Dr. Rania Farhat is a pulmonologist and critical care physician, and Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Saint Louis University. She's the founder and Medical Director of the SSM/SLUCare Post-ICU Clinic and also directs the SSM/SLUCare Pulmonary Embolism Response Team.

 A graduate of the American University of Beirut School of Medicine, Dr. Farhat completed her internal medicine residency and pulmonary/critical care fellowship at Saint Louis University, later serving as Chief Fellow. She completed a Master of Science in Health Administration in May 2026. 

Jessica Lorensen is a Recruiter with Korn Ferry supporting Yale New Haven Health. She specializes in connecting healthcare organizations with top talent and developing creative recruiting strategies for critical and specialized roles.

Corinna Clark, PT, DPT, MHA, is a physical therapist and Rehabilitation Manager at Yale New Haven Hospital. With extensive experience in rehabilitation leadership and acute care services, she is committed to strengthening clinical operations, supporting rehabilitation teams, and advancing quality patient care.

Michelle Minnocci, PT, MHA, is an Assistant Manager of Rehabilitation Services at Yale New Haven Hospital with extensive experience as a physical therapist and rehabilitation leader. She is passionate about rehabilitation in the acute care setting as well as mentoring and developing clinicians and helping rehabilitation professionals grow throughout their careers. 

Dr. Bobby Belarmino is a faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX.  He has been a physical therapist for 30 years plus.  His clinical experience is mostly in cardiovascular and pulmonary specialty practice area, particularly early mobilization in Intensive Care Unit Rehab.

He received his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy at Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation in the Philippines, his master’s degree in applied physiology at Columbia University in New York. He then completed his Doctor of Physical Therapy at MGH Institute of Health Professions at Boston, Massachusetts, and then completed his PhD in Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, Texas. 

Dr. Belarmino is a Cardiopulmonary Clinical Specialist (CCS), certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialty. He also serves as a journal reviewer and Associate Editor for the Journal of Acute Care PT. His research interests are in ICU rehabilitation, reducing hospital readmission in cardiovascular and pulmonary populations, and improving frailty in elderly population through rehabilitation interventions. 

Dr Harriet Shannon is Associate Professor of Physiotherapy at UCL, London. She leads postgraduate education for cardiorespiratory physiotherapy and has an international research portfolio. Harriet has been involved in academic publishing for over 20 years as an author, peer reviewer and associate editor. She was previously chair of the council of allied health professions' research (CAHPR), UK, where she developed a national strategy for ensuring clinicians had the necessary skills and confidence to write their service evaluations, clinical audits, Masters projects and research for publication. 

Dr. Reed Handlery is an Associate Professor at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education. His research interests include exercise and physical activity interventions for people with neurological diagnoses. He has served as a Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy Writing Mentor since 2023.

Donna Wright, MS, RN, NPD-BC is an internationally recognized thought leader and the creator of the Donna Wright Competency Assessment Model™— a framework that has transformed how healthcare organizations approach competency assessment for over three decades.

Her work has helped thousands of organizations move beyond checklist-driven processes to build competency systems that are meaningful, efficient, and directly tied to outcomes.

Through her teaching, consulting, and writing, Donna continues to empower leaders and teams to rethink competency— focusing on what truly matters in practice. 

Dr. Lisa M.M.Hayes joined the Department of Physical Therapy at Mary Baldwin University as an assistant clinical professor in March 2025. Dr. Hayes received her BS from California State University, Fresno and DPT from Boston University. She is a board certified cardiovascular & pulmonary clinical specialty certification from ABPTS. Dr. Hayes’ clinical career path in the acute care & intensive/critical care settings has spanned many populations, including physical therapy in the emergency department. She has piloted several quality improvement initiatives involving rehabilitative ECMO mobility, early mobility for all critical care populations, and cardiac rehab programming in various hospital systems. She was also a founding lecturer and mentor faculty member for the advanced CVP rotation of the UCSF Medical Center Acute Care Physical Therapy Residency. She has held leadership positions in the Northern California Clinical Education Consortium and is currently serving the Academy of Acute Care in the APTA as the Acute Care PT State Advocate of Virginia. She started in academia in 2021 serving the UCSF/SFSU DPT program for 4 years as Director of Clinical Education and faculty educator related to CVP content. While in California, she also enjoyed being a facilitator in the interprofessional education series in the UC School of Medicine. As an MBU fighting squirrel at Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences, she now is part of the coordination team of the interprofessional seminar series, and a core faculty member of the DPT program. She is passionate about contributing to the healthcare education topics of cardiovascular & pulmonary management as well as patient management in the acute care & critical care settings. While she has many research interests from both her clinical and academic experiences, a developing one stems from her current pro bono collaboration with Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc related to physical therapy consults for human clients with visual impairments and supporting their exercise and mobility goals when they return to their homes across the North American continent. Collaborative learning is an education topic that Dr. Hayes experienced as a PT student, supported & used as a clinical instructor and championed as a DCE. This topic has been presented with Sutter Institute in California as well as various clinical partners during her role as the UCSF/SFSU DCE and NCCEC consortium member to mentor other clinical instructors and students to succeed in this learning model. 

