APTA Pediatrics Leadership

Mica Mitchell is an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at Methodist University. She has worked as a pediatric physical therapist in a variety of settings since 2003. She has received her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree with a specialization in pediatric science from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, a Master in Physical Therapy degree obtained from East Carolina University. She is licensed to practice physical therapy in North Carolina. Mica is driven by a desire to improve inclusion of minoritized individuals and groups through representation and justice.

Dr. Cheryl Kerfeld has over 30 years of experience working as a pediatric physical therapist in a variety of clinical, administrative, teaching, and research roles. She currently works for Seattle Public Schools in Seattle, Washington as a physical therapist and educator leader. She has a strong interest in family-centered care and global health, where she has partnered with families, university students, health-care providers, educators, and community organizations to support both local and international service-learning programs. She also enjoys working as a community-based research scientist. Her research program's goal is to decrease health disparities for children and their families with an ardent interest in supporting the physical activity and participation of children with disabilities. She is a researcher who looks upstream to work collaboratively with children with disabilities and their families to achieve long-term healthy lifestyles by increasing activity and engagement in their homes, schools, and communities. Dr. Kerfeld places importance on the involvement of children, their families, clinicians, and community stakeholders to identify effective interventions and utilizing valid and reliable rehabilitation measures to determine outcomes. It is important to her that her research will make an impact by turning the discoveries into action within clinical practice and community-based programs.

Mercedes Aguirre Valenzuela received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Rutgers School of Health Professions in 2020. She was born in Argentina and came to the US when she was in elementary school. Her experiences as an immigrant has greatly shaped her future and interest to work in environments where there are health care provider shortages and to use her immigrant experiences to relate to the families she works with.

Drew Anderson is a 2021 graduate who received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Gannon University in Ruskin, FL. She currently lives in Houston, TX where she strives to fulfill her passion to work in the neurological pediatric physical therapy setting while inputting herself in spaces formed to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the profession and in academia. Drew has empowered student physical therapists on their journey through her blog The Curly DPT and has been involved in peer mentorship through weekly meetings that create safe places for students going through DPT school. She hopes to continue her work in spaces that empower and engage. Drew is the recipient of the APTA Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy, 2021 Diversity Development Student Scholarship. Drew enjoys exploring all food with her husband and introducing their Lab-mastiff Kota to dog parks and pet friendly establishments.

Katherine Kat Joines is a faculty member at Touro University Nevada. She loves to share knowledge with all those willing and interested. Kat has run her own business, worked as a clinic director, and continues to do contract work with various companies in the pediatric setting. In each position, Kat has been responsible for and worked collaboratively with other clinicians and professionals. Not only has Kat worked in the clinical setting, but also has been very involved professionally with the Nevada State Board of Physical Therapy, State Pediatric Advocacy Liaison with the APTA Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy, and volunteers at the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic days. Kat strives to provide the best care possible to all clients and caregivers. She is goal-oriented and aims to encourage and advance families and client's to be their own best advocates through education, social activities, and affording equal-opportunities to health access within her community. Kat works in a team approach environment and wants others excited to work (play) in the pediatric setting. She is passionate about her profession and strives to provide services to the under-served community.

Dr. Lori Glumac is a board-certified pediatric clinical specialist whose practice areas are Early Intervention and Global Health. Since 1995, she has volunteered as a PT in various international settings, primarily Central America. She is on the board of Beeline Wheelchairs in Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Guatemala, and works to provide highly adaptable pediatric wheelchairs to children with complex needs in Guatemala (and other countries) at no charge to families. Her focus is on providing appropriately fitting and functional wheelchairs to children and education to caregivers in collaboration with local therapists, seating technicians, and families. She also participates in research to assess the outcomes of wheelchair provision in less resourced countries. For APTA Pediatrics, she served as PA State Rep, Regional Director, Secretary, and on various committees including Annual Conference, History, and DEI.

Sara lives in Anchorage, Alaska where she has been working at an outpatient pediatric clinic since 2013. She loves treating in a play based environment and also provides hippotherapy and group based interventions. She has training in NDT, Perception Action, and Craniosacral. She enjoys everything outdoors including snowboarding, backpacking, and cross country skiing. She loves living in the mountains and everything Alaska has to offer!

Dr. Yasser Salem is a Professor of Physical Therapy. He is a Pediatric Certified Clinical Specialist and Neurology Pediatric Certified Clinical Specialist. Dr. Salem has been an educator for over 20 years. He teaches contents in the areas of neurology, pediatrics, motor control and clinical reasoning. Dr. Salem research agenda focuses on the development of effective treatment strategies for the rehabilitation of children and adults with neurological deficits. He is also interested in developing evidence-based practice. Dr. Salem has been consistently engaged in research, having published numerous peer-reviewed articles. He has over 33 full peer-reviewed scientific publications and has authored scientific book and book chapters. He has over 300 peer-reviewed presentations at state, national, and international conferences. He is the first author on many of the published articles and presentations. He has successfully received several grant funding. He is the principal investigator on several of those grants. Dr. Salem has been serving as a journal co editor, editorial board member, and associate editor for scientific journals. He has been a reviewer for numerous scientific journals and state, national, and international level conferences. Over the past few years, he has received several professional state and national research, teaching and service awards.

