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Welcome to FlexCast, ACAP's podcast featuring the leaders, ideas, and conversations moving academic physical therapy forward.
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Today's episode is especially meaningful because we are introducing ACAP's incoming board president, Dr.
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Heather Ross.
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Heather is a leader in physical therapy education at Brno University and has already contributed significantly to ACAP through her service, collaboration, and commitment to advancing academic physical therapy.
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As she prepares to begin her term as president, we wanted to give our members an opportunity to learn more about the person behind the role, her professional journey, the experiences that shaped her leadership, and her vision for ACAP's future.
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Dr.
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Ross, welcome to FlexCast.
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I'm so delighted to have this conversation with you today.
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Thank you, Celia.
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It is wonderful to be here.
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And I before we even get started, I really do have to shout out our entire ACAP staff.
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Anyone who's in leadership knows that it takes a team to do anything.
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And Celia, you and the team that you lead and our wonderful staff members really just make us look good.
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And we're so appreciative of all that you do for our organization.
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Oh, I'm so thankful for you to say that.
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Of course, as a leader, I have to shout my staff out as well.
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They're just incredible.
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And we're just so elated to be working in a field with such passionate, wonderful physical therapy educators that you all make our jobs a lot easier.
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So thank you.
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So before we talk about the presidency, tell us a little bit about yourself and the path that led you to academic physical therapy.
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Yeah, so I actually started my professional journey, uh, which is a good place to start in the basic and applied sciences and research.
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I was at R1 institutions for a long time.
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At the beginning of my career, I earned my MPT and my PhD back to back, and then went straight into full-time research.
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I did that about for about 10 years and uh really enjoyed that part of my career.
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I was studying neural stem cells.
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Uh I was a bench researcher, harvesting, growing, studying uh cells in the lab, trying to understand ultimately how these amazing cells could aid in neural rehabilitation and recovery.
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And so that's kind of how I got started.
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But through that journey, I ultimately met colleagues who kind of coaxed me over to physical therapy education.
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They got me involved in uh PT program involvement, teaching, management, ultimately leading me to my current job and program administration, and in fact to ACAPT.
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So it's been a fun journey.
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And of course, shout out to Kim Bernado and the foundation that she has laid in getting us all into this wonderful point that we have.
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Being almost two years at ACAPT, seeing her just kind of take ACAPT into this new era has just been incredible to work with.
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And of course, working with her and working with you on the board.
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So I'm really excited to see us taking the reins of what Dr.
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Varnato has already done and moving it forward.
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And I'm really excited to see what you do with it.
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Well, you know, I'm glad you said that because specifically to coming into the serving as the president of ACAPT, it has been absolutely amazing to seek Dr.
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Varnato's leadership style, to watch her in action.
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She has been so intentional in just my short time on the board, building partnerships, uh, embracing advocacy.
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Advocacy is a huge thing for me.
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It's one of my big interests.
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I'm so grateful to have watched how the board has really uh embraced leadership in these frameworks in my time on the board.
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Uh, I have uh appreciated being a part of that work.
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I am excited to advance that work.
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I'm grateful to step into an environment where foundations laid are primed for our forward motion.
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I definitely agree.
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And I'm so excited to be able to dig a little deeper into some of those topics that you said today.
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So let's start specifically with you and your journey.
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So leadership journeys are always unique, and the experiences along the way often shape how we approach people, decisions, and change.
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So let's start at the very beginning.
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What first drew you to physical therapy?
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That's a great question.
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Uh, probably with half of our listeners, I probably decided about the fifth grade I was going to med school, as we did.
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And then um, I you know, I was an athlete, so I was exposed to you know, sports medicine and training and injuries, and um I competed through the collegiate level, but ultimately my exposure to physical therapy absolutely sealed the deal.
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Once I found physical therapy, I said that's it.
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Um I can serve people across the lifespan in literally every setting, uh it was um absolutely the field for me.
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And so um that was an easy jump to decide physical therapy was my chosen profession.
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And you know, it's interesting because um the more and more I've talked to members, I feel that a lot got into physical therapy through sports.
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So I guess in seeing they themselves having to train and learn about their body and or seeing their colleagues and their friends with injuries, um, it's I guess it's just like a really natural progression to go from sports and very competitive sports into physical therapy.
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So it's interesting that your journey was very similar.
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So, with that though, what inspired you to move into education and academic leadership?
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Right.
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So, as I said, you know, I was a full-time researcher for a long time.
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I enjoyed that area.
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Um, however, uh, as I noted, I got to know some physical therapists at my institution who were educators in our PT program.
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I was not part of the PT program at the time.
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I was over in a basic science department, but I got to know some of my uh physical therapy educator colleagues, uh, various conversations, and I just started engaging with that program.
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I ended up moving over to that program through some funding opportunities, and uh as still a primarily a researcher, but I also started teaching physical therapy students.
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I started becoming engaged in program workings.
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How does the physical therapy program run?
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What is accreditation?
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What does that mean?
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And I just became very engaged in the inner workings of a physical therapy education.
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It was kind of gradual, but um I was able to just take my skill sets and apply them over to, again, my chosen profession and refocus where I was and who I was doing my work with.
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And those folks uh really, really fostered my development into a physical therapy educator.
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And then I followed some of my colleagues to a smaller institution, which is where I am now, and my leadership journey has just continued from that point forward.
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That's really interesting.
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So when you think about your leadership journey and your experience, would you say that there's any particular role or experience that were especially influential in your career up to this point?
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I would say that probably there's two.
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I think the first time I encountered accreditation, um, this was back at my old institution, and and just seeing what it takes to ensure that an educational curriculum is is good.
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It's a good product.
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You know, we're the at we're the enterprise of any institution.
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The curriculum, the education we we design, we deliver, and I found that fascinating.
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And the ability to figure out what you're doing, how you assess what you're doing, how you report the assessment of what you're doing.
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I just found it also very fascinating.
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So learning what accreditation was, I've been involved with it now, certainly CAPD, but also SACS, so institutional accreditation.
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I find that to be very valuable work.
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I don't, I'm not, I'm that might be controversial.
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It's time consuming, but I think it it lends to the evergreen of our curriculum.
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It really makes us consider that we must always consider the enterprise that we are.
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Um, another area that was very influential to me was shared governance.
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And so since I've been at my institution, I've gone through the fellowship.
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Um, I was very interested in governance at the institutional level, being able to learn more about what that looked like, what our voice should and could be, um led me to be able to help found a faculty shared governance body at my institution where we had not previously had one.
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And so um I think that was a really impactful time of my career where I was uh embarking on that work, learning about institutional leadership and how physical therapy or just any leader can feed into that and learn and grow with my colleagues.
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I thought that has been very impactful to me.
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So it sounds like I mean, this current institution has been really influential in your career.
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So what what I guess particular work that you currently do at Bernard University has shaped your perspective on DPT education?
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That's a fair question.
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Honestly, I think it's kind of like learning what a 360 view of your job actually is.
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And I I don't know if that sounds strange, but no, that's interesting.
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Yeah.
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You know, having done all of these various things in a smaller environment, I've gotten access to a lot of cool people and I've done a lot of cool things.
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And it has taught me what the 360 view really looks like.
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My students will be frank with me, my bosses will be frank with me.
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Um, my peers, we have excellent dialogue and we get good work done.
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So I just think that, you know, I'm so grateful for my current institution because I think it has really helped me grow through the perspective I need to have in terms of just even understanding who my stakeholders are, um, who our stakeholders are, and then really trying to serve them with equity.
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So you mentioned stakeholders.
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So that leads me into a very particular stakeholder group, your students.
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So, what would you say that your students have taught you about leadership and education?
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Oh, this is a great question.
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This is a real passion point for me, and I I don't think I'm alone.
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I hope my I hope our listeners identify with this one.
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Um you know, I thought I knew who DPT students were and physical therapy education students were.
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Uh but I I don't think I really knew until I became a program director.
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And the um the responsibility really fell on the shoulders.
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And like I said, I think my our listeners might understand that that weight.
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And, you know, the technical journey that we have as education leaders is to educate them, graduate them.
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But I think ethically, I have my students have taught me and my staff to take this a step further.
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You know, maybe our duty and obligation is to see them into the workforce.
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And that is a very important topic today, but it's it's not one that is old to my shop or new to my shop.
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We've been thinking about this for a long time.
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I like to call this the day one to day done philosophy.
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You know, we want to recruit them, we want to get them in, we want to get them through the first year, first semester, and certainly the first year, but certainly we want to educate them and graduate them, but we want to see them into the workforce.
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And so that day done is licensure.
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And so what they've what I think our cohorts over the years have taught me and my team is that our dedication to them until they are workforce ready is such a value to each individual student.
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You know, you have your program outcomes, you have your cohort numbers, but that individual student that you serve until they are in the workforce, those are the stories that really bring value to me, that I remember, that lead to relationships with our alumni that will last forever.
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And so I just that the students had to teach me that.
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I didn't know that coming into this job.
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And I mean, I think that students can be really the best way to learn so much about yourself that you weren't even thinking about you needed to learn about yourself.
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I mean, it's just incredible what they teach you about resilience and patience and so forth.
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But I will say that apart from in my experience from students teaching and influencing me, um, I feel that the biggest lessons that I've learned have been through mentors or even other colleagues.
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So, do you have some mentors or colleagues who influence through your leadership development?
