Kate W. Gilliard, JD is director of Health Policy & Payment within APTA's Public Affairs Unit. Kate advocates to federal regulators and private insurers on policy issues affecting PT, and communicates important policy updates to members. Before joining APTA in 2018, she was a regulatory analyst with Centene Corporation, focusing on Affordable Care Act-compliant health care products. Prior to that, she was the ACA officer at the Illinois Department of Insurance, where she assisted the director in creating and implementing policies. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Oklahoma State University and her law degree from DePaul University College of Law. She is a member of the Illinois Bar.

Andrew Amari, JD is a specialist within APTA's Health Policy and Payment Unit, advocating on regulatory policy issues affecting physical therapists in a variety of practice settings. Before joining the association in March 2022, Andrew was a regulatory analyst at the Association of American Medical Colleges, focusing on hospital payment and graduate medical education policy issues. Andrew received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Wake Forest University and a JD from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. He is a member of the Wisconsin Bar.

Rachel Miller, MPH is a health policy and payment specialist within APTA's Health Policy and Payment Unit as of August 2022. Rachel advocates to federal regulators on policy issues that affect the physical therapy profession. Before joining the association, she was working towards her master's degree in health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While continuing her education, Rachel showed community members how to obtain health insurance as Certified Application Counselor in a student-run clinic. Before that, she helped stop the spread of COVID-19 as a case investigator at a local health department. She obtained her bachelor's degree in public health from the University of South Florida.

Wanda K. Evans, PT, DPT, MHS, is a senior payment specialist at APTA. Her responsibilities include communicating with members and insurers on inquiries regarding third-party, billing, CPT coding, and payment policies; providing resources in policy development; monitoring trends; and assisting in association efforts to advance payment policies. She remains a treating clinician in the outpatient setting. Before joining APTA, she was the clinical documentation and utilization review coordinator for Medstar National Rehabilitation Hospital Network. Prior to that she was the supervisor of physical therapist and occupational therapist services for Kaiser Permanente Mid Atlantic. She has been an APTA member since she was a student. She received her bachelor of physical therapy and doctor of physical therapy degrees from Howard University, and a master of health science degree in orthopedic and sports physical therapy from the University of Indianapolis. She also is a certified kinesio taping practitioner. 

Alice is on staff as senior payment specialist in the Payment and Practice Management Department of the APTA. She received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Northeastern University in Boston, MA and a doctor of physical therapy degree from the University of Montana. Her specialties include integrated care delivery models, post-acute care, and long-term care. A board-certified clinical specialist in geriatric physical therapy, she has lectured and written many articles on topics related to physical therapy and the older adult. She has spent the majority of her career in post-acute care and long-term care settings and has more than 36 years of experience as a physical therapist. Her professional activities include serving as a member of the National Quality Partnership Opioid Stewardship Steering Committee, co-leader of the NQF Opioid Stewardship Member Workgroup, APTA appointee to the NDHI Opioid Crisis Workgroup, APTA appointee to the National Quality Partnership Opioid Stewardship Action Team, Member of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Technical Expert Panel for Skilled Nursing Alternative Payment Systems, Appointee to the National Quality Forum (NQF) for Long Term Care Quality Measures, Member of the Steering Committee for NQF's National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Nursing Home Project, and representative of the Coalition of Rehab Therapy Organizations’ Joint Commission’s Long Term Care Professional and Technical Advisory Committee.

Dr. Alex Lanty, PT, DPT,  Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Women’s Health Physical Therapy, is a graduate of Saint Louis University Program of Physical Therapy and SSM Health Physical Therapy- Saint Louis University Women’s Health Physical Therapy Residency. She attained her ABPTS Board Certification in Women’s Health Physical Therapy in 2023. Dr. Lanty has a special interest for treating athletes with pelvic health concerns and is passionate for helping non- pelvic health physical therapists learn how to screen and appropriately refer patients to pelvic health physical therapy. She is the primary investigator for various research projects relating to patient reported outcome measures, screening tools and intervention for athletes with urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor dysfunction.

Kat Nasseri PT, DPT,  Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Women’s Health Physical Therapy, (she/her) is a ReVital cancer rehabilitation specialist, certified lymphedema therapist, and certified doula. She graduated with her doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Kentucky in 2015, and later graduated from Baylor’s nationally accredited Women’s Health Residency Program in 2018. She is experienced in treating gender diverse patients both pre- and post-operatively and is passionate about treating these patients for a variety of diagnoses. Since 2022, she has worked as the pelvic health physical therapist for the gender affirmation surgery program at Rush University Medical Center. She also treats both adult and pediatric pelvic and abdominal health patients for a variety of diagnoses at Rush Physical Therapy in downtown Chicago. 

