2021 AOPT SIG Election

Candidate Profile: Dr. Rick Wickstrom is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certified Professional Ergonomist, and Certified Medical Examiner. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the Ohio State University, completed graduate coursework in occupational ergonomics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and received his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Alabama State University. He is President and Owner of WorkAbility Systems, Inc., which is a private practice in West Chester, OH specializing in occupational health and ergonomics. Rick has dedicated his career to prepare employers and occupational health professionals with skills and tools needed to assess job demands, evaluate worker fitness-for-duty, resolve worker performance barriers, and promote movement performance of workers from hire to retire. He is actively engaged in clinical research and currently serves as President of the Occupational Health SIG and as Secretary for the Ohio Chapter of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP).

Candidate Profile: I graduated as a PT from St. Louis University in 1991, and moved quickly into an orthopedic private practice in Kentucky with clinic management responsibility as well as being involved in Occupational Health. There I gained valuable management experience, Occupational Health training for work conditioning programs and FCE as well as earning my OCS and ATC. Moving to Indiana, I had the opportunity to continue honing management and Occupational Health skills being introduced to the INAPTA. I served first as a program chair, then the Central District Chair and am an active member of the Central District today. I have been with Select Medical first as a market manager and now as a Regional Manager for WorkStrategies, in which I am responsible for 8 markets in 4 states, and work to develop relationships with stakeholders throughout the Occupational Health world. I have the pleasure of training clinicians on all aspects of our WorkStrategies continuum and interacting with Occupational Health stakeholders in multiple states.

Candidate Profile: I have over 15 years of clinical experience and am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science. My responsibilities include directing the movement analysis laboratory, teaching orthopaedics, biomechanics, and research, as well as mentoring students in clinical practice. This blend of responsibility allows me to maintain a balanced and contemporary perspective on foot and ankle physical therapy. I am active in foot and ankle research as evidenced by my publications, as well as by my professional presentations which were sponsored by the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy and FASIG. Current research projects include the examination of biomechanics, muscle function, and outcomes to guide rehabilitation in people following total ankle arthroplasty, and the validation of a new clinical measure of ankle proprioception. I currently serve as the FASIG Nominating Committee Chair, and formerly as an Illinois Physical Therapy Association assembly representative.

Candidate Profile: I am an Associate Professor and founding faculty member in the School of Physical Therapy at Oregon State University. My area of research focuses on foot and ankle morphology utilizing diagnostic ultrasound and motion capture to assess variables. I serve on the Admissions and Curriculum Development Committees. I have served for three years as the co-chair on FASIG’s committee pursuing a description of practice for the foot and ankle to be utilized in developing fellowship level education. My prior work experiences include founding the School of Physical Therapy at George Fox University where I served as a tenured, Associate Professor. I served for ten years as the co-chair for the department’s Admissions Committee. Prior to working in academia, I owned and operated a private, outpatient orthopedic and sports clinic. I also contracted to provide athletic training services to the six high-schools in the Salem-Keizer school district

Candidate Profile: Carey E. Rothschild, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS is an Assistant Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. Dr. Rothschild earned a Bachelor of Health Science in Physical Therapy in 1999 from the University of Florida and a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Boston University in 2005. She became Board-certified in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy in 2006 (recertified 2016) and in Sports Physical Therapy in 2012. She earned a Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy in 2020. Her 20+ years of clinical practice has been in the areas of orthopedics and sports medicine. Her research interests include running injuries, conditions of the female athlete, and pain education. She currently serves as the Chair of the Sports Specialty Council through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She is the Membership Lead for the Academy of Sports Physical Therapy’s Running SIG.

Candidate Profile: Melissa Strzelinski, PT, PhD has been a practicing physical therapist specializing in orthopedics, sports medicine and dance medicine since 2009; she completed her PhD in Orthopedic and Sport Science in 2018. Working as a clinician, researcher and educator has given Dr. Strzelinski robust experience in the performing arts world. She has worked with numerous professional dance and theater companies, mentored novice clinicians, investigated hip issues in dancers, and instructed first year DPT students. She has presented internationally and nationally through her associations with the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, Performing Arts Medical Association and the American Physical Therapy Association. She is a peer reviewer to the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and Medical Problems of the Performing Artists. Dr. Strzelinski currently serves as the Lead Physical Therapist at the Lutheran Spine Center and as a part time Staff Physical Therapist to the Colorado Ballet in Denver, CO.