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Yeah, I I have many mentors.
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I seek them out.
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Um, if you're listening, I might ask you soon.
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I am an intentional mentor gatherer.
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I don't know if I've done the best job of collecting as many as I need, but I continue in that work.
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Um, I have always had the philosophy that people who know a lot around you, who decide to position them around students, young faculty, developing leaders, they they put themselves there.
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They um, if they're receptive to you, they want to coach you, they want to teach you.
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And so I just have naturally found it very easy to ask for that help.
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Uh, and I think that that is an absolute benchmark to my ability to grow.
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I have had mentors in my research labs, uh, you know, Dr.
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Bill Broadis, who was one of my leaders in my graduate school lab, taught me how to talk to powerful people and important people with, you know, intention and care and to care about patients.
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And my faculty at my previous institution, researchers, educators, leaders alike, they're throughout our field, have absolutely taught me wonderful things.
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Um, Dr.
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Mary Figpin is um one of my colleagues who I met at my previous institution and to and brought me to Bernal.
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She remains one of my most important mentors.
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She has taught me about leadership and the curriculum and what it matters to a student, what it matters to a patient, what's a clinical education experience like?
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What are you going to ask at a clinical education visit to know if it's a good site?
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I mean, soup to nuts, these people just tell you everything you need to know when sometimes what you don't know, what you don't know.
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Um, my provost, my current provost, is is an important mentor to me because he understands that the leadership journey, sometimes you're growing into your roles, sometimes you're growing past your role.
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He's been very influential in helping me understand how to grow into and grow through certain duties and assignments and work with peers and um and all of those things.
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So um I think the board, the ACAP board, uh Kim Vernato has been an exceptional mentor, helping me grow into this level of things.
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Celia, you've been a good mentor to me to um to help me grow into this role.
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So and oh, and I gotta, hey, shout out to all of my marketing people, Emily, who is on this, uh, my institutional people who help with public speaking and video bits.
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There, I can't speak enough to people who help you communicate your excellence in important ways.
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I don't know how to do that well.
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So I'm very grateful for those people.
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Those are also mentors to me to learn how to communicate with each other what you're doing.
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I and I love hearing, and I love that all of us are getting to kind of hear your background and also how you process, you know, information and how you view like lifelong learning and leadership and and mentorship.
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And I think that's going to be really useful in your in your role as well as in our next segment, which is about your leadership philosophy and how that's going to kind of lead into ACAPS.
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So, how would you describe your leadership style?
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So I have thought about my leadership style a good bit.
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I've taken a lot of mentorship about this.
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Um, I think that the most um meaningful feedback I've ever had about my leadership style came from one of my mentors, Dr.
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Mary Thigpin, who told me I was a natural leader first.
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And um, I I think what she meant by that was I am ready to serve.
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Uh my other mentor, my provost, Dr.
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Jamek, uh introduced me to the concept in the literature of servant leadership.
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And so if you're a natural leader who seeks to serve, everything can come from that, is what I think I have learned about just leadership in general.
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And that has made some of these journeys a little bit easier for me because that's the framework and my philosophy on that.
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And um, if you're a natural leader, if you're here to serve, um, these other styles of leadership can roll in and out as needed, such as crisis leadership or management style and you know, other schools of thought.
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And that's a very valid point because you know, just lead naturally, authentically, with curiosity, and everything else will follow.
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How do you feel, though, that that leadership comes into play during times of, for example, now, the last few years, of uncertainty or change, such as, for example, ACAPT transitioning to a new executive director or having gone through our, you know, our organizational pause or all the federal issues that we're facing.
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How does effective leadership look like during those times, especially as a natural leader?
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That's a great question.
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I would say that crisis leadership bubbles to the surface really quickly.
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Uh, it might be uh a testament to the type of natural leadership I um embrace.
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It might speak to who I am as an individual, but I'm pretty good in a crisis, and that is helpful in this in our various landscapes.
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You know, the the global pandemic occurred one year into my program directorship.
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And while there were many opportunities and challenges throughout that, what I feel happened was okay, the crisis is before us.
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We're just gonna do business, we're gonna handle it.
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It is not normal, but it's okay.
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And I think that coming out of that authentic natural leadership space of kind of rolling into crisis leadership is is pretty easy.
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Um and you can you can uh compartmentalize some aspects of what is this banana's work that we're doing right now, but we just have to keep doing it and approaching it with the seriousness and the time sensitivity that is required so that you can handle that and then move over to the side here, you know, a few hours later and really get back to the mission, which is your standing agenda.
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We you have to be able to do both.
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And so I think um the flexibility of being able to toggle the switch between styles and topics and what's going on around us is is incredibly important.
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I hope those are useful skills to apply to K ACAPT in the coming years.
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That is my intention.
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And I appreciate that viewpoint that we need to toggle between leadership styles, just like you can't be the same leader to each one of your staff or each one of your stakeholders, because even your own students are going to need different types of leadership.
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Um I I really appreciate that.
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Now, when you talk about being flexible and then having to, you know, talking about making decisions, how do you balance listening and collaboration with the need to make timely decisions, especially in on times of uncertainty and change?
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Yeah, this is important, I think.
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This is actually really important, I think, because you know, stemming from what we were just talking about, how do you toggle between leadership styles and maintain balance?
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It seems a little um counterintuitive, but I don't think it's counterintuitive at all.
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I think it's part and parcel of what we have to do to be effective.
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And um, you know, you think about listening and collaboration and and trying to make timely decisions in times of uncertainty.
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Well, you gotta lay the groundwork, you gotta set the table.
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And uh the trick is I think have you started by setting your table with active listening?
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Have you started by collaborating?
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Have you maintained a status quo that builds trust within your team to begin with in quiet times?
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Because then you have Built dialogue and trust and relationships, which the channels are open, uh, the trust is there, and something happens, you make a quick decision, you move rapidly, and your team is already behind you.
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You don't have to build that trust, you already did that work, and so I find that that um that intentional foundational work is important.
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I've done that in my own shop now.
00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.720
I will be doing that with ACAPT moving forward.
00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.160
I think it's really important.
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:43.599
Um, and balance being that critical thing because you think about the work we have to do together.
00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.519
You know, we can't do it alone.
00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:49.440
You know, we've already, you know, shouted out our incredible staff.
00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:53.359
I can take this opportunity to shout out our incredible board.
00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:58.799
You know, we're a collective, we do this together, our volunteers, you know, we all do it together.
00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:05.839
And when I started the fellowship, you know, you have to select this image that reflects your leadership style.
00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.279
And I was just a little baby leader and I found this cool image.
00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:12.880
I've actually looked for it since I can't find it, so I can't credit it.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:22.400
But it's an old black and white black and white photo of two individuals standing on a platform balanced on a fulcrum.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:32.079
They're back to back looking in opposite directions with binoculars looking at their environment, but they're holding their platform they stand on level.
00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.160
And to me, that's everything.
00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:37.680
Okay, we have to do environmental scans constantly.
00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:40.720
We have to do that together to keep the table level.
00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:59.519
Um, we have to collaborate in our balance to make sure that trains are running on time, our operations are good, our standing missions are good, but we have to see what is going on out there, and we may be looking in different directions and then communicate backwards as to what everybody is doing.
00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:16.640
And so I guess that's kind of a long-winded way to get back to the fact of if we don't listen and collaborate intentionally from the beginning with everyone that could and should be a part of the conversation, I'm not sure we're gonna be as effective in the work we're trying to do.
00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:28.240
And of course, when we're talking about being effective in our work and putting all of these incredible, you know, leadership styles into play and listening and collaborating.
00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:30.079
This is all great in a perfect world.
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:35.359
But of course, we know that there are setbacks and we know that things don't always go as planned.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:43.359
So, can you talk about something you've learned from a leadership challenge or setback or something that just didn't go the way that you planned?
00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:49.119
Yeah, I think I've learned a lot about mentoring faculty.
00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:58.319
I think that's an important topic for ACAP membership, is the pipeline of faculty, faculty development, faculty leadership.
00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:04.240
I have learned the hard way that don't teach the student that you think you were.
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:06.160
You have to teach all students.
00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:09.359
It's the same with faculty member mentorship.
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.720
Every faculty member is an individual human being.
00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:18.000
They come with different needs, they come with a different background, they come with different lived experiences.
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:37.599
I think that learning how, and I again I've had wonderful people I've worked with over the years, but they have taught me and helped, in fact, to mentor me into how to serve individual faculty meetings and meeting them where they are with their skills and their needs.
00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:51.440
Um, sometimes you really have to slow down and really look at your team and understand how to best help them be successful at what they're doing because that's what they're there to do.
00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:53.599
They're incredible, they're invaluable.
00:25:53.920 --> 00:26:05.119
So I I think that I have learned over time how to be a better leader and manager of a physical therapy education team by working with some of my great colleagues.
00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:07.519
That has not always been successful for me.
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:12.319
And I have been grateful for those opportunities to learn and grow and do better at that.
00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.119
Yeah, it's all about a growth mindset.
00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:30.720
And I think that anyone that has that growth mindset will be much more successful because even through those times of you know having difficult conversations or having something go awry or or even failing, that's when you learn the most, right?
00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:31.279
Yeah.
00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:35.680
Um, so let's let's now go to our next section.
00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:42.880
So let's talk about your connection to ACAPT, which of course began well before you were selected as incoming president.
