Fellow

Valerie Herzog serves as Professor and Chair of the Athletic Training Department at Weber State University. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training at Alderson-Broaddus College, her master’s degree in Athletic Training at the University of Virginia, and her doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration at Marshall University. Her passion is governmental affairs. As President of the West Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association, she was instrumental in the introduction of a licensure bill in that state. As Vice-President and later the President of the Utah Athletic Trainer’s Association, she assisted in the passage of the Licensure bill as well as other key pieces of legislation in Utah. She has also served on the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Governmental Affairs Committee, the Board of Certification Athletic Training Regulatory Conference Committee, and has participated in several Hit the Hill events, meeting with federal legislators in Washington, D.C. She has served on the Board of Certification Board of Directors and as a Commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. She is currently Chair of the Legislative Committee of the Utah Athletic Trainers’ Association and Chair of the Education Committee for the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions. She is a Fellow of both the National Academies of Practice and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Fellow

Dr. Christopher W. O’Brien serves as the inaugural Dean of Health Sciences and Associate Clinical Professor of Sports Medicine for King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.S. in Health Sciences/Athletic Training from Lock Haven University, M.S. in Athletic Training from California University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Human Development – Higher Education Administration from Marywood University. He is licensed to practice as an Athletic Trainer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Under his leadership since 2017, the Health Sciences at King’s College has established an innovative dual degrees in nursing partnership program with Luzerne County Community College and a master’s-level, on-line program in nutrition science. The College’s athletic training program has transitioned to the master’s level, and the exercise science and physician assistant programs continue to grow in number of students and pathways. King’s College is currently a candidate for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) as a Graduate Degree Program - Future Education Model and is an Applicant with the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE) for the College’s first doctorate-level program. Globally, King’s College has partnered with the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) to offer short-term study abroad experiences in Tokyo and London for athletic training students throughout the United States.

Dr. O’Brien’s primary involvement with ASAHP has been through the Clinical Education Task Force. He has published and presented on multiple topics in collaboration with the CETF and has represented ASAHP in presenting affiliate sessions to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and Athletic Trainers’ Educators’ Conference. Dr. O’Brien has been a reviewer for the Journal of Allied Health since 2018.

Professionally, Dr. O’Brien is also active with the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) as a Peer Reviewer and Peer Review Trainer. Most recently, he served as the appointed chair of its Maintenance of Accreditation Ad Hoc Committee. He served as NATA District 2 Advanced Education Committee Chair and as a consulting work group member for the NATA Professional Education in Athletic Training white paper.

Dr. O’Brien has been named to the Irish Education 100 Honor Roll by the Irish Voice. He volunteers in his local community, including Sacred Heart of Jesus R.C. Church in Peckville, PA, where he is a member of the Pastoral Parish Council and COVID-19 Parish Pandemic Team. He is married to Ann O’Brien, L.S.W. and a proud father of two daughters.

Fellow

Dr. Cesarina Thompson is dean of the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions (ENHP) and joined the University of Hartford in 2018. She was previously dean of the School of Health Sciences at American International College (AIC) in Springfield, MA. Dr. Thompson began her professional career as a registered nurse and practiced in acute care settings prior to pursuing a career in higher education. Dr. Thompson has over three decades of experience serving in faculty and leadership roles in institutions of higher education. Her teaching experience includes teaching in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs as well as doctoral programs in nursing education. In her current role as dean and in her previous leadership roles, she has led the development and implementation of innovative programs, enhanced focus on interprofessional education, increased the number of full-time faculty and students, and oversaw successful professional program accreditation reviews. Dr. Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Bridgeport and earned her master’s and PhD from the University of Connecticut. Her service in ASAHP includes Board of Directors member from 2018-2021, member of the Nomination and Elections Committee, and member of the College of Health Deans (COHD). She is a Fellow of the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education, a site visitor/team leader for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), member of the editorial board for Nurse Educator, and a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing.

Award for Institutional Excellence and Innovation in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Health Care

Dr. Judy Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling in the Department of Allied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Director of Interprofessional Education and Practice for the Department of Allied Health Sciences and is a member of the UNC Office of IPEP. For the past five years, she has led IPE activities for the department and across campus with members of the Office of IPEP. Judy is a past Co-Convener of the IPE Special Interest Group for the Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA), Association of Medical Colleges.

Judy is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with UNC Hospital. She is the Rehabilitation Counselor for the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation unit specializing in care for stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and severe trauma. Her research interests include counselor education, adjustment to disability, and stigma reduction.

