CBE in PT Symposium 2025
March 7th & 8th, 2025

Join us for the CBE in PT 2025 symposium, a unique opportunity to connect with peers and share work and insights across institutions. This event aims to foster collaboration and advance the implementation of CBE in the health professions.

Participants should come ready to share their experiences, including lessons learned, and engage in dynamic discussions on sustaining CBE in the health professions.

Interested in attending? Please complete our Open Submission Form for our consideration by Friday, January 31st, 2025. We will follow-up within a week of your submission. In addition to your basic information, you will be asked to include a brief summary of your CBE-related initiative and where you currently are in the process. Thank you!

Recommended Lodging Options:

• Aloft Hotel, 0.3 miles from 4444 Forest Park Ave
  • WashU Corporate Rate applied at link above
• Doubletree by Hilton- Forest Park, 0.3 miles from 4444 Forest Park Ave
  • Please call 636-532-5000 or 1-800-222-tree for reservations and ask for the WU Medical Rate.

We are excited to welcome these keynote speakers and more:

Eva Aagaard, MD, FACP
Eva Aagaard, MD, FACP is the Carol B and Jerome T Loeb Professor of Medical Education, Vice Chancellor for Medical Education, and Senior Associate Dean for Education at WashU Medicine. A practicing general internist, in her current leadership role, she oversees medical education across the continuum including undergraduate (UME), graduate (GME) and continuing medical education as well as allied health professional and graduate training. This includes spearheading a large scale curriculum reform effort in the MD program, and promoting the development of multiple initiatives to promote the career development and success of educators on campus. Nationally she led development of the Society of General Internal Medicine TEACH Program and partnered to develop the MedEd Scholarship Faculty Development Program. Internationally she developed the Health Education Advanced Leadership Program in Zimbabwe (HEALZ). Dr. Aagaard is a former member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Specialty Board, former Council Member for the Society of General Internal Medicine, and participates actively with the National Board of Medical Examiners as a reviewer for licensing exam content. She served as a core member of the Milestones in Internal Medicine Writing Committee and Milestones 2.0, leading to the Next Accreditation System at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Her areas of interest include curriculum reform, competency-based education and assessment, particularly as it relates to the UME to GME transition, and remediation. She is passionate about mentoring, coaching and sponsorship and speaks widely on these topics. She has won more than 16 awards for clinical excellence, teaching, and humanism in medicine, including the University of Colorado’s President’s Teaching Award, the Society of General Internal Medicine Mid-Career Mentoring Award, the Elizabeth Gee Award for the Advancement of Women, and the Washington University Distinguished Faculty Award.

Steven B. Ambler, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH
Steven B. Ambler, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH is a Professor and Division Director of Education at WashU Medicine Physical Therapy. Dr. Ambler’s research interests are focused on outcomes and the implementation of learning science principles in higher education. Specifically, Steve is engaged in work related to competency-based education and the return on investment in health professions education. Steve holds leadership and committee positions within WashU related to competency-based education, training, development, teaching and learning, and student systems. He has also served on numerous state association boards, including the Missouri Physical Therapy Association, American Physical Therapy Association, and advisory councils to DPT and exercise science programs.

Steven Chesbro, PT, DPT, EdD
Dr. Steven Chesbro is Vice President of Education at the American Physical Therapy Association. He received a BA in psychology and an MS in college teaching from Northeastern State University, a BS in physical therapy from Langston University, a MHS in neurologic physical therapy from the University of Indianapolis, a graduate certificate in gerontology and an EdD in occupational and adult education from Oklahoma State University, and a DPT from the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Prior to his appointment at APTA in 2016, he served as Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Founder & Executive Director of the Center to Advance Rehabilitative Health and Education and professor of physical therapy at Alabama State University, and faculty at Howard University and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Chesbro is a Board-certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist Emeritus through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties and is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Chesbro has made numerous invited and peer-reviewed presentations at national and international conferences, has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Physical Therapy and the Journal of the National Medical Association, and received grant funding for his work and research related to education from various sources including the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Dr. Chesbro has served the profession at various levels throughout his career in elected leadership positions, including serving as a chapter board member, vice president, and chief delegate for the APTA District of Columbia chapter, and as a board member and delegate for the APTA Academy of Geriatrics. He has been recognized with the APTA Diversity Award and the APTA Academy of Geriatrics’ Distinguished Educator Award.