00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:45.920
So when did you first become involved with ACAPT?
00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:55.920
Uh so I can't I became uh connected with ACAPT uh probably because I did the fellowship and uh my project was a shared governance project.
00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:02.480
I was very interested in nerdy topics about motions and business.
00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:13.839
And so the current chair of the ACAPT Reference Committee, who I knew through previous work, kind of reached out, asked if I'd like to serve on that committee, and I did.
00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:18.079
And from that point, I have just learned so much about the organization.
00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.720
At that point, I was a program director, of course.
00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:34.000
And so I was able to get involved, learn more about the uh organization, um, help understand what kind of business we needed to be looking at, helped to move that business.
00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.079
And I haven't looked back since.
00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.279
I I just uh have really enjoyed getting to know this organization for my program.
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.440
Specifically talking about your program, how has ACAPT influenced your work there?
00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:48.319
It's helped me be a better program director.
00:27:48.559 --> 00:28:03.359
It's helped me um be more tapped in onto the national conversation, some of which I may not have been exposed to had I not been tapped into the ACAPT conversations, business meetings, et cetera.
00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:07.920
It has helped me grow my own work at my institution.
00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:23.599
I have been through the mentorship and leadership that I've experienced through ACAPT, I've, you know, it's propelled my career forward, I think, institutionally and some opportunities that I've been afforded in my own work at Brunel.
00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:34.640
What have you learned from ACAP members across different programs and regions in your time at ACAPT, whether it be on the reference committee, on the board, or in your transition?
00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:47.440
Honestly, what I've learned through my friends and colleagues I've met over the years through ACAPT is how absolutely ubiquitous the challenges we face are.
00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:48.799
I don't care where you are.
00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:49.599
I really don't.
00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:54.480
I mean, you can be at the biggest or the smallest place, one end of the country to the other.
00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:56.160
We face the same challenges.
00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.240
We serve the same workforce.
00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:05.519
We are custodians of the academic enterprise for physical therapy education.
00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.119
We face the same challenges.
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:22.400
So sometimes it's enlightening and encouraging to talk with people at the meeting, in a town hall, on an email about our shared mission, our shared goals, our shared challenges.
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:31.599
It's it's been a wonderful journey being a part of ACAPT and having access to this membership so that we can have those conversations.
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:37.759
So, with all that said, what do you believe makes ACAP distinct within the physical therapy profession?
00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:40.079
Well, we're the trade association.
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:44.559
And so our expertise is higher education, right?
00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:53.680
So, and that's you know, you you think about 100% of our key membership is in higher education leadership.
00:29:53.920 --> 00:30:03.599
Um, our membership, there, our volunteers, our passion, our expertise, and our interests firmly align with the joys and the challenges of higher ed.
00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:11.839
And so um I think that distinguishes us and should and should inform our strategic plan.
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:18.480
It should inform the things that we do standing, the things that we do strategically.
00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:34.079
I think we should aspire to distinguish ourselves as the ambassadors of the curriculum that will live beyond us, as well as inform our advocacy for all of our programs, all of our students.
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:42.720
And of course, doing this in strategic and clear partnership with all of our groups that can help us do this work.
00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:49.200
So I think that answer was a perfect segue into you stepping into the presidency.
00:30:49.759 --> 00:31:01.759
So becoming a president of a national organization such as ACAPT is both an honor and, of course, a significant responsibility, as I'm sure you've already learned in your transitional period.
00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:08.000
So let's start with what was your reaction when you learned you would become ACAP's next president?
00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:13.440
Okay, if I'm being completely honest, I was terrified a little bit.
00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:18.559
I was, I think, appropriately nervous, is probably the more PC answer.
00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:24.720
But, you know, again, the foundation that has been laid by our leadership up to this point.
00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:27.200
I'm really looking at Kim Varnado.
00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:30.480
Um, what a model to follow.
00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:32.319
I'm so grateful for that.
00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:40.400
Um, this is such an important group of people, such a wonderful set of programs to represent.
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:43.200
I take it so incredibly seriously.
00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.880
So I think that nervousness is okay.
00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:53.359
And I think about I move I move out of that nervousness because I look at the board.
00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:58.000
You know, we have a collective that is so knowledgeable, so committed.
00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:02.799
Um, their talents together are just incredible.
00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:19.519
And of course, I keep mentioning it, but our staff who just literally keep us together, I think, and then I think about our volunteers, you know, this entire organization has a lot of potential power and a lot of potential steam.
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:29.359
And I'm so excited uh to do this, and I am so appreciative of the work of uh the work ahead and the team that will help us do it.
00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.400
So let's move away from the nerves and talk about the excitement.
00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:36.559
So, what does excite you as you prepare to begin your term?
00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:46.960
I it's gonna sound weird, but the challenges before us today, 2026, probably excite me the most.
00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:56.480
Um I think that we're in a time where the defense of our academic enterprises is of the utmost importance.
00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:59.279
And so we have to turn towards that.
00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:00.880
It's just essential.
00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:14.880
And so if we can rise to these issues, if we can successfully move through them with our partners, with our peers within our profession, outside of our profession, that feels like really good work.
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:17.680
That's work that we we just have to do that right now.
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:18.480
That's it.
00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:37.279
And then when we can achieve that goal and those sets of goals, then you know, we have the breathing room and the bandwidth to continue in our evergreen work, which is, you know, of course, inquiry, innovation, excellence in PT education, physical therapy, education, excellence.
00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.880
We want to do all that work.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:42.400
Um, we just have to budget the time to make sure that we're strategic.
00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:56.079
So, of course, mentioning strategic and work, um, the only logical next question is where do you believe ACAP can make the greatest impact over the next several years through that work and that strategy?
00:33:56.480 --> 00:33:59.519
Well, I think we have some competing priorities right now.
00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:01.039
That's the elephant in the room.
00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:02.720
We just have to address it.
00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:08.559
And so we have to be responsive while we're being strategic.
00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:13.760
But there's no reason that we can't strike out in a few directions at the same time.
00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:18.159
I do think our administrative pause that we took when Dr.
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:22.719
Zamora Ucelia took over as our executive director was appropriate.
00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:26.880
It allowed us to kind of do an environmental scan.
00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:32.559
Take our, you know, that happened at about 10 years of our existence as a trade association.
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:38.960
Um, it's a natural inflection point on both points for us to take a look at what we're doing.
00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:40.880
And then, you know, kind of all this happens.
00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:52.000
And so I think that we need to continue in that and think about initiatives that support as many programs as possible.
00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:55.920
And that's where we can focus our interests and our efforts.
00:34:56.159 --> 00:34:59.599
And I know that that sounds kind of vague, but it it's not meant to be vague.
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:08.000
You know, we have to think about defending our enterprise, protecting our workforce, and supporting all programs.
00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:12.960
That's just the business that we have: protecting the curriculum and the programs that deliver them.
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:17.199
And so, you know, we want to think about supporting accreditation.
00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:28.000
We want to think about new and existing program directors who need our information, who we can support and give information to, faculty development.
00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.079
Um, those are wide impact areas.
00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:36.639
Advocacy is at the top of the pile right now, and advocacy as higher education professionals.
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:40.719
Yes, we're physical therapy education people, but we are higher ed.
00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:42.800
And so we have to own both hats.
00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:46.400
Um, and that serves us all and will continue to serve us all.
00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:54.480
Supporting our clinical education community, uh, big area of emphasis, integrating that across all of our endeavors.
00:35:54.639 --> 00:36:06.639
You know, I think looking at physical therapy education as a collective that involves physical therapy assistant education programs, I think that that's worthy of time investment.
00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:10.880
Uh, we want to value the work that we do in our workforce together.
00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:15.039
Now is is a time we just really have to embrace this.
00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:26.880
We have to think about this and look across at our peers who have various entry-to-the-profess models or degrees or credentials and say, how are we doing this work together?
00:36:27.039 --> 00:36:28.559
Because it's a workforce issue now.
00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:32.400
It's always been, but today it feels particularly important.
00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:38.800
Guess to sum it up, ultimately, I think that we have to be the leaders of our educational product.
00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:43.039
And if we don't grab that story, I think we're missing an opportunity.
00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:48.480
So today it just feels really important that we come at it from a position of strength.
00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:04.239
Um, we continue to innovate, we continue to be inclusive, we continue to inquire and use data, promote excellence, but we also have to really, you know, we have to be advocates for our profession in a way that responds to external challenge.
00:37:04.639 --> 00:37:11.199
What do you see as the most urgent challenges facing DPT programs, especially uh in your current tenure?
00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:21.760
Well, I mean, I think the obvious things are, you know, federal regulations coming out that impact federal lending, student debt, accreditation itself, workforce pipeline.
00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:26.559
The workforce pipeline might be our most urgent collaborative piece.
00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:32.639
I think we need to address them, but also I just have to keep coming back to this point.
00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:36.480
We don't want to neglect our other duties to our programs.
00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:38.559
You know, we have our evergreen mission.
00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:43.199
We have to see to that, but we also have to look forward at these challenges.
00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:46.239
Uh it feels a little unprecedented, if I'm being honest.
00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:53.679
These challenges feel weighty, and so we have to get we have to address them and get them out of the way and get back to the other work we need to do.
00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:54.880
Agreed.
00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:58.639
So at the same time, where do you see our greatest opportunities?
00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:01.840
Well, I think our opportunities are in advocacy.
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:26.079
Our opportunities are to plant our flag in the sand and say we are the higher education group in our profession who are prepared and informed, collaborators with others in the in the medical and health professions so that we can join in the work that might need to occur, you know, locally.
00:38:26.239 --> 00:38:30.079
You know, you got to be good at your institution, advocate at your institution.
00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:33.760
We got to go to Capitol Hill, we got to do those things for higher education.
00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:37.199
We got to work with our partners, you know, in shared space.
00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:46.719
But also, I think that doing that work, our other opportunities still do reside in supporting those around us.
00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:49.920
That that work doesn't go away, you know, it just can't.
00:38:50.079 --> 00:39:04.079
We have new program directors, we have students who need us, we have faculty members who are looking for mentorship, we have a clinical education community who is looking to remain as engaged as possible.
00:39:04.239 --> 00:39:17.440
I think there are vast opportunities in hooking up and promoting thought thought space about how our DCEs and our program directors work together to lead programs.
00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:25.920
There's a there's a huge amount of um important work to be done there and to continue, not to say that it's not, but to continue to do that work.
00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:41.920
What I love what I love about this is that you exude so much passion uh for this that we're just so excited um for you to take take the reins and and and really lead us into like the next, I guess, segment of ACAPS.
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:44.400
So we are gonna start wrapping up though.
00:39:44.559 --> 00:39:48.800
So I did want to talk a little bit about working with members, your constituents.
00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:52.000
So ACAPS direction cannot be shaped only in a boardroom.
00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:57.760
It depends on members, of course, being willing to share ideas, raise concerns, and participate.
00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:00.719
So, what does member engagement look like for you?
00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:02.239
This is really important.
00:40:02.559 --> 00:40:20.400
I think I've tried to seed my thoughts on this already, but I just want to explicitly state that you know, an executive committee, a staff, a board cannot do any of this work alone.
00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:24.000
Even as a collective board, who they're amazing.
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:27.199
We're, you know, they're wonderful people, but we just can't do it.
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:46.159
And so I think about my experiences on committees and helping the institutes and just being exposed to the volunteer core who help us advance our mission in physical therapy education, like there's just there's no way to understate how important that is.
00:40:46.800 --> 00:41:07.119
And so I think that what I hope anyone who's listening would hear is that if you're passionate about higher ed and specifically physical therapy education and how to advocate within that space at any level, ACAP's a great place to flex those muscles.
00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:08.800
And we need you.
00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:14.639
Uh, I think about people I have worked with who I have learned so much from.
00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:21.760
I just am so grateful for those uh committees and task forces and conversations.
00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:38.159
And so during my presidency, you know, I'm I'm just one person, but you know, I think I speak for the board and the staff and our volunteer core when I say, I hope every member feels number one, invited to reach out.
00:41:38.400 --> 00:41:39.280
Reach out to me.
00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:41.599
I'll I'll funnel you to the right person.
00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:48.159
Um, reach out to the board, reach out to your contacts, your peers, your colleagues, get them involved in this work.
00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:49.360
It's important.
00:41:49.679 --> 00:41:51.199
Get onto the communities.
00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:54.719
You know, we have this Higher Logic Communities Network.
00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:57.599
If you're a member, your faculty should become members.
00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:02.480
I'm encouraging my entire faculty, it's free, you know, for individual members.
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:04.239
Get on there, get on the communities.
00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:10.159
We're talking about motions, we're talking about hot topics, we're talking about all sorts of things.
00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:14.960
And it's an important space to communicate because communication is challenging.
00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:16.159
Let me say that.
00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:22.320
You know, we're busy, busy people, and we're trying to communicate all over the place.
00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:25.280
And you know, my tenant, it's not mine, but I adopted it.
00:42:25.440 --> 00:42:31.119
It's, you know, you got to tell people seven times in seven different ways for them to get the message.
00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:34.320
That's not because we're not capable, it's because we're busy.
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:54.960
And so um I just wanted to kind of kind of throw that in there that we're we're aware that communication is important and we think a lot about how to make sure our membership hears about these opportunities, about the topics we're discussing, about how we support one another in this community.
00:42:55.199 --> 00:43:03.039
I think that I hope the membership is excited to remain engaged, to get more engaged and involved.
00:43:03.280 --> 00:43:09.760
And um, when they're unsure on how to do so, find me at burnout.edu.
00:43:10.079 --> 00:43:11.440
Send me an email.
00:43:11.920 --> 00:43:13.840
I'll get you to the right person.
00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:16.000
Absolutely.
00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:18.480
We we're definitely in this together.
00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:30.000
So as we as we finish up this wonderful podcast, um, let's look beyond the first few months and think about the legacy of your presidency.
00:43:30.159 --> 00:43:34.880
So by the end, what do you hope ACAP members will say changed or improved?
00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:45.840
Well, that's kind of delicate territory, I think, because I am very respectful of the history of how we are, you know, how we came to be.
00:43:46.079 --> 00:43:51.440
I'm respectful of our previous leadership, immediate and and more distant.
00:43:51.840 --> 00:43:59.679
And I I'm not here to just necessarily say I want to improve on something that needs it, but I think of it more from a growth mindset.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:12.400
Mindset from a maturation process and the inflection points of the current market we face, the current needs of our membership and the students we represent.
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:25.679
And so I think what I would say to that is I want our membership in the next 10 years, which will, you know, exceed my involvement.
00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:38.800
I I just want us to continue to be thought leaders and change agents in education, physical therapy education, higher education, advocacy that pertains to that.
00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:44.079
We want to be at or above the level of any peer we could think of.
00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:47.039
You know, that's our that's the ambition I have.
00:44:47.519 --> 00:44:50.880
Um I want us to be relevant to every conversation.
00:44:51.119 --> 00:45:04.800
I want us to have our members reflect that their, they as a program director, their faculty, um, the higher level talks that they may not have bandwidth to engage with, we have done that for them.
00:45:04.960 --> 00:45:12.480
I want all of those things to be something that we can look in the rearview mirror and see and to reflect positively on.
00:45:12.719 --> 00:45:24.159
And so it's kind of hard to, you know, I'm just getting started, but those are things I think about that I would really like to gift or to give our membership in service.
00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:26.719
This is all so exciting.
00:45:26.880 --> 00:45:30.960
Um, I'll leave you with one final question, Dr.
00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:31.760
Ross.
00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:35.360
What gives you the greatest confidence in ACAP's future?
00:45:35.599 --> 00:45:40.400
Oh, it's gonna sound redundant, but I mean, without a doubt, it's the membership.
00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:42.639
We're nothing without the membership.
00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:57.119
We're nothing without programs who engage with us and believe in us, and the the volunteers that they allow to budget some time to get involved with us.
00:45:57.519 --> 00:46:05.039
You know, that task force, that committee, that town hall, I just I can't understate it enough.
00:46:05.440 --> 00:46:15.760
Our our people, this collective, our DCEs, our directors, our volunteers, that's how the that's where the magic happens is the group.
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:26.880
Um and ensuring that we have a maximum amount of voice present in every conversation as appropriate to ensure that we've got the picture straight.
00:46:27.280 --> 00:46:35.440
And so that's what gives me a lot of joy and confidence that maybe I can pull this thing off.
00:46:35.599 --> 00:46:39.599
Maybe this board can do some really wonderful things in the next few years.
00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:41.039
And that's that's our goal.
00:46:41.199 --> 00:46:41.840
Yeah.
00:46:42.239 --> 00:46:44.000
Well, I'm very confident in that.
00:46:44.159 --> 00:46:49.199
So, and and you know that we are all here to support you.
00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:49.840
Dr.
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:56.960
Ross, thank you so much for sharing your story, your leadership perspective, your history, as well as your vision for ACAP.
00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:01.519
As we've heard today, this transition is not simply about welcoming a new president.
00:47:01.679 --> 00:47:11.360
It's an opportunity to build on ACAP's progress, strengthen our community, and continue addressing the challenges and opportunities shaping academic physical therapy.
00:47:11.599 --> 00:47:13.360
We look forward to your leadership, Dr.
00:47:13.519 --> 00:47:18.960
Ross, and to working alongside you, the board, our volunteers, and our members in the years ahead.
00:47:19.199 --> 00:47:26.000
To our listeners, we encourage you to stay engaged, share your perspectives, and look for opportunities to contribute to ACAP's work.
00:47:26.159 --> 00:47:33.360
The future of the organization will be shaped not by one leader, but by the collective expertise and commitment of its members, as Dr.
00:47:33.519 --> 00:47:36.159
Ross has so perfectly said.
00:47:36.400 --> 00:47:37.920
Congratulations again, Dr.
00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:41.440
Ross, and welcome as ACAP's incoming board president.
00:47:41.760 --> 00:47:43.519
Thank you for listening to FlexCast.
00:47:43.679 --> 00:47:44.639
Until next time.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:08.320
Welcome to FlexCast, ACAP's podcast featuring the leaders, ideas, and conversations moving academic physical therapy forward.
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Today's episode is especially meaningful because we are introducing ACAP's incoming board president, Dr.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:15.839
Heather Ross.
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Heather is a leader in physical therapy education at Brno University and has already contributed significantly to ACAP through her service, collaboration, and commitment to advancing academic physical therapy.
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As she prepares to begin her term as president, we wanted to give our members an opportunity to learn more about the person behind the role, her professional journey, the experiences that shaped her leadership, and her vision for ACAP's future.
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Dr.
00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:44.640
Ross, welcome to FlexCast.
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I'm so delighted to have this conversation with you today.
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Thank you, Celia.
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It is wonderful to be here.
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And I before we even get started, I really do have to shout out our entire ACAP staff.
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Anyone who's in leadership knows that it takes a team to do anything.
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And Celia, you and the team that you lead and our wonderful staff members really just make us look good.
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And we're so appreciative of all that you do for our organization.
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Oh, I'm so thankful for you to say that.
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Of course, as a leader, I have to shout my staff out as well.
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They're just incredible.
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And we're just so elated to be working in a field with such passionate, wonderful physical therapy educators that you all make our jobs a lot easier.
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So thank you.
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So before we talk about the presidency, tell us a little bit about yourself and the path that led you to academic physical therapy.
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Yeah, so I actually started my professional journey, uh, which is a good place to start in the basic and applied sciences and research.
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I was at R1 institutions for a long time.
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At the beginning of my career, I earned my MPT and my PhD back to back, and then went straight into full-time research.
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I did that about for about 10 years and uh really enjoyed that part of my career.
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I was studying neural stem cells.
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Uh I was a bench researcher, harvesting, growing, studying uh cells in the lab, trying to understand ultimately how these amazing cells could aid in neural rehabilitation and recovery.
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And so that's kind of how I got started.
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But through that journey, I ultimately met colleagues who kind of coaxed me over to physical therapy education.
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They got me involved in uh PT program involvement, teaching, management, ultimately leading me to my current job and program administration, and in fact to ACAPT.
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So it's been a fun journey.
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And of course, shout out to Kim Bernado and the foundation that she has laid in getting us all into this wonderful point that we have.
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Being almost two years at ACAPT, seeing her just kind of take ACAPT into this new era has just been incredible to work with.
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And of course, working with her and working with you on the board.
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So I'm really excited to see us taking the reins of what Dr.
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Varnato has already done and moving it forward.
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And I'm really excited to see what you do with it.
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Well, you know, I'm glad you said that because specifically to coming into the serving as the president of ACAPT, it has been absolutely amazing to seek Dr.
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Varnato's leadership style, to watch her in action.
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She has been so intentional in just my short time on the board, building partnerships, uh, embracing advocacy.
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Advocacy is a huge thing for me.
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It's one of my big interests.
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I'm so grateful to have watched how the board has really uh embraced leadership in these frameworks in my time on the board.
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Uh, I have uh appreciated being a part of that work.
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I am excited to advance that work.
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I'm grateful to step into an environment where foundations laid are primed for our forward motion.
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I definitely agree.
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And I'm so excited to be able to dig a little deeper into some of those topics that you said today.
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So let's start specifically with you and your journey.
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So leadership journeys are always unique, and the experiences along the way often shape how we approach people, decisions, and change.
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So let's start at the very beginning.
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What first drew you to physical therapy?
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That's a great question.
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Uh, probably with half of our listeners, I probably decided about the fifth grade I was going to med school, as we did.
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And then um, I you know, I was an athlete, so I was exposed to you know, sports medicine and training and injuries, and um I competed through the collegiate level, but ultimately my exposure to physical therapy absolutely sealed the deal.
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Once I found physical therapy, I said that's it.
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Um I can serve people across the lifespan in literally every setting, uh it was um absolutely the field for me.
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And so um that was an easy jump to decide physical therapy was my chosen profession.
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And you know, it's interesting because um the more and more I've talked to members, I feel that a lot got into physical therapy through sports.
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So I guess in seeing they themselves having to train and learn about their body and or seeing their colleagues and their friends with injuries, um, it's I guess it's just like a really natural progression to go from sports and very competitive sports into physical therapy.
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So it's interesting that your journey was very similar.
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So, with that though, what inspired you to move into education and academic leadership?
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Right.
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So, as I said, you know, I was a full-time researcher for a long time.
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I enjoyed that area.
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Um, however, uh, as I noted, I got to know some physical therapists at my institution who were educators in our PT program.
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I was not part of the PT program at the time.
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I was over in a basic science department, but I got to know some of my uh physical therapy educator colleagues, uh, various conversations, and I just started engaging with that program.
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I ended up moving over to that program through some funding opportunities, and uh as still a primarily a researcher, but I also started teaching physical therapy students.
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I started becoming engaged in program workings.
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How does the physical therapy program run?
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What is accreditation?
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What does that mean?
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And I just became very engaged in the inner workings of a physical therapy education.
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It was kind of gradual, but um I was able to just take my skill sets and apply them over to, again, my chosen profession and refocus where I was and who I was doing my work with.
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And those folks uh really, really fostered my development into a physical therapy educator.
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And then I followed some of my colleagues to a smaller institution, which is where I am now, and my leadership journey has just continued from that point forward.
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That's really interesting.
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So when you think about your leadership journey and your experience, would you say that there's any particular role or experience that were especially influential in your career up to this point?
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I would say that probably there's two.
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I think the first time I encountered accreditation, um, this was back at my old institution, and and just seeing what it takes to ensure that an educational curriculum is is good.
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It's a good product.
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You know, we're the at we're the enterprise of any institution.
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The curriculum, the education we we design, we deliver, and I found that fascinating.
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And the ability to figure out what you're doing, how you assess what you're doing, how you report the assessment of what you're doing.
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I just found it also very fascinating.
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So learning what accreditation was, I've been involved with it now, certainly CAPD, but also SACS, so institutional accreditation.
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I find that to be very valuable work.
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I don't, I'm not, I'm that might be controversial.
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It's time consuming, but I think it it lends to the evergreen of our curriculum.
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It really makes us consider that we must always consider the enterprise that we are.
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Um, another area that was very influential to me was shared governance.
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And so since I've been at my institution, I've gone through the fellowship.
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Um, I was very interested in governance at the institutional level, being able to learn more about what that looked like, what our voice should and could be, um led me to be able to help found a faculty shared governance body at my institution where we had not previously had one.
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And so um I think that was a really impactful time of my career where I was uh embarking on that work, learning about institutional leadership and how physical therapy or just any leader can feed into that and learn and grow with my colleagues.
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I thought that has been very impactful to me.
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So it sounds like I mean, this current institution has been really influential in your career.
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So what what I guess particular work that you currently do at Bernard University has shaped your perspective on DPT education?
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That's a fair question.
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Honestly, I think it's kind of like learning what a 360 view of your job actually is.
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And I I don't know if that sounds strange, but no, that's interesting.
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Yeah.
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You know, having done all of these various things in a smaller environment, I've gotten access to a lot of cool people and I've done a lot of cool things.
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And it has taught me what the 360 view really looks like.
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My students will be frank with me, my bosses will be frank with me.
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Um, my peers, we have excellent dialogue and we get good work done.
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So I just think that, you know, I'm so grateful for my current institution because I think it has really helped me grow through the perspective I need to have in terms of just even understanding who my stakeholders are, um, who our stakeholders are, and then really trying to serve them with equity.
00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.320
So you mentioned stakeholders.
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So that leads me into a very particular stakeholder group, your students.
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So, what would you say that your students have taught you about leadership and education?
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Oh, this is a great question.
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This is a real passion point for me, and I I don't think I'm alone.
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I hope my I hope our listeners identify with this one.
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Um you know, I thought I knew who DPT students were and physical therapy education students were.
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Uh but I I don't think I really knew until I became a program director.
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And the um the responsibility really fell on the shoulders.
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And like I said, I think my our listeners might understand that that weight.
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And, you know, the technical journey that we have as education leaders is to educate them, graduate them.
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But I think ethically, I have my students have taught me and my staff to take this a step further.
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You know, maybe our duty and obligation is to see them into the workforce.
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And that is a very important topic today, but it's it's not one that is old to my shop or new to my shop.
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We've been thinking about this for a long time.
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I like to call this the day one to day done philosophy.
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You know, we want to recruit them, we want to get them in, we want to get them through the first year, first semester, and certainly the first year, but certainly we want to educate them and graduate them, but we want to see them into the workforce.
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And so that day done is licensure.
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And so what they've what I think our cohorts over the years have taught me and my team is that our dedication to them until they are workforce ready is such a value to each individual student.
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You know, you have your program outcomes, you have your cohort numbers, but that individual student that you serve until they are in the workforce, those are the stories that really bring value to me, that I remember, that lead to relationships with our alumni that will last forever.
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And so I just that the students had to teach me that.
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I didn't know that coming into this job.
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And I mean, I think that students can be really the best way to learn so much about yourself that you weren't even thinking about you needed to learn about yourself.
00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:18.879
I mean, it's just incredible what they teach you about resilience and patience and so forth.
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But I will say that apart from in my experience from students teaching and influencing me, um, I feel that the biggest lessons that I've learned have been through mentors or even other colleagues.
00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:35.679
So, do you have some mentors or colleagues who influence through your leadership development?
00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.799
Yeah, I I have many mentors.
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I seek them out.
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Um, if you're listening, I might ask you soon.
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I am an intentional mentor gatherer.
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I don't know if I've done the best job of collecting as many as I need, but I continue in that work.
00:13:51.919 --> 00:14:04.879
Um, I have always had the philosophy that people who know a lot around you, who decide to position them around students, young faculty, developing leaders, they they put themselves there.
00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:09.679
They um, if they're receptive to you, they want to coach you, they want to teach you.