Judy completed her Doctor of Education at Argosy University, American School of Psychology in Washington, DC, a MS in Rehabilitation Counseling from UNC at Chapel Hill, and a BA in Psychology from Meredith College. She is a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate in North Carolina. Judy is the recipient of the 2020 Meredith College Psychology Program’s Distinguished Alumna Award.

Award for Institutional Excellence and Innovation in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Health Care

Dr. Stephen Hooper is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Psychology and Neuroscience, and Education, and he is a Fellow at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. He also serves as the Chair of the Department of Allied Health Sciences and Associate Dean of Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. In all of these various roles, and across the bulk of his career, Dr. Hooper has been an active contributor to interprofessional education and practice opportunities. Since coming to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1987, Dr. Hooper has been part of clinical teams and services that were intimately connected to interdisciplinary practices. These practices have included various types of interdisciplinary teams across clinical, educational, and community settings with involvement of a wide array of professionals. These experiences were highly influential in his educational initiatives, and the involvement of students facilitated not just the idea and implementation of interprofessional practice but also its importance to quality of clinical care for the patients and families involved. His research activities have been steeped in interprofessional projects that have involved team science and, again, the opportunity to involve students in such endeavors for the betterment of the project and scientific inquiry more generally. In his current administrative roles, these experiences and perspectives have been cemented a clear focus on interprofessional education and practice for all programs and units, and ongoing growth of these initiatives to improve practices and outcomes in education, research, and clinical care.

Scholarship of Excellence - Elwood Scholar

Garrett Bush, physical therapy student, is from a tiny city called Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. After a disastrous first attempt at college, he signed up to serve in the United States Marine Corps. Garrett served with the Marines from 2007 to 2012. During that time, he was stationed at Bangor Naval Base in Silverdale, WA and at the Marine Air Ground Combat Center in Twenty-nine Palms, CA. Garrett was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. While on deployment his closest friend, Larry Bailey, was traumatically wounded. Larry survived but tragically lost both of his legs and his left hand. He was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. When Garrett was discharged from the Marines the following year, he moved to Bethesda to act as a live-in caretaker for Larry. It was while Garrett was there, he witnessed the amazing work done by the physical therapists at Walter Reed.

Garrett graduated with honors in 2018 from New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, NM with a degree in Kinesiology. He is currently a second year DPT student with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) in Odessa, TX. TTUHSC has truly allowed Garrett’s passion for physical therapy to flourish and reaffirmed his choice to pursue a career as a physical therapist. After receiving his DPT, Garrett plans to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Garrett is looking forward to giving back to those who have already given so much.

J. Warren Perry Award

Dr. Anthony Breitbach is a tenured Professor and serves as Interim Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as the Director of the Athletic Training Program in the Doisy College of Health Sciences at Saint Louis University (SLU). A native of Dubuque, Iowa; Dr. Breitbach received a BS from the University of Iowa (1985), Master’s degree from the University of Florida (1987) and a PhD from SLU (2007). He is the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) liaison to the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP). He is an ASAHP Fellow and chairs their Partnerships, Alliances and Advocacy committee, their Interprofessional Task Force as well as representing them on Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies Revision Work Group. He serves as Secretary-Historian and is on the Advisory Board of the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative (AIHC). In March 2021, he was named as a Distinguished Fellow and Chair of the newly formed Athletic Training Academy in the National Academies of Practice. He is on the Steering Committee for Interprofessional Research.Global; is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interprofessional Care; is a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission and serves as Public Member on the CAE Commission of the American Society of Association Executives.

J. Warren Perry Award

Dr. Hinyard is the Executive Director of the Advanced HEAlth Data (AHEAD) Institute and the Chair of the Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Dr. Hinyard has expertise in secondary data analysis including national survey research, large administrative claims databases, and research involving electronic medical records as well as analysis of prospective and observational studies. Her research focuses on health disparities and health equity, health related quality of life, and psychosocial needs of cancer patients. Additionally, she works with an interdisciplinary group of researchers to improve training for interprofessional health care clinicians for improvements in advance care planning and palliative care. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in Saint Louis and her Ph.D. in Public Health Studies with a concentration in Epidemiology from Saint Louis University.