Candidate Profile: Dr. Augustine graduated with her DPT in December 2020, though she has over a decade of experience in the physical therapy field and performing arts. Before PT school, Dr. Augustine worked for a multi-clinic practice, where she held positions as lead aide, patient care coordinator, and health administrator. She also danced professionally, with an equally long history in dance pedagogy. She held titles as soloist, choreographer, assistant artistic director, stage manager, and consultant for a collegiate program. Over the last three years, Dr. Augustine received 7 awards for academic and teaching excellence, professional commitment, and community service. She presented research internationally with IADMS, taught a Dance USA master class, reviewed papers for the Task Force on Dancer Health, completed certificates in Level II pelvic floor and essentials of performing arts medicine, initiated a pro bono dancer screening clinic, was elected ACAPT’s student liaison, and advocated with APTA on Capitol Hill.

Candidate Profile: Francisco Maia, PT, DPT, CCRT is the owner of TheK9PT, a canine rehabilitation business in Chicago. He graduated with his DPT from the University of Pittsburgh in 2012 and finished his certification as a canine rehabilitation therapist through the Canine Rehabilitation Institute in 2015. He has been a member of the APTA since 2009, was elected as the APTSIG Vice-President in 2019, and became the APTSIG President in 2020. He also serves as an Assembly Representative for the Illinois Physical Therapy Association and has been working closely with them to advance legislation regarding animal rehabilitation in Illinois.

Candidate Profile: I am the Physical Therapy and MSKUS Program Manager with the Washington Center for Bleeding Disorders. I perform MSKUS to assess the complex musculoskeletal concerns endemic to the hemophilia population of Washington state. I have lectured regularly about MSKUS with the National Hemophilia Foundation, AIUM, Sanofi/Genzyme, Roche and ISTH. I teach MSKUS at UCSD’s School of Medicine to both physicians and allied health. I am a clinical instructor with University of Washington’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. At the WACBD, I have chaired/moderated the bimonthly international MSKUS rounds, attended by physical therapists and physicians, for the past 5 years. I conduct and publish research and received funding from Roche, Genentech, Takeda, Sanofi, and Uniqure. I am currently at the end of my term as At-Large member of the NHF PT Working Group, which crafted the MASAC guidelines, recognizing PT expertise in MSKUS. I review for the journals Haemophilia and Physiotherapy Canada.

Candidate Profile: I am a husband and a father of 2; not a day goes by I am not thankful for the teachings and blessings this role has given me because without it, all my professional achievements would not be possible. I currently function as a managing partner and chief operations officer for Modern Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, we have 5 clinics in the Greater Phoenix Area and growing. I have designed, implemented, and enacted the radiology/imaging curriculum for Physical Therapy Students at AT Still University in Mesa, AZ. I provide independent consultation to professional sports organizations’ medical and training staff, including but not limited to, the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Bucks. I have been the part of developing a successful online learning platform focused on the skill of musculoskeletal ultrasound (amsku.com) as well as actively lecture in multiple CME settings such as AIUM, SDMS, and The Las Vegas Musculoskeletal Ultrasound and Biologics Course.

Candidate Profile: I am an orthopaedic residency director and an assistant professor for the DPT program at Arcadia University. Prior to starting at Arcadia University in 2019 I was the orthopaedic and pediatric residency director at the University of Chicago. I was the director for the initial ABPTRFE credentialing and re-credentialing of both programs. I have also been an APTA Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Practice Committee Member since 2016 and represent residency and fellowship programs within this committee. I have been an active member of the ORF-SIG and I have contributed to the curriculum committee. In 2018, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the education section in a “Think Tank” which reviewed residency/fellowship curriculums from across the country and found areas of universal content and facilitated content sharing between residency and fellowship programs within all specialty sections of the APTA.

Candidate Profile: Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Alex Bonhomme and I am practicing at Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I am a senior level physical therapist and orthopedic residency director at a hospital-based, outpatient orthopedic clinical setting. During my 11 years of practice, I have had the valuable opportunities to complete an orthopedic residency, complete an orthopedic and manual therapy fellowship, act as residency coordinator to help develop a residency at University of Miami, act as residency and fellowship faculty, in addition to developing and leading the orthopedic residency at Holy Cross Health. I have been actively involved in research with physicians at Holy Cross Health and it is my desire to increase my professional contribution in the form of service to the profession.

Candidate Profile: I earned a DPT from Arcadia University, completed a post-graduate mentorship program in spine pain & vestibular dysfunction at Allied Services in Scranton Pennsylvania, and PhD at Nova Southeastern University. Over my career, I have worked in both private practice and for 2 hospital networks. I currently practice orthopaedic PT in eastern Pennsylvania in a large health network where I also developed, recruited faculty, and run an orthopaedic residency and spine fellowship. I also am currently working with ABPTRFE as chair of the Spine DFP development committee. Since joining the ORF-SIG shortly after it began, I’ve served on multiple subcommittees resulting in the creation of the Applicant & Residency/Fellowship Interest Registries and facilitating improvements and better understanding of how to use RF-PTCAS to our advantage. In addition, I’ve served in the Imaging SIG on multiple committees including the development of infographics for the ordering of imaging.