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And so I just have naturally found it very easy to ask for that help.
00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.559
Uh, and I think that that is an absolute benchmark to my ability to grow.
00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:26.399
I have had mentors in my research labs, uh, you know, Dr.
00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:39.840
Bill Broadis, who was one of my leaders in my graduate school lab, taught me how to talk to powerful people and important people with, you know, intention and care and to care about patients.
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:51.039
And my faculty at my previous institution, researchers, educators, leaders alike, they're throughout our field, have absolutely taught me wonderful things.
00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:51.759
Um, Dr.
00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:59.600
Mary Figpin is um one of my colleagues who I met at my previous institution and to and brought me to Bernal.
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She remains one of my most important mentors.
00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:12.639
She has taught me about leadership and the curriculum and what it matters to a student, what it matters to a patient, what's a clinical education experience like?
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What are you going to ask at a clinical education visit to know if it's a good site?
00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:24.639
I mean, soup to nuts, these people just tell you everything you need to know when sometimes what you don't know, what you don't know.
00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:37.600
Um, my provost, my current provost, is is an important mentor to me because he understands that the leadership journey, sometimes you're growing into your roles, sometimes you're growing past your role.
00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:51.120
He's been very influential in helping me understand how to grow into and grow through certain duties and assignments and work with peers and um and all of those things.
00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:59.440
So um I think the board, the ACAP board, uh Kim Vernato has been an exceptional mentor, helping me grow into this level of things.
00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:04.240
Celia, you've been a good mentor to me to um to help me grow into this role.
00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:18.159
So and oh, and I gotta, hey, shout out to all of my marketing people, Emily, who is on this, uh, my institutional people who help with public speaking and video bits.
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:25.279
There, I can't speak enough to people who help you communicate your excellence in important ways.
00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:26.720
I don't know how to do that well.
00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:28.559
So I'm very grateful for those people.
00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:33.440
Those are also mentors to me to learn how to communicate with each other what you're doing.
00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:48.159
I and I love hearing, and I love that all of us are getting to kind of hear your background and also how you process, you know, information and how you view like lifelong learning and leadership and and mentorship.
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:58.559
And I think that's going to be really useful in your in your role as well as in our next segment, which is about your leadership philosophy and how that's going to kind of lead into ACAPS.
00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:02.240
So, how would you describe your leadership style?
00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:05.519
So I have thought about my leadership style a good bit.
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.160
I've taken a lot of mentorship about this.
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:18.000
Um, I think that the most um meaningful feedback I've ever had about my leadership style came from one of my mentors, Dr.
00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:22.559
Mary Thigpin, who told me I was a natural leader first.
00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:30.400
And um, I I think what she meant by that was I am ready to serve.
00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:32.880
Uh my other mentor, my provost, Dr.
00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:38.720
Jamek, uh introduced me to the concept in the literature of servant leadership.
00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:48.079
And so if you're a natural leader who seeks to serve, everything can come from that, is what I think I have learned about just leadership in general.
00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:56.640
And that has made some of these journeys a little bit easier for me because that's the framework and my philosophy on that.
00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:10.400
And um, if you're a natural leader, if you're here to serve, um, these other styles of leadership can roll in and out as needed, such as crisis leadership or management style and you know, other schools of thought.
00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:17.359
And that's a very valid point because you know, just lead naturally, authentically, with curiosity, and everything else will follow.
00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:40.240
How do you feel, though, that that leadership comes into play during times of, for example, now, the last few years, of uncertainty or change, such as, for example, ACAPT transitioning to a new executive director or having gone through our, you know, our organizational pause or all the federal issues that we're facing.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:46.000
How does effective leadership look like during those times, especially as a natural leader?
00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.000
That's a great question.
00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:55.759
I would say that crisis leadership bubbles to the surface really quickly.
00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:02.960
Uh, it might be uh a testament to the type of natural leadership I um embrace.
00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:12.240
It might speak to who I am as an individual, but I'm pretty good in a crisis, and that is helpful in this in our various landscapes.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:18.160
You know, the the global pandemic occurred one year into my program directorship.
00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:28.240
And while there were many opportunities and challenges throughout that, what I feel happened was okay, the crisis is before us.
00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:31.119
We're just gonna do business, we're gonna handle it.
00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:34.160
It is not normal, but it's okay.
00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:44.240
And I think that coming out of that authentic natural leadership space of kind of rolling into crisis leadership is is pretty easy.
00:19:44.480 --> 00:20:12.000
Um and you can you can uh compartmentalize some aspects of what is this banana's work that we're doing right now, but we just have to keep doing it and approaching it with the seriousness and the time sensitivity that is required so that you can handle that and then move over to the side here, you know, a few hours later and really get back to the mission, which is your standing agenda.
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.079
We you have to be able to do both.
00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:28.000
And so I think um the flexibility of being able to toggle the switch between styles and topics and what's going on around us is is incredibly important.
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:32.880
I hope those are useful skills to apply to K ACAPT in the coming years.
00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:34.000
That is my intention.
00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:48.000
And I appreciate that viewpoint that we need to toggle between leadership styles, just like you can't be the same leader to each one of your staff or each one of your stakeholders, because even your own students are going to need different types of leadership.
00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:51.119
Um I I really appreciate that.
00:20:51.359 --> 00:21:06.240
Now, when you talk about being flexible and then having to, you know, talking about making decisions, how do you balance listening and collaboration with the need to make timely decisions, especially in on times of uncertainty and change?
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:08.160
Yeah, this is important, I think.
00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:18.240
This is actually really important, I think, because you know, stemming from what we were just talking about, how do you toggle between leadership styles and maintain balance?
00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:23.519
It seems a little um counterintuitive, but I don't think it's counterintuitive at all.
00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.440
I think it's part and parcel of what we have to do to be effective.
00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:36.319
And um, you know, you think about listening and collaboration and and trying to make timely decisions in times of uncertainty.
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:39.200
Well, you gotta lay the groundwork, you gotta set the table.
00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:47.519
And uh the trick is I think have you started by setting your table with active listening?
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:50.319
Have you started by collaborating?
00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:57.680
Have you maintained a status quo that builds trust within your team to begin with in quiet times?
00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:17.119
Because then you have Built dialogue and trust and relationships, which the channels are open, uh, the trust is there, and something happens, you make a quick decision, you move rapidly, and your team is already behind you.
00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:28.960
You don't have to build that trust, you already did that work, and so I find that that um that intentional foundational work is important.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.440
I've done that in my own shop now.
00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.720
I will be doing that with ACAPT moving forward.
00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.160
I think it's really important.
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:43.599
Um, and balance being that critical thing because you think about the work we have to do together.
00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.519
You know, we can't do it alone.
00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:49.440
You know, we've already, you know, shouted out our incredible staff.
00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:53.359
I can take this opportunity to shout out our incredible board.
00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:58.799
You know, we're a collective, we do this together, our volunteers, you know, we all do it together.
00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:05.839
And when I started the fellowship, you know, you have to select this image that reflects your leadership style.
00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.279
And I was just a little baby leader and I found this cool image.
00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:12.880
I've actually looked for it since I can't find it, so I can't credit it.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:22.400
But it's an old black and white black and white photo of two individuals standing on a platform balanced on a fulcrum.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:32.079
They're back to back looking in opposite directions with binoculars looking at their environment, but they're holding their platform they stand on level.
00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.160
And to me, that's everything.
00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:37.680
Okay, we have to do environmental scans constantly.
00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:40.720
We have to do that together to keep the table level.
00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:59.519
Um, we have to collaborate in our balance to make sure that trains are running on time, our operations are good, our standing missions are good, but we have to see what is going on out there, and we may be looking in different directions and then communicate backwards as to what everybody is doing.
00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:16.640
And so I guess that's kind of a long-winded way to get back to the fact of if we don't listen and collaborate intentionally from the beginning with everyone that could and should be a part of the conversation, I'm not sure we're gonna be as effective in the work we're trying to do.
00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:28.240
And of course, when we're talking about being effective in our work and putting all of these incredible, you know, leadership styles into play and listening and collaborating.
00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:30.079
This is all great in a perfect world.
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:35.359
But of course, we know that there are setbacks and we know that things don't always go as planned.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:43.359
So, can you talk about something you've learned from a leadership challenge or setback or something that just didn't go the way that you planned?
00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:49.119
Yeah, I think I've learned a lot about mentoring faculty.
00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:58.319
I think that's an important topic for ACAP membership, is the pipeline of faculty, faculty development, faculty leadership.
00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:04.240
I have learned the hard way that don't teach the student that you think you were.
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:06.160
You have to teach all students.
00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:09.359
It's the same with faculty member mentorship.
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.720
Every faculty member is an individual human being.
00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:18.000
They come with different needs, they come with a different background, they come with different lived experiences.
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:37.599
I think that learning how, and I again I've had wonderful people I've worked with over the years, but they have taught me and helped, in fact, to mentor me into how to serve individual faculty meetings and meeting them where they are with their skills and their needs.
00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:51.440
Um, sometimes you really have to slow down and really look at your team and understand how to best help them be successful at what they're doing because that's what they're there to do.
00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:53.599
They're incredible, they're invaluable.
00:25:53.920 --> 00:26:05.119
So I I think that I have learned over time how to be a better leader and manager of a physical therapy education team by working with some of my great colleagues.
00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:07.519
That has not always been successful for me.