Alaina Newell serves as director of education for ReVital, Select Medical's national cancer rehabilitation program. She is responsible for developing and coordinating clinician, patient, and provider education for ReVital markets across the U.S. Prior to joining the ReVital team, Alaina served as operations director for the Physiological Oncological Rehabilitation Institute (PORi) and clinical specialist in pelvic, gastrointestinal and sarcoma cancers at Oncology Rehab in Denver, CO. Alaina is a board-certified clinical specialist in women's health and oncologic physical therapy by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) and a certified lymphedema therapist through the Lymphology Association of North America. Alaina is a member of the Academy of Oncology Physical Therapy (APTA) community of content experts as well as an adjunct professor of physical therapy at South College. Alaina graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with her Doctor of Physical Therapy and continued her education with a residency in women's health physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Dr. Rebeca Segraves, PT, DPT,  Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Women’s Health Physical Therapy, Founder of Enhanced Recovery After DeliveryTM CEO of the Pelvic Health Network. She has extensive experience treating perinatal and pelvic health conditions in acute care, home health, and outpatient settings including long-term hospitalizations for high-risk pregnancy and following perinatal loss. She has worked with inpatient general surgery, oncology, and obstetrics and gynecology teams to maximize early recovery after delivery, pelvic surgery, and obstetrics critical care diagnoses. She has tailored Enhanced Recovery After Surgery® rehabilitation protocols for abdominal and pelvic surgeries including colon resection, cholecystectomy, hysterectomy, prolapse repair, endometriosis surgery, cesarean section, birth-related injuries, and cancer-related abdominal and pelvic surgeries. She is the founder of Enhanced Recovery After Delivery™, an obstetrics clinical pathway that maximizes mental and physical function during pregnancy and immediately postpartum with hospital and in-home occupational and physical therapy. Her vision is that every person will have access to a qualified rehabilitation therapist before and immediately after birth and any pelvic surgery regardless of their location or ability to pay.

Di Wu (Woody) trained as a medical doctor and completed his residency in Beijing. He practiced as an Orthopedic Surgeon for several years, before establishing himself in Montreal, Canada. In Montreal, he attended physical therapy school at McGill University where he was the first man to enroll in the pelvic floor course. He adapted his learning from that course, which solely focused on women, to be able to effectively treat men. Over the past decade, drawing inspiration from his background as a doctor and as a PT, he has built a framework to help him get repeatable and reliable treatment results for treating male pelvic pain. After almost a decade of refinement and conducting studies to corroborate the findings, Di has solidified the framework. He now shares his knowledge and passion about male pelvic pain nationally and internationally with PTs who are interested in treating male pelvic pain.

Dr. Clinton is an award-winning physical therapist in professional achievement and the owner of LTI Physio in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Susan is board certified in orthopedic and women’s health physical therapy, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Therapy, and a board certified health and wellness coach. She is an international instructor/mentor of postprofessional education in women’s health (including GI issues in women), orthopedic manual therapy, health/wellness coaching for the health care practitioner and business psychology. She is on faculty at Andrews University in the Doctor of Science in PT program, a Master Coach for the Integrative Women’s Health Institute, a reviewer for the Journal of Womens Health Physical Therapy and a clinical faculty instructor for the North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy and ASPIRE. She is also an active author in research and blog posts, and is an active professional/clinical mentor. Susan is the co-founder and board member for the foundation: Global Women’s Health Initiative. She is also the co-host of the 5 five-star podcast, “Tough to Treat,” the guide to treating complex patients, and “The Genius Project,” reframing the treatment of persistent musculoskeletal pain. Susan enjoys walking / hiking, country line dance and ballroom, and is an avid supporter of music, the arts, and international objectives for women’s health

Sheila A. Dugan, MD, PT is Professor and Chair of the Department of PM&R at Rush University Medical Center where she is actively engaged in the clinical, education, research and community pillars of the Department and University. She is co-founder of the Rush Program for Abdominal and Pelvic Health and created and implements a Pelvic Health program for Veterans with MST at the Road Home Program. She has published numerous book chapters and articles, and lectures nationally. She teaches allied health and medical students, and GME learners in musculoskeletal & pelvic health and health equity. She mentors students in community outreach, research, health systems management internships and capstone projects. Her research includes community based physical activity interventions, health inequity, pelvic floor dysfunction and midlife women’s health. She serves as Chair of the Women’s Leadership Council and is an active member of the Rush Diversity Leadership Council and ADA Task Force. She represents the Rush University System for Health on the Governing Council of The Equity Collaborative and is a Carol Emmott Fellow Class of 2019. She graduated with BA in Biology from the University of Chicago, BS in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University and MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a lifelong learner and advocate.

Kate W. Gilliard, JD is director of Health Policy & Payment within APTA's Public Affairs Unit. Kate advocates to federal regulators and private insurers on policy issues affecting PT, and communicates important policy updates to members. Before joining APTA in 2018, she was a regulatory analyst with Centene Corporation, focusing on Affordable Care Act-compliant health care products. Prior to that, she was the ACA officer at the Illinois Department of Insurance, where she assisted the director in creating and implementing policies. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Oklahoma State University and her law degree from DePaul University College of Law. She is a member of the Illinois Bar.

Andrew Amari, JD is a specialist within APTA's Health Policy and Payment Unit, advocating on regulatory policy issues affecting physical therapists in a variety of practice settings. Before joining the association in March 2022, Andrew was a regulatory analyst at the Association of American Medical Colleges, focusing on hospital payment and graduate medical education policy issues. Andrew received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Wake Forest University and a JD from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. He is a member of the Wisconsin Bar.

Rachel Miller, MPH is a health policy and payment specialist within APTA's Health Policy and Payment Unit as of August 2022. Rachel advocates to federal regulators on policy issues that affect the physical therapy profession. Before joining the association, she was working towards her master's degree in health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While continuing her education, Rachel showed community members how to obtain health insurance as Certified Application Counselor in a student-run clinic. Before that, she helped stop the spread of COVID-19 as a case investigator at a local health department. She obtained her bachelor's degree in public health from the University of South Florida.

Wanda K. Evans, PT, DPT, MHS, is a senior payment specialist at APTA. Her responsibilities include communicating with members and insurers on inquiries regarding third-party, billing, CPT coding, and payment policies; providing resources in policy development; monitoring trends; and assisting in association efforts to advance payment policies. She remains a treating clinician in the outpatient setting. Before joining APTA, she was the clinical documentation and utilization review coordinator for Medstar National Rehabilitation Hospital Network. Prior to that she was the supervisor of physical therapist and occupational therapist services for Kaiser Permanente Mid Atlantic. She has been an APTA member since she was a student. She received her bachelor of physical therapy and doctor of physical therapy degrees from Howard University, and a master of health science degree in orthopedic and sports physical therapy from the University of Indianapolis. She also is a certified kinesio taping practitioner. 

Alice is on staff as senior payment specialist in the Payment and Practice Management Department of the APTA. She received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Northeastern University in Boston, MA and a doctor of physical therapy degree from the University of Montana. Her specialties include integrated care delivery models, post-acute care, and long-term care. A board-certified clinical specialist in geriatric physical therapy, she has lectured and written many articles on topics related to physical therapy and the older adult. She has spent the majority of her career in post-acute care and long-term care settings and has more than 36 years of experience as a physical therapist. Her professional activities include serving as a member of the National Quality Partnership Opioid Stewardship Steering Committee, co-leader of the NQF Opioid Stewardship Member Workgroup, APTA appointee to the NDHI Opioid Crisis Workgroup, APTA appointee to the National Quality Partnership Opioid Stewardship Action Team, Member of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Technical Expert Panel for Skilled Nursing Alternative Payment Systems, Appointee to the National Quality Forum (NQF) for Long Term Care Quality Measures, Member of the Steering Committee for NQF's National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Nursing Home Project, and representative of the Coalition of Rehab Therapy Organizations’ Joint Commission’s Long Term Care Professional and Technical Advisory Committee.

Cindy Lane Moore, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH, is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy and Staff Development Coordinator for Rehabilitation at Redeemer Health Home Care and Hospice.  She is co-founder of the Environmental Physical Therapy Catalyst Group within APTA’s Academy for Leadership and Innovation and an active member of APTA’s geriatrics and home health academies.  Cindy serves as a PT member on her state’s professional licensing board and is on track to complete Yale’s Climate Change and Health Certificate program September 2023.

Maral Hassanshahi, PT, DPT, is a clinician based in San Francisco and co-founder of the Environmental PT Catalyst Group within APTA’s Academy for Leadership and Innovation. She has over 12 years of extensive work and leadership in the environment, global health, and peace sector, collaborating with esteemed international organizations such as the United Nations.  Maral co-chaired the DEI committee in APTA Maryland and currently serves as the chief representative to the assembly within the California Physical Therapy Association. Beyond her APTA involvement, she serves on the Board of Directors at Physicians for Social Responsibilities-Los Angeles Chapter and is the climate and health ambassador for the PSR.

Carrie Hall, PT, MHS, has been a physical therapist since 1983. She earned her undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University and graduate degree from Washington University in Saint Louis (WUSTL). Carrie is the former owner of Movement Systems Physical Therapy (1995-2021) and current owner of Sisu Physical Therapy and Mentoring Services in Seattle, Washington. Carrie has served on several faculties including WUSTL, Northwestern University in Chicago, and University of Washington in Seattle and has taught Continuing Education on the topic of the movement system since 1984. She is co-author of Therapeutic Exercise: Moving Toward Function and contributor to 2 Monographs for the Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy online continuing education on “A Physical Therapy Approach to the Lower Quarter.”  Carrie is also a longtime advocate for physical therapy with past APTA Washington board and committee positions, as well as current Chair of Nominating Committee for APTA Private Practice. 

Ali received her degree in physical therapy in 1982 from the University of Puget Sound. She is a co-founder of Peak Sports and Spine Physical Therapy, practicing in Bellevue, WA. Ali has been active in numerous roles in the Physical Therapy Association of Washington (PTWA) and APTA. She has chaired her state private practice Special Interest Group (SIG) and Orthopedic SIG, and served on the APTA Private Practice Section Board of Directors. She is a past board member of the Bellevue YMCA and on the King County Regional Advisory Group for the Alzheimer’s Association. Ali is currently serving on the APTA Private Practice Nominating Committee.  

Kendell was born in Dominica, West Indies and came to Birmingham from St. Croix in 1999 to attend Samford University. While at Samford, Kendell was a member of the track and field team and earned a Bachelor’s in Education with a concentration in Exercise Science. He then attended The University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) and received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2007.  Kendell founded M3 Endeavors, a performance venture in 2015 and in 2018 expanded the company to include physical therapy and services.  M3 Performance and Physical Therapy now operates across a few platforms in the Birmingham area.  In the clinic, his specialties include injury prevention, Pilates, sports performance, post-operative rehabilitation, neurological dysfunctions, and manual strategies to improve movement dysfunctions.  He has a passion for evaluating movement in those who desire to live active lives and developing programs to improve their skill and performance.  When not in the clinic you can find him on the golf course or developing new recipes in the kitchen. Kendell’s community involvement has included mentoring students at Cornerstone School of Alabama and working with the Central Alabama Caribbean American Organization (CACAO), the Alabama Chapter and the Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, Samford University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (Department of Physical Therapy) and Learning Excellence Through Tennis (LETT).

Pedro Teixeira and Ravi Atreya launched PredictionHealth in January 2017, a startup dedicated to helping clinicians and healthcare organizations understand and quantify the unstructured data in their EHR with machine learning to ensure every patient gets the best care every time. Their analytics and actionable feedback in physical therapy help organizations improve their compliance and practice efficiency by analyzing every sentence of every single note.

Pedro received his degrees from Vanderbilt University and completed his PhD in the laboratory of Dr.Josh Denny in the Department of Biomedical Informatics.  There he applied machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) methods to extract phenotypic information from electronic health records (EHR) and identify associations with genetic variants.

Jenna Kantor is a physical therapist and a performer. Jenna is the owner of Jenna Kantor Physical Therapy PLLC, which specializes in rehabilitating performing artists. She is also the co-founder of the nonprofit organization Fairytale Physical Therapy (FTPT), which brings musical theatre shows to children in hospitals while teaching choreography that is secretly composed of therapeutic exercises. APTA involvement: APTA PA Finance Committee, APTA PA HOD Alternate, APTA PA Annual Conference Sustainability Task Force, APTA PPS PR & Marketing Committee, APTA PPS Key Contact, NYPTA SSIG Co-Founder, NYPTA SSIG Advocacy Chair, NYPTA Student Conclave Committee, NYPTA GNY Legislative Task Force, NYPTA Social Media Committee, and NYPTA Public Policy Committee Student Liaison. On social media, she advocates for the PT profession, provides regular content for performing artists, and runs an online health course for performers, Powerful Performer. She hosts the podcasts “Healthy, Wealthy, and Smart” and "Physiotherapy Performance Perspectives" and has published two books, "Advocating in Physical Therapy" and "The Grind." Dr. Kantor has spoken on advocacy, social media, how to give an effective presentation, vestibular rehab for dancers, leadership, and research, and participated in two Oxford debates at CSM, PPS, multiple Student Conferences, and SSPT Live. Learn more at www.jennakantorpt.com.

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. James Timmons is currently an Assistant Professor of Strength & Conditioning at the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Ireland. He is an Exercise Specialist with 13 years of Strength and Conditioning experience working with clinical populations. He received his BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from the University College Dublin in 2012, MSc in Strength and Conditioning from the University of Edinburgh in 2013, and PhD from University College Dublin in 2018. His doctoral studies focused on exercise training and dietary strategies to support improvements in body composition and physical function in older adults. During his PhD studies, he also worked as an exercise specialist in Medfit Proactive Healthcare where his focus was on improving muscle mass, strength and function in adults over 65 years of age. He is the owner and founder of www.youagewell.com where the primary focus is on improving movement patterns and quality of life those over 50 years of age. His mission is to help everyone match their Healthspan to their lifespan.

Dr. Brendan Egan is Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Physiology and Head of School at the School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University, Ireland. Brendan received his BSc Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Limerick in 2003, MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition from Loughborough University in 2004, and PhD from Dublin City University in 2008, and post-doctoral training with the Integrative Physiology group at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden. He joined the faculty in the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy, and Sports Science at University College Dublin in 2011, where he spent five years before moving to Dublin City University to his current position. His research investigates the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle function and adaptation across the life course with special interest in nutrition and exercise interventions to attenuate declines in muscle mass and function in older adults.

Jeanine Kolman PT, DPT, APTA is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, National Associated for Healthcare Quality Certified Guideline Panel Member, Guidelines International Network and 15 years of healthcare leadership.  

Hallie Zeleznik, PT, DPT, is director of strategic initiatives and professional development for UPMC Rehabilitation Institute in Pittsburgh. Her professional roles involve clinical practice, clinician mentoring, program development, knowledge translation, and quality improvement. She is a board-certified neurologic clinical specialist with over 20 years of clinical experience and specific expertise in the areas of brain injury, stroke, vestibular disorders, concussion, and post-intensive care syndrome. She has served the profession in a variety of roles for the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy, APTA Acute Care, and ABPTS. She currently is co-chair of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy’s Moving Forward Knowledge Translation Taskforce and co-chair of APTA Acute Care’s Core Measures Clinical Practice Guideline Knowledge Translation Committee. 

Julie Tilson, PT, DPT, MS, is a professor of clinical physical therapy at the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, director of the USC Doctor of Physical Therapy program, and associate chair of DPT education. She teaches evidence-based practice in USC’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program and to clinicians nationally and internationally. She specializes in understanding the most effective methods for translating rehabilitation research into clinical practice. Her clinical area of specialty is vestibular rehabilitation. She is co-author of "Evidence Based Physical Therapy," second edition, and has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications. She holds emeritus status as a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy.

David Logerstedt, PT, MPT, PhD, MA, is associate professor of physical therapy at Saint Joseph’s University. He teaches physical therapy and rehabilitation-related courses and manages the BTE laboratory in the university’s Department of Physical Therapy. His research focuses primarily on implementation of clinical practice, musculoskeletal health policy, and sport physical therapy philosophy. He has been a practicing rehabilitation specialist for more than 25 years and is a board-certified clinical specialist in sports physical therapy. He was a physical therapist at the athletes’ Olympic Village polyclinic at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.  

Zachary Walston, PT, DPT, is national director of quality and research and orthopedic residency program coordinator for PT Solutions Physical Therapy. He lectures nationally and publishes research specific to orthopedic physical therapy and develops and teaches weekend continuing education courses in plan of care development, exercise prescription, pain science, and nutrition. He is also host of the Clinical Gap Podcast. He is a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy, and he earned a Bachelor of Science in human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Emory University. He serves as treasurer for APTA Georgia; is a member of the Orthopaedic and Research sections of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia; APTA Science and Practice Affairs Committee; and within the RM Barney Poole Leadership Academy. He is an APTA Centennial Scholar, representing the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy and recipient of the 2020 APTA Georgia chapter Emerging Leader Award.

Emma Beisheim-Ryan, PT, DPT, PhD, is a physical therapist and musculoskeletal rehabilitation research scientist at the Department of Defense-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence. She completed her doctorate degrees at the University of Delaware, where her research focused on improving the evaluation and conservative management of post-amputation pain. She received implementation science training during an advanced geriatrics fellowship at the Eastern Colorado Department of Veterans Affairs prior to transitioning to her current role. Her research interests include incorporating evidence-based interventions into rehabilitative care to improve functional outcomes and limb loss management within the military health system.