Cathy Bookser-Feister is a board-certified pediatric clinical specialist and a PT educator. She is a clinician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Cincinnati's DPT program. For the past 15 years, her clinical work has been in home care and hospice with children who have complex medical needs (including babies who were born very prematurely; children with severe cardiac, pulmonary, GI, or neurological conditions; and children who are post-transplant). She has previously worked in schools and early intervention. She was the founding director of and mentor for the CCHMC Pediatric PT Residency. She brings an unusual skill set to her work because, prior to being a PT, she was a social worker. Her special concern is helping children and families who have socioeconomic struggles in addition to medical or developmental challenges - these two areas combined make for a more challenging clinical picture, but with effort we can bring quality physical therapy to those that deal with both issues.

Nicholas S. Kelly is a board-certified pediatric clinical specialist currently working in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 2013 with his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and later earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2016 from the University of Miami in Florida. Nick also served as the 2017-2018 pediatric PT resident at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, where he participated in clinical research, multi- and interdisciplinary patient care, service learning, disability advocacy and outreach, and assistant teaching opportunities. Nick has clinical experiences with several pediatric diagnoses and developmental presentations in outpatient and inpatient care, center-based early intervention, and school-based therapy. In addition, he has presented clinical research at local and national conferences and has two co-authorships featured in the Pediatric Physical Therapy Journal. Aside from treating, Nick enjoys visiting national parks, exploring restaurants and breweries, and traveling with family and friends.

Emily Quinn is a 2018 graduate from Ithaca College who currently serves on the APTA Pediatrics DEI Committee. She currently works in Colorado at an outpatient pediatric clinic, but also has experience working in a hospital setting (inpatient, outpatient, and acute), as well as a school-based setting. As someone who identifies as Asian American, an adoptee, a woman of color, and part of the LGBTQ+ community, Emily has been involved and interested in DEI from a young age, in part due to her upbringing as a transracial adoptee. Emily is passionate about many areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, including, but not limited to, adoption, LGBTQ+, increasing solidarity between communities, policies for health equity, and increasing accessibility for those with disabilities. Emily would love for APTA Pediatrics to ultimately be a place where all members and stakeholders feel included, and a place where all services and resources needed are available to them.

Jason Hubeny is a recent DPT graduate from the University of Hartford who is excited to jump into the pediatric PT field. Jason has dedicated himself towards improving as a clinician and becoming an active APTA member over his few years as a student in order to expand his horizons. In his 3 years of graduate school, Jason became a subcommittee member of the Pediatric Section DEI, EI, and SNP groups, was a contributing student researcher for a knowledge translation toolkit, an APPTAC Practice Fair presenter and Innovation Award recipient, a tutor for DPT classes, and a volunteer for different organizations serving children with CP, Down syndrome, Autism, and Muscular Dystrophy. Jason hopes to one day open his own practice to help serve children's physical therapy needs.

Dr. Mensah is a passionate PT about inclusion, diversity and equity among all individuals of every background, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. I enjoy international mission outreach opportunities, in addition to providing pro-bono services to individuals locally and abroad. I currently work as an Assistant Professor and ADCE at Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY. My greatest accomplishment is being an active and loving mother to my two children. I enjoy spending time with them and teaching them about opportunities to love and serve their neighbor as they would like to be treated.

Roberta (Robbie) OShea is a Professor in the Physical Therapy program at Governors State University. She currently teaches the Neurological Rehabilitation track, Pharmacology, Orthotics and Prosthetics, and some of the Research track. Dr. OShea seeks ways to present and test the students learning of the material in innovative and multidimensional ways. She is also a Board member for the Center For Independence. Through her years of research and working with people with disabilities, she was acutely aware of the barriers in place as individuals with disabilities navigate their life after high school. Often, young adults face no plan, few options, and as a result, have difficulty becoming gainfully employed or involved with higher education. She is thrilled to have found great partners and determined spirits to help bridge this divide. Jaguar Jumps is housed at Governors State University and partners with the Center for Independence and other community entities to provide a college readiness experience for young adults with intellectual disabilities. She has conducted numerous presentations nationally and internationally. Dr. OShea is active in several APTA Academies and ACRM networking groups/communities.

Allison Young is an assistant professor in the physical therapy department. Allison is passionate about pediatrics and upon graduation for the University of Central Arkansas Physical Therapy School, pursued a career practicing pediatric physical therapy. Allison has worked with children of all ages, birth to 21 years of age, with conditions and diagnoses including Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, and Torticollis, to name a few. Allison received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Sciences from the University of Central Arkansas and her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Central Arkansas as well where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, a Dean's List Scholar, and an Alpha Chi member recognized as top 10% of the Junior and Senior Class. Allison’s current area of research is in Imposter Phenomenon and the prevalence among clinicians/students and Go Baby Go, modified independent mobility for children with disabilities.