. That’s why I hope that if you support me, that you also consider supporting Mike Mullaney as Vice President. I need help with these goals, and Mike and I share very similar clinical backgrounds and visions for the Academy’s future (watch for a new podcast episode coming on Thursday this week with Mike and I!).
Voting is Going on Now Through April 30th. If you’re a member of the AASPT, I would greatly appreciate your support!
Why I Decided to Run for AASPT President
Over the years, I have been an active participant in the Sports Academy. I’ve seen it evolve and grow into an amazing group of people. I’m excited to bring a new vision and modern direction, while continuing to build on the progress of past leadership.
When I joined the AASPT almost 25 years ago, I remember what it was like to be just getting started with my career. I walked into my first CSM meeting and was star-struck by all the people in the room, eager to share their experience to help the future generation.
As I progressed through my career, the AASPT gave me so many opportunities to grow as a sports physical therapist. I completed a fellowship with past AASPT president Kevin Wilk, I devoured all the AASPT educational resources, I studied for and completed my SCS to become board a Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist, I submitted my clinical research to present at CSM, I published my research in journals like JOSPT, and I participated in many educational conferences such as CSM and TCC.
I still remember the APTA conference that led to my dream job of working in professional sports. I was presenting, and little did I know that fellow AASPT member Jim Zachazewski was in the audience. After I spoke he grabbed me to say he enjoyed my talk and that there may be an opportunity with the Boston Red Sox.
As my career has evolved, my involvement with the AASPT has continued to enhance my career by allowing me to help others, allowing me to meet so many younger clinicians at Academy meetings, mentor them online, and be part of the new community on the AASPT website.
As you can see, there’s no doubt that my membership within the AAPST has helped me achieve my professional goals. Throughout my career, I saw the AASPT as an invaluable resource that could provide education, mentorship, and lifelong friendships.
I want you to also benefit from the Academy, just like I did.
My Vision of the Future of the AASPT
One of the biggest questions that people have is “why should I become a member?”
I know most of you are clinical and want to work in sports physical therapy. So, I want the mission and executive board of the Academy to reflect these goals of the membership, with exclusive benefits, no matter what phase of your career you are in.
The Academy isn’t about me, our my objectives, or the executive board’s initiatives. It’s about you, the member. I’d love to see the Academy refocus their mission statement, vision, and core values around the needs of the member.
It’s impossible to articulate all of the goals I have here, but I have identified four key pillars to improve your membership:
- Opportunity – Increase membership engagement through new platforms that will foster a diverse community and help shape the future of our profession. This is where it all begins. It will be exciting to see new faces get more involved with the Academy and watch people grow to more prominent roles in the future.
- Education – Provide more modern educational opportunities, both in-person and virtually, in order to increase accessibility to more members wishing to stay cutting edge. The AASPT should be the go-to resource for sports physical therapy, including becoming a Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist. The Academy should have resources in place to continuously update the membership on the latest educational information backed by research and clinical experience. We can build on the past educational opportunities and offer more frequent and diverse programs online while continuing to build better in-person conferences. We need to blend research and clinical experience and include both experienced leaders in our field and up-and-coming members.
- Mentorship – Establish networking and mentorship programs for members to connect with peers and experienced leaders in their desired field. This includes opportunities to work in collegiate and professional sports settings. As many of us know, this is how we help early career professionals grow and get opportunities in high-level sport environments. There should be more opportunities than just residencies and fellowships. Smaller internships in collegiate and professional sports settings will help many gain employment. I’ve spoken to friends in all major professional sports leagues and all are eager to do more.
- Communication – Build more communication of what is happening within the Academy, including events, webinars, research opportunities, and future initiatives. I want to be open with the membership to assure that we are constantly addressing the needs and concerns of the membership, and not simply following our own agendas. We can hold more frequent town-hall meetings utilizing online conference platforms to keep the membership informed.
One of the key ways that I will evaluate the performance of the executive board is if we reflect back at the end of our term and ask, “do members clearly see the benefit in belonging to the AASPT?”
Why Vote for Me?
Why me? I pride myself in being a clinician, educator, and researcher. And while I’m proud of all those roles, it’s the fact that I’m a clinician first that I am most proud.
More importantly, I’m proud to represent what it truly means to be a “Sports Physical Therapist.” I’ve been fortunate to be able to work at the highest levels of professional and collegiate sports. And as a private practice owner, I will always work with youth and amateur athletes.
I believe that all of these experiences bring a level of unique authenticity to what I have to offer. I know what you face every day because I have faced the same issues throughout my career.
I feel that my background and experience truly represent what it’s like being a “sports physical therapist.” The executive board needs members, like Mike and I, that have all of these experiences and represent what many members want out of their clinical sports PT career.
I have held leadership positions with many organizations in the past, and feel that I have a lot of experience that will be valuable to help lead the future vision of the Academy
We Need Your Help and Your Vote
I promise if you vote for me to be your President, and Mike Mullaney for Vice President, we will together make the AASPT the best Academy it could possibly be. Click here to read more about why Mike Mullaney is running for office. Working with you and for you, we will make this happen. We will build on the previous excellent work by the previous executive boards and make AASPT even better!
Thank you for your consideration!
Voting is Going on Now Through April 30th:
