New Trustee to Join Foundation for Physical Therapy Research Board as President’s Term Concludes

Joe Farrell, PT, DPT, M App Sc, FAAOMPT, FAPTA, has been named for a 3-year term. Foundation President Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FAPTA prepares to depart at the end of a milestone year.

Edelle Field-Fote with new Trustee Joe Farrell

The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research, a national nonprofit that funds physical therapy research and researchers, has named Joe Farrell, PT, DPT, M App Sc, FAAOMPT, FAPTA, to the Board of Trustees. The appointment will begin January 1, 2020.

Farrell is a well-known leader in the physical therapy profession. Among his accomplishments, he was a founding fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) and AAOMPT’s first President. He is the cofounder of Redwood Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, Inc., and recently retired from clinical practice after more than 4 decades of patient care. He remains active in the profession as a mentor, speaker, and researcher. Farrell and his spouse, Edie, also made a lead gift to the AAOMPT Research Endowment Fund. The AAOMPT Endowment Fund will provide funding for grants and projects to investigate areas related to musculoskeletal disorders.

At the end of 2019, Foundation President Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FAPTA, will conclude her 9-year term. During her 3 years as President, the Foundation has awarded over $1 million annually in grants, scholarships, and fellowships. Field-Fote oversaw the development of the Foundation’s recently adopted 2019-2022 strategic plan,  2019 name change, and the Foundation’s 40-year anniversary activities.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to have served the Foundation,” said Field-Fote. “My connection to the Foundation goes back many years to when I received a Foundation scholarship to help fund my PhD studies. I look forward to staying engaged with the organization’s mission because I believe it will continue to make the physical therapy profession stronger.”

Field-Fote will continue her work as the Director, Spinal Cord Injury Research at Shepherd Center and Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy.

“The Foundation is fortunate in that we have so much expertise and experience on our board,” said Foundation CEO Barbara Malm. “It’s because of our gracious board and committee volunteers that we’re able to continue to grow to meet the changing needs in physical therapy research.”

Trustees Rebecca Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Terence C. Brown, PT, DPT, and Paul A. Rockar, Jr., PT, DPT, MS, have agreed to renew their terms and serve for an additional 3 years through 2022.

The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research, formerly known as the Foundation for Physical Therapy, is celebrating forty years of funding research and researchers. Founded in 1979, the Foundation has awarded more than $17 million in grants, fellowships, and scholarships to nearly 600 researchers. Learn more about the Foundation’s investments in the physical therapy profession at foundation4pt.org.

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