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:12.319
And I have been grateful for those opportunities to learn and grow and do better at that.
00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.119
Yeah, it's all about a growth mindset.
00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:30.720
And I think that anyone that has that growth mindset will be much more successful because even through those times of you know having difficult conversations or having something go awry or or even failing, that's when you learn the most, right?
00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:31.279
Yeah.
00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:35.680
Um, so let's let's now go to our next section.
00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:42.880
So let's talk about your connection to ACAPT, which of course began well before you were selected as incoming president.
00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:45.920
So when did you first become involved with ACAPT?
00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:55.920
Uh so I can't I became uh connected with ACAPT uh probably because I did the fellowship and uh my project was a shared governance project.
00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:02.480
I was very interested in nerdy topics about motions and business.
00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:13.839
And so the current chair of the ACAPT Reference Committee, who I knew through previous work, kind of reached out, asked if I'd like to serve on that committee, and I did.
00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:18.079
And from that point, I have just learned so much about the organization.
00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.720
At that point, I was a program director, of course.
00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:34.000
And so I was able to get involved, learn more about the uh organization, um, help understand what kind of business we needed to be looking at, helped to move that business.
00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.079
And I haven't looked back since.
00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.279
I I just uh have really enjoyed getting to know this organization for my program.
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.440
Specifically talking about your program, how has ACAPT influenced your work there?
00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:48.319
It's helped me be a better program director.
00:27:48.559 --> 00:28:03.359
It's helped me um be more tapped in onto the national conversation, some of which I may not have been exposed to had I not been tapped into the ACAPT conversations, business meetings, et cetera.
00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:07.920
It has helped me grow my own work at my institution.
00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:23.599
I have been through the mentorship and leadership that I've experienced through ACAPT, I've, you know, it's propelled my career forward, I think, institutionally and some opportunities that I've been afforded in my own work at Brunel.
00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:34.640
What have you learned from ACAP members across different programs and regions in your time at ACAPT, whether it be on the reference committee, on the board, or in your transition?
00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:47.440
Honestly, what I've learned through my friends and colleagues I've met over the years through ACAPT is how absolutely ubiquitous the challenges we face are.
00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:48.799
I don't care where you are.
00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:49.599
I really don't.
00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:54.480
I mean, you can be at the biggest or the smallest place, one end of the country to the other.
00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:56.160
We face the same challenges.
00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.240
We serve the same workforce.
00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:05.519
We are custodians of the academic enterprise for physical therapy education.
00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.119
We face the same challenges.
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:22.400
So sometimes it's enlightening and encouraging to talk with people at the meeting, in a town hall, on an email about our shared mission, our shared goals, our shared challenges.
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:31.599
It's it's been a wonderful journey being a part of ACAPT and having access to this membership so that we can have those conversations.
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:37.759
So, with all that said, what do you believe makes ACAP distinct within the physical therapy profession?
00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:40.079
Well, we're the trade association.
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:44.559
And so our expertise is higher education, right?
00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:53.680
So, and that's you know, you you think about 100% of our key membership is in higher education leadership.
00:29:53.920 --> 00:30:03.599
Um, our membership, there, our volunteers, our passion, our expertise, and our interests firmly align with the joys and the challenges of higher ed.
00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:11.839
And so um I think that distinguishes us and should and should inform our strategic plan.
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:18.480
It should inform the things that we do standing, the things that we do strategically.
00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:34.079
I think we should aspire to distinguish ourselves as the ambassadors of the curriculum that will live beyond us, as well as inform our advocacy for all of our programs, all of our students.
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:42.720
And of course, doing this in strategic and clear partnership with all of our groups that can help us do this work.
00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:49.200
So I think that answer was a perfect segue into you stepping into the presidency.
00:30:49.759 --> 00:31:01.759
So becoming a president of a national organization such as ACAPT is both an honor and, of course, a significant responsibility, as I'm sure you've already learned in your transitional period.
00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:08.000
So let's start with what was your reaction when you learned you would become ACAP's next president?
00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:13.440
Okay, if I'm being completely honest, I was terrified a little bit.
00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:18.559
I was, I think, appropriately nervous, is probably the more PC answer.
00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:24.720
But, you know, again, the foundation that has been laid by our leadership up to this point.
00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:27.200
I'm really looking at Kim Varnado.
00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:30.480
Um, what a model to follow.
00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:32.319
I'm so grateful for that.
00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:40.400
Um, this is such an important group of people, such a wonderful set of programs to represent.
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:43.200
I take it so incredibly seriously.
00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.880
So I think that nervousness is okay.
00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:53.359
And I think about I move I move out of that nervousness because I look at the board.
00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:58.000
You know, we have a collective that is so knowledgeable, so committed.
00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:02.799
Um, their talents together are just incredible.
00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:19.519
And of course, I keep mentioning it, but our staff who just literally keep us together, I think, and then I think about our volunteers, you know, this entire organization has a lot of potential power and a lot of potential steam.
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:29.359
And I'm so excited uh to do this, and I am so appreciative of the work of uh the work ahead and the team that will help us do it.
00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.400
So let's move away from the nerves and talk about the excitement.
00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:36.559
So, what does excite you as you prepare to begin your term?
00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:46.960
I it's gonna sound weird, but the challenges before us today, 2026, probably excite me the most.
00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:56.480
Um I think that we're in a time where the defense of our academic enterprises is of the utmost importance.
00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:59.279
And so we have to turn towards that.
00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:00.880
It's just essential.
00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:14.880
And so if we can rise to these issues, if we can successfully move through them with our partners, with our peers within our profession, outside of our profession, that feels like really good work.
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:17.680
That's work that we we just have to do that right now.
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:18.480
That's it.
00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:37.279
And then when we can achieve that goal and those sets of goals, then you know, we have the breathing room and the bandwidth to continue in our evergreen work, which is, you know, of course, inquiry, innovation, excellence in PT education, physical therapy, education, excellence.
00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.880
We want to do all that work.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:42.400
Um, we just have to budget the time to make sure that we're strategic.
00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:56.079
So, of course, mentioning strategic and work, um, the only logical next question is where do you believe ACAP can make the greatest impact over the next several years through that work and that strategy?
00:33:56.480 --> 00:33:59.519
Well, I think we have some competing priorities right now.
00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:01.039
That's the elephant in the room.
00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:02.720
We just have to address it.
00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:08.559
And so we have to be responsive while we're being strategic.
00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:13.760
But there's no reason that we can't strike out in a few directions at the same time.
00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:18.159
I do think our administrative pause that we took when Dr.
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:22.719
Zamora Ucelia took over as our executive director was appropriate.
00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:26.880
It allowed us to kind of do an environmental scan.
00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:32.559
Take our, you know, that happened at about 10 years of our existence as a trade association.
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:38.960
Um, it's a natural inflection point on both points for us to take a look at what we're doing.
00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:40.880
And then, you know, kind of all this happens.
00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:52.000
And so I think that we need to continue in that and think about initiatives that support as many programs as possible.
00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:55.920
And that's where we can focus our interests and our efforts.
00:34:56.159 --> 00:34:59.599
And I know that that sounds kind of vague, but it it's not meant to be vague.
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:08.000
You know, we have to think about defending our enterprise, protecting our workforce, and supporting all programs.
00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:12.960
That's just the business that we have: protecting the curriculum and the programs that deliver them.
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:17.199
And so, you know, we want to think about supporting accreditation.
00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:28.000
We want to think about new and existing program directors who need our information, who we can support and give information to, faculty development.
00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.079
Um, those are wide impact areas.
00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:36.639
Advocacy is at the top of the pile right now, and advocacy as higher education professionals.
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:40.719
Yes, we're physical therapy education people, but we are higher ed.
00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:42.800
And so we have to own both hats.
00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:46.400
Um, and that serves us all and will continue to serve us all.
00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:54.480
Supporting our clinical education community, uh, big area of emphasis, integrating that across all of our endeavors.
00:35:54.639 --> 00:36:06.639
You know, I think looking at physical therapy education as a collective that involves physical therapy assistant education programs, I think that that's worthy of time investment.
00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:10.880
Uh, we want to value the work that we do in our workforce together.
00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:15.039
Now is is a time we just really have to embrace this.
00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:26.880
We have to think about this and look across at our peers who have various entry-to-the-profess models or degrees or credentials and say, how are we doing this work together?
00:36:27.039 --> 00:36:28.559
Because it's a workforce issue now.
00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:32.400
It's always been, but today it feels particularly important.
00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:38.800
Guess to sum it up, ultimately, I think that we have to be the leaders of our educational product.
00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:43.039
And if we don't grab that story, I think we're missing an opportunity.
00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:48.480
So today it just feels really important that we come at it from a position of strength.
00:36:48.719 --> 00:37:04.239
Um, we continue to innovate, we continue to be inclusive, we continue to inquire and use data, promote excellence, but we also have to really, you know, we have to be advocates for our profession in a way that responds to external challenge.
00:37:04.639 --> 00:37:11.199
What do you see as the most urgent challenges facing DPT programs, especially uh in your current tenure?
00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:21.760
Well, I mean, I think the obvious things are, you know, federal regulations coming out that impact federal lending, student debt, accreditation itself, workforce pipeline.
00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:26.559
The workforce pipeline might be our most urgent collaborative piece.
00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:32.639
I think we need to address them, but also I just have to keep coming back to this point.