Donna Wright, MS, RN, NPD-BC is an internationally recognized thought leader and the creator of the Donna Wright Competency Assessment Model™— a framework that has transformed how healthcare organizations approach competency assessment for over three decades.

Her work has helped thousands of organizations move beyond checklist-driven processes to build competency systems that are meaningful, efficient, and directly tied to outcomes.

Through her teaching, consulting, and writing, Donna continues to empower leaders and teams to rethink competency— focusing on what truly matters in practice. 

Dr. James P. Crick, Jr., PT, DPT, PhD, is a clinician-scientist with broad health services research interests including understanding variations in healthcare service delivery, enhancing health outcomes through quality improvement, and optimizing peri-hospital care, including hospital care and post-discharge transitional care, for older adults. Dr. Crick received his PhD from The Ohio State University in 2024 and his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Bellarmine University in 2015.

Gillian Gulley, SPT is a second year doctor of physical therapy student at Northwestern University. She graduated in 2022 from American University with a bachelor of science in Health Promotion. Shortly after graduation, she received her NASM certification for personal training and has most recently worked with patients at a clinic for weight loss. Currently, she is interested in neuro physical therapy. She is now working under Jennifer Ryan, PT, DPT, MS,CCS in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences with research regarding the impact of changing oxygen tube length on the flow rate.

Kathryn Rutledge, SPT is a second year Doctor of Physical Therapy Student at Northwestern University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology with a concentration in movement science from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2024 where she assisted in research in Shingleton Laboratory under Alexander Shingleton and Carlos Molina. She researched the genetic architecture of hierarchical size traits, including body size and sex-specific plasticity, in Drosophila melanogaster. Currently, she is now working under Jennifer Ryan, PT, DPT, MS, CCS in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences with research regarding the impact of changing oxygen tube length on the flow rate. 

Emma von der Linden, SPT is a second year Doctor of Physical Therapy student at Northwestern University. She received her Bachelor of Science in kinesiology at Miami University in 2024 where she took part in gathering research about factors that influence exercise testing. Currently, she is now working under Jennifer Ryan, PT, DPT, MS, CCS in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences with research regarding the impact of changing oxygen tube length on the flow rate. Emma is interested in neurology and orthopedic physical therapy.

Jennifer Marie Ryan, PT, DPT, MS graduated from the Physical Therapy program at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1990 and went on to complete both a Master of Science in Physical Therapy and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. In July 2006 and 2016, she was awarded board certification as a Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialization.

Throughout her physical therapy career, she has specialized in physical therapy care for critically ill patients and their families. In her current position at Northwestern University, she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences where she teaches in the areas of cardiovascular and pulmonary and acute care, and has presented over 20 peer-reviewed lectures at national conferences.

Dr Ryan was the recipient of:

• the IPTA Physical Therapist of the Year award in 2008
• the Mary Sinnott Award for Excellence in Acute Care Physical Therapy in 2012
• the 2014 Acute Care Section Lecture Award
• the Babette Sanders Leadership and Service Award in 2023.

Dr Ryan presently serves:

• the American Physical Therapy Association as a member of the Nominating Committee
• the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as the Practice Analysis Coordinator for Acute Care Specialization, Residencies and Critical Care Fellowships
• APTA Acute Care as the Vice President
• the Illinois Physical Therapy Association as an Assembly Representative

Erin Thomas, PT, DPT, Clinical Associate Professor, co-assistant Director of Clinical Education within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), division of Physical Therapy, at The Ohio State University. She is a founding member of the Eclipse Group (Education for Clinical Interprofessional Simulation Excellence) and serves as the Interprofessional Program Liaison for the physical therapy division. She serves on the university wide BUCKIPE calendar workgroup as co-head representative for all programs within SHRS. She serves on the SHRS Interprofessional Education Committee that is responsible for development and strategic planning for interprofessional activities within SHRS. Dr. Thomas is primary author of an article related to an interprofessional simulation for occupational and physical therapy students. She has presented nationally and internationally on interprofessional education and simulation. She has served on the ACAPT board of the Simulation in Physical Education Consortium that is developed an interprofessional simulation training certification course targeted for rehab professionals as well as currently serving as the secretary for the APTA Acute Care Academy.  

Traci Norris, PT, DPT, GCS, CEAA is a physical therapist and Rehabilitation Clinical Specialist for Evidence-Based Practice and Clinical Practice Change at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri. In this capacity, she is responsible for translating empirical evidence and adopting best practice initiatives at her facility. She has over 18 years of patient care experience and has demonstrated a deep commitment to the clinical and academic needs of the Academy members. She is a board-certified geriatric clinical specialist.