LAMP Leadership Faculty

Emily S. Becker is Director of Communications, Development, and Alumni Relations for the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Department in Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences. In this role, she leads the department’s communications and development initiatives related to the growth and expansion of key clinical strategies and relationships. Additionally, she supports the DPT, residency, and fellowship programs through her expertise in teaching and research in the area of professional role development including professionalism, leadership, and practice management.

Prior to this role, Emily had the shared responsibility for planning, implementing and evaluating educational projects and strategies for the rehabilitation service line within Northwestern Medicine at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. Emily holds a graduate degree in Physical Therapy from Washington University and has nearly 20 years of experience in the physical therapist field in rehabilitation service roles, including direct care provider, quality assurance manager, facility manager, academic clinical coordinator for a physical therapy assistant program, Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy exam item writer, Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy exam task force member, a Reviewer of Continued Competence for Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, and consultant as an expert witness. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and an Associate Member of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. She currently serves the physical therapy profession as a Section Delegate at the House of Delegates, Committee Co-chair for the LAMP Institute of Leadership, and Curriculum Development Content Expert for the LAMP Administration and Management Certification. Previously she has supported the Health Policy and Administration Section of the APTA in a number of roles, including Education Programming Chair, LAMP Management Curriculum Development Committee Member, as well as Director of Leadership, Management, and Payment and Practice on the Executive Board of the Health Policy and Administration Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Keri Dickinson, PT is the Director of Rehabilitation Services at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts. She has 24 years of clinical experience in both acute and outpatient areas all with in the Sturdy organization. She transitioned to the Director role in 2012.

A 1997 graduate of Northeastern University, Keri, along with day to day operations has strived to bring the Rehabilitation Department to all aspects of the organization through committee involvement, engaging staff in interdepartmental education, and working with Senior Leadership on Organizational Quality and Improvement through the mindset of collaboration and innovation. She is committed to increasing access to care through strong employee engagement.

She has been a member of the APTA since 2012, and the Academy since 2019. She completed the LAMP program in 2020 and became a member of the LAMP Committee.

As a national speaker, author and consultant, Amy Lafko leverages over 20 years of professional leadership experience in several sectors of healthcare. Amy founded Cairn Consulting Solutions with the knowledge that you need to grow your people to grow your business. She is a certified in DISC, Driving Forces and Emotional Intelligence as well as the 7 Stages of Growth. In addition, Amy served as the Chair for the LAMP Institute of Leadership from 2014-2020. Amy has earned her MSPT from Ithaca College, her MBA from Loyola University of MD.
 

Debora L. Miller, PT, MBA, FACHE is Vice Dean for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) and Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to appointment as Vice Dean, she served as Vice Chair of the PT department for 13 years and as Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives. As Vice Dean, Miller is responsible for several key initiatives, including but not limited to: strategic planning, online learning, teaching excellence, and facilities master planning.

Miller has nearly 20 years of experience in rehabilitation and healthcare leadership across the continuum of care, in leadership development, and in healthcare ethics and compliance program development and oversight in integrated healthcare systems. She has many years of teaching experience in the undergraduate Rehabilitation Science program, Master of Science program and most extensively in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program in content areas related health policy, compliance and regulations, business ethics and risk management, leadership and management skills, quality and process improvement, and current issues in healthcare.

Debbie has served the American Physical Therapy Association in leadership roles at the District, Chapter, Academy and national levels. She served four years on the Board of the Health Policy and Administration Section of the APTA, served as the LAMP Leadership Committee Chair for four years, and has been a member of the LAMP Institute for Leadership faculty since 2009. She also served a two-year term on the APTA Leadership Development Committee.

In addition to active membership and service in the APTA and Academy of Leadership and Innovation, Debbie also earned Fellow status (FACHE) with the American College of Healthcare Executives. She earned both her Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in physical therapy degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.

Joe Parker currently works as a home health physical therapist with Encompass Home Health and Hospice in Ludlow, MA. He graduated with his BS in Health and Human Performance from Montana State University-Billings in 2012 and received his DPT from MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA in 2015. Joe has clinical experience in many settings including SNF, acute care, hospital-based and private practice outpatient, as well as home health.

He has served the APTA at the component level, as a delegate for the state of Montana, and on the legislative committee. While not working or serving, Joe enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors fishing, snowshoeing, or snowboarding with his wife and dog.

Beth has been a therapist for over 30 years and has spent the vast majority of her career with Select Medical. In her 24 years with Select, she has served in a variety of roles. In her current role as VP of Rehabilitation Services in their Critical Illness Recovery Hospital Division, she provides support, operational guidance and clinical teambuilding to the Rehab departments in each hospital. She also works with the hospital leadership team to foster strong communication and collaboration to promote a meaningful and productive work environment to cultivate relationships and hospital growth.

Throughout the years working in healthcare, Beth has observed a wonderful shift where clinicians are no longer expected to only understand how to treat patients, but rather understand the importance of formal and informal leadership and the opportunities such leadership affords all staff, their patients and families, that we have the honor and privilege in treating.

Beth’s leadership journey began long ago but was both highly stimulated by and fostered in development, by LAMP 101 back in 2013 in San Diego. From there she “caught the bug” and has been dedicated to working with and helping grow LAMP for all levels of PTs and PTAs across the continuum of health care.

A graduate of Northeastern University with a BS in Physical Therapy and an MBA with a concentration of healthcare management from Regis University, Beth also serves on the NJ State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners since Jan 2012.

David Wessells currently serves as the Vice President of Homecare Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital where he has worked for the past 12 years.  David has experience managing multi-site teams including strategic planning, financial management, physician relations, recruitment, expansion planning/building design, and billing/coding.  David graduated with BS in Psychology in 1997 from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, obtained his Master of Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in 1999, and his MHA from Ohio University in August, 2018.  David earned his Fellowship of the American College of Healthcare Executives in 2020.  As a faculty member for the LAMP Leadership Academy, David teaches leadership skills nationally to healthcare professionals.  David has been active in healthcare advocacy, previously serving as the Federal Affairs Liaison for the Ohio chapter of the APTA, and as a member of the OPTA State Affairs Committee.  David also currently serves as the Vice President of the Ohio Physical Therapy Association.  

Stacey Zeigler is a Clinical Professor of Physical Therapy at Clarkson University and is the President/CEO of Fun in Aging Physical Therapy, providing in-home fitness and wellness programming for older adults. She earned her B.S. degree in Physical Therapy in 1994 from Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. She holds a Master of Science degree in Community Health Administration and Wellness Promotion from California College for Health Sciences, became a board certified geriatric specialist in 2001, and completed her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Simmons College in January 2005. Stacey’s clinical background encompasses a wide variety of settings including home health, acute care, out-patient orthopedics, in-patient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, hospice care and cardiopulmonary rehab. In addition to her clinical work, Stacey has also been involved in therapy services management and leadership throughout her career including roles as the Chief of physical therapy at the U.S. Army Health Clinic in Hanau, Germany, serving as a hospital assistant administrator in Northern New York and most recently as private practice owner. Stacey’s passion is to inspire those she serves to be the best that they can be through her work with students at Clarkson, the community of older adults through her private practice and volunteerism, with new and emerging leaders as a faculty member for LAMP Leadership, and with her family.