J. Warren Perry Award

Ginge Kettenbach, PhD, PT, FNAP is a professor of Physical Therapy in the Doisy College of Health Sciences at Saint Louis University. Dr. Kettenbach has been involved in teaching two classes in the Interprofessional Education Program (IPE) at Saint Louis University (SLU) as well as three classes for the Program in Physical Therapy. Dr. Kettenbach is involved in curriculum planning within the Program in Physical Therapy and the IPE Program at SLU. She serves on the University Undergraduate Core Committee at SLU as the representative for the Doisy College of Health Sciences. Dr. Kettenbach acts as the faculty member associated with the Health Sciences Learning Community on Campus, helping freshman students to appreciate the contributions of the various health professions to programming for the Learning Community. Dr. Kettenbach was inducted into the PT Academy of the National Academies of Practice (NAP) in 2015 and has served oncommittees for NAP.

J. Warren Perry Award

David Pole, PhD, MPH, is the Director of the Center for Interprofessional Education & Research. Dr. Pole directs the development of programs, teaching, administration and research in interprofessional education and collaborative practice at the Saint Louis University Medical Center. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He joined SLU in 2005 to expand community-based clinical and longitudinal service programs and brings experience in collaborative practice in the private sector and the non-profit sector to improve access, care, and outcomes.

Dr. Pole’s interest is in advancing interprofessional practice approaches and effective teamwork to improve patient safety and quality improvement. Dr. Pole is the Assistant Director of the CQI Council for the School of Medicine, Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Counsel for the School of Medicine, and is active with committees within the NEXUS - National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. Current work has focused on the integration of IPE into the Core Curriculum for the University, Course Director for graduate level IP Seminars Course with faculty and students from nine different health professions programs in Doisy College of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing, School of Medicine, and the College for Public Health and Social Justice, and strengthening collaborations with medical residency programs to advance IP Practice.

J. Warren Perry Award

Rachel S. Rauvola is an Assistant Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at DePaul University. She received her BA from Macalester College, and her MS and PhD from Saint Louis University. Her research focuses on occupational health as it relates to aging, trauma, and marginalization, promoting attention to the intersections between diversity, equity, health, and work in a variety of veins.

Distinguished Service and Achievement

Bob McLaughlin, Ph.D., FASAHP, earned his doctorate in Psychology (Clinical) at The University of Texas at Austin and joined the Baylor College of Medicine faculty. After ten years in academia, he moved to part-time faculty while directing a series of research and demonstration projects, established a full-time clinical practice, and co-founded a service agency, a psychology training institute, and a non-profit organization.

He returned to Baylor fulltime in 2011 as Assistant Dean, School of Health Professions, with a secondary appointment in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He advanced to Dean and recently retired as Dean Emeritus. He continues to teach Motivational Interviewing behavioral health counseling skills. His research has included PA cancer education, efficacy of teacher-facilitated student support groups, and early childhood education of children who experienced violence. Baylor awarded him: Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Awards in Teaching and Evaluation and in Educational Leadership; the J. David Holcomb Achievement Award for Sustained Leadership in Allied Health Education, Research, Faculty Development, and Scholarship; and the 2021 Distinguished Leadership Award.

Bob is immediate past chair and secretary of the Southern Association of Deans of Allied Health Sciences at Academic Medical Centers and past president of the Texas Society Advancing Health Professions, receiving their 2021 Distinguished Service Award. He holds community service and lifetime achievement awards from several community and professional organizations.

At ASAHP, Bob worked closely with the Clinical Education Task Force to bring several projects to fruition, including research projects, conference presentations, and the webinar series.

Outstanding Member

Tina Forsythe Whalen, EdD, DPT, MPA, FASAHP has been a licensed physical therapist since 1979. She previously served in the roles of department chair for Rehabilitation Sciences and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for 9 years before assuming the role of Dean of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Allied Health Sciences in 2014.

Dr. Whalen is a past chair of the UC Council of Deans and served on the university’s Strategic Budget Committee. Through her guidance as dean, the college initiated a 5-year strategic plan, has raised over $6.65 million in philanthropic contributions, primarily for student scholarship, and has grown research expenditures to $4.6 million over the last five years. Additionally, under Dr. Whalen’s leadership, the number of diverse faculty and staff has grown 72%, the college has launched 4 new graduate programs, and the college enrollment has grown to over 3,200 students. She championed a new home for the college in the Academic Health Center with the construction of the Health Sciences Building, which was completed in 2019.

In recognition of her long-standing commitment to interprofessional education and practice, she was inducted as a Fellow in the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Whalen is an active member in the ASAHP Midwest Deans Group and serves on the Midwest Deans Scholarship Review Committee. She has participated in ASAHP since 2012 and has chaired the ASAHP Leadership Development Committee since 2019.