00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:36.480
We don't want to neglect our other duties to our programs.
00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:38.559
You know, we have our evergreen mission.
00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:43.199
We have to see to that, but we also have to look forward at these challenges.
00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:46.239
Uh it feels a little unprecedented, if I'm being honest.
00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:53.679
These challenges feel weighty, and so we have to get we have to address them and get them out of the way and get back to the other work we need to do.
00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:54.880
Agreed.
00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:58.639
So at the same time, where do you see our greatest opportunities?
00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:01.840
Well, I think our opportunities are in advocacy.
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:26.079
Our opportunities are to plant our flag in the sand and say we are the higher education group in our profession who are prepared and informed, collaborators with others in the in the medical and health professions so that we can join in the work that might need to occur, you know, locally.
00:38:26.239 --> 00:38:30.079
You know, you got to be good at your institution, advocate at your institution.
00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:33.760
We got to go to Capitol Hill, we got to do those things for higher education.
00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:37.199
We got to work with our partners, you know, in shared space.
00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:46.719
But also, I think that doing that work, our other opportunities still do reside in supporting those around us.
00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:49.920
That that work doesn't go away, you know, it just can't.
00:38:50.079 --> 00:39:04.079
We have new program directors, we have students who need us, we have faculty members who are looking for mentorship, we have a clinical education community who is looking to remain as engaged as possible.
00:39:04.239 --> 00:39:17.440
I think there are vast opportunities in hooking up and promoting thought thought space about how our DCEs and our program directors work together to lead programs.
00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:25.920
There's a there's a huge amount of um important work to be done there and to continue, not to say that it's not, but to continue to do that work.
00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:41.920
What I love what I love about this is that you exude so much passion uh for this that we're just so excited um for you to take take the reins and and and really lead us into like the next, I guess, segment of ACAPS.
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:44.400
So we are gonna start wrapping up though.
00:39:44.559 --> 00:39:48.800
So I did want to talk a little bit about working with members, your constituents.
00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:52.000
So ACAPS direction cannot be shaped only in a boardroom.
00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:57.760
It depends on members, of course, being willing to share ideas, raise concerns, and participate.
00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:00.719
So, what does member engagement look like for you?
00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:02.239
This is really important.
00:40:02.559 --> 00:40:20.400
I think I've tried to seed my thoughts on this already, but I just want to explicitly state that you know, an executive committee, a staff, a board cannot do any of this work alone.
00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:24.000
Even as a collective board, who they're amazing.
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:27.199
We're, you know, they're wonderful people, but we just can't do it.
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:46.159
And so I think about my experiences on committees and helping the institutes and just being exposed to the volunteer core who help us advance our mission in physical therapy education, like there's just there's no way to understate how important that is.
00:40:46.800 --> 00:41:07.119
And so I think that what I hope anyone who's listening would hear is that if you're passionate about higher ed and specifically physical therapy education and how to advocate within that space at any level, ACAP's a great place to flex those muscles.
00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:08.800
And we need you.
00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:14.639
Uh, I think about people I have worked with who I have learned so much from.
00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:21.760
I just am so grateful for those uh committees and task forces and conversations.
00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:38.159
And so during my presidency, you know, I'm I'm just one person, but you know, I think I speak for the board and the staff and our volunteer core when I say, I hope every member feels number one, invited to reach out.
00:41:38.400 --> 00:41:39.280
Reach out to me.
00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:41.599
I'll I'll funnel you to the right person.
00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:48.159
Um, reach out to the board, reach out to your contacts, your peers, your colleagues, get them involved in this work.
00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:49.360
It's important.
00:41:49.679 --> 00:41:51.199
Get onto the communities.
00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:54.719
You know, we have this Higher Logic Communities Network.
00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:57.599
If you're a member, your faculty should become members.
00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:02.480
I'm encouraging my entire faculty, it's free, you know, for individual members.
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:04.239
Get on there, get on the communities.
00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:10.159
We're talking about motions, we're talking about hot topics, we're talking about all sorts of things.
00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:14.960
And it's an important space to communicate because communication is challenging.
00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:16.159
Let me say that.
00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:22.320
You know, we're busy, busy people, and we're trying to communicate all over the place.
00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:25.280
And you know, my tenant, it's not mine, but I adopted it.
00:42:25.440 --> 00:42:31.119
It's, you know, you got to tell people seven times in seven different ways for them to get the message.
00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:34.320
That's not because we're not capable, it's because we're busy.
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:54.960
And so um I just wanted to kind of kind of throw that in there that we're we're aware that communication is important and we think a lot about how to make sure our membership hears about these opportunities, about the topics we're discussing, about how we support one another in this community.
00:42:55.199 --> 00:43:03.039
I think that I hope the membership is excited to remain engaged, to get more engaged and involved.
00:43:03.280 --> 00:43:09.760
And um, when they're unsure on how to do so, find me at burnout.edu.
00:43:10.079 --> 00:43:11.440
Send me an email.
00:43:11.920 --> 00:43:13.840
I'll get you to the right person.
00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:16.000
Absolutely.
00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:18.480
We we're definitely in this together.
00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:30.000
So as we as we finish up this wonderful podcast, um, let's look beyond the first few months and think about the legacy of your presidency.
00:43:30.159 --> 00:43:34.880
So by the end, what do you hope ACAP members will say changed or improved?
00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:45.840
Well, that's kind of delicate territory, I think, because I am very respectful of the history of how we are, you know, how we came to be.
00:43:46.079 --> 00:43:51.440
I'm respectful of our previous leadership, immediate and and more distant.
00:43:51.840 --> 00:43:59.679
And I I'm not here to just necessarily say I want to improve on something that needs it, but I think of it more from a growth mindset.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:12.400
Mindset from a maturation process and the inflection points of the current market we face, the current needs of our membership and the students we represent.
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:25.679
And so I think what I would say to that is I want our membership in the next 10 years, which will, you know, exceed my involvement.
00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:38.800
I I just want us to continue to be thought leaders and change agents in education, physical therapy education, higher education, advocacy that pertains to that.
00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:44.079
We want to be at or above the level of any peer we could think of.
00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:47.039
You know, that's our that's the ambition I have.
00:44:47.519 --> 00:44:50.880
Um I want us to be relevant to every conversation.
00:44:51.119 --> 00:45:04.800
I want us to have our members reflect that their, they as a program director, their faculty, um, the higher level talks that they may not have bandwidth to engage with, we have done that for them.
00:45:04.960 --> 00:45:12.480
I want all of those things to be something that we can look in the rearview mirror and see and to reflect positively on.
00:45:12.719 --> 00:45:24.159
And so it's kind of hard to, you know, I'm just getting started, but those are things I think about that I would really like to gift or to give our membership in service.
00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:26.719
This is all so exciting.
00:45:26.880 --> 00:45:30.960
Um, I'll leave you with one final question, Dr.
00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:31.760
Ross.
00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:35.360
What gives you the greatest confidence in ACAP's future?
00:45:35.599 --> 00:45:40.400
Oh, it's gonna sound redundant, but I mean, without a doubt, it's the membership.
00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:42.639
We're nothing without the membership.
00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:57.119
We're nothing without programs who engage with us and believe in us, and the the volunteers that they allow to budget some time to get involved with us.
00:45:57.519 --> 00:46:05.039
You know, that task force, that committee, that town hall, I just I can't understate it enough.
00:46:05.440 --> 00:46:15.760
Our our people, this collective, our DCEs, our directors, our volunteers, that's how the that's where the magic happens is the group.
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:26.880
Um and ensuring that we have a maximum amount of voice present in every conversation as appropriate to ensure that we've got the picture straight.
00:46:27.280 --> 00:46:35.440
And so that's what gives me a lot of joy and confidence that maybe I can pull this thing off.
00:46:35.599 --> 00:46:39.599
Maybe this board can do some really wonderful things in the next few years.
00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:41.039
And that's that's our goal.
00:46:41.199 --> 00:46:41.840
Yeah.
00:46:42.239 --> 00:46:44.000
Well, I'm very confident in that.
00:46:44.159 --> 00:46:49.199
So, and and you know that we are all here to support you.
00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:49.840
Dr.
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:56.960
Ross, thank you so much for sharing your story, your leadership perspective, your history, as well as your vision for ACAP.
00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:01.519
As we've heard today, this transition is not simply about welcoming a new president.
00:47:01.679 --> 00:47:11.360
It's an opportunity to build on ACAP's progress, strengthen our community, and continue addressing the challenges and opportunities shaping academic physical therapy.
00:47:11.599 --> 00:47:13.360
We look forward to your leadership, Dr.
00:47:13.519 --> 00:47:18.960
Ross, and to working alongside you, the board, our volunteers, and our members in the years ahead.
00:47:19.199 --> 00:47:26.000
To our listeners, we encourage you to stay engaged, share your perspectives, and look for opportunities to contribute to ACAP's work.
00:47:26.159 --> 00:47:33.360
The future of the organization will be shaped not by one leader, but by the collective expertise and commitment of its members, as Dr.
00:47:33.519 --> 00:47:36.159
Ross has so perfectly said.
00:47:36.400 --> 00:47:37.920
Congratulations again, Dr.
00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:41.440
Ross, and welcome as ACAP's incoming board president.
00:47:41.760 --> 00:47:43.519
Thank you for listening to FlexCast.
00:47:43.679 --> 00:47:44.639
Until next time.