Chalee Engelhard, PT, EdD, MBA, FNAP
Chalee Engelhard, PT, EdD, MBA, FNAP is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy Emeritus, Graduate of the Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership and a Fellow for the National Academies of Practice. She earned her Bachelor of Health Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Kentucky; Masters of Business Administration from Thomas More University and Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati. She is a tenured, full professor at the University of Cincinnati and currently serves as the Vice Department Head and Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Director. Nationally, she serves as the President for the APTA Academy of Education. She has served as the Cincinnati VA Medical Center Academic Director for the Geriatric Residency for well over a decade and serves as academic faculty for the Cincinnati VA’s Neurologic, Orthopedic and Cardiovascular residencies.

Jody S Frost, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, FNAP
Jody S Frost, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, FNAP is an Education Consultant and Facilitator working with healthcare professions in higher education to advance competency-based education, strategic planning, assessment, and interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Dr. Frost has served as a consultant to the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) since 2017 facilitating profession-oriented transformation to competency-based education (CBE). In addition, she was a consultant to Washington University’s Program in Physical Therapy in their transition to CBE. Dr. Frost serves as co-chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education (IHPE), an accreditor for the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education, and member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Awards Committee. After 25 years of service, Dr. Frost retired from the APTA as Lead Academic Affairs Specialist, founding Program Director of the accredited Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership, developer of APTA’s Clinical Instructor Credentialing Programs, Clinical Performance Instruments (CPI), and Professionalism Self- and Patient- Professionalism Assessments. Dr. Frost has a passion for advancing interprofessional education and collaborative practice for all health professions. In 2014, she was inducted as a distinguished scholar and fellow of the National Academies of Practice (NAP) and served as founding member and Vice Chair of the NAP Physical Therapy Academy. From 2019-2021, she served as NAP’s President and in 2023 was honored with the Nicholas Cummings Award, the highest distinguished fellow award. In addition, Dr. Frost is a founding member of the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative (IPC), dedicated to defining, measuring, educating, and integrating the construct of interprofessional professionalism in practice, education, and research. In 2024, the IPC received NAP’s Interprofessional Group Award. In support of her scholarship, Dr. Frost serves as a manuscript reviewer for a variety of scientific journals and is an active member of Interprofessional Research Global. Dr. Frost has provided numerous invited presentations and published research on topics such as clinical education, education outcomes assessment, competency-based education, leadership, and interprofessional organizational partnerships. Dr. Frost was awarded APTA’s Academy of Education Stanford Award (co-authors), distinguished President’s Award, and Polly Cerasoli Lectureship. She received the Liaison’s International Leadership Award for her innovative contributions to the CPI. AAVMC awarded the Council on Veterinary Education and its consultant, the AAVMC President’s Award for Meritorious Service. Dr. Frost was named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA, the highest honor bestowed to a member. Dr. Frost received her BS in physical therapy from Ithaca College, MA in counseling and personnel studies from Rowan University, PhD from Temple University, and DPT from Marymount University. She was a tenured faculty member, Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Chair at Temple University and former Physical Therapy Department Director, Center Coordinator of Clinical Education, and clinical instructor at pediatric and sports medicine centers.

Jennifer Furze, PT, DPT, FAPTA
Dr. Furze is a Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. She is a board-certified clinical specialist in pediatric physical therapy and the director of the Creighton University Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency program. Nationally, she is active as a leader in the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy serving in previous roles as the Director of Academic and Clinical Education and in the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She has taught pediatrics in a systems-based lifespan approach model of the curriculum for over 15 years. Her national published educational research agenda centers around clinical reasoning in professional and residency education, effective teaching methods, and pediatric physical therapy education. She is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, given to those whose leadership, influence, and achievements have advanced the profession. Dr. Furze received her entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Creighton University in 1998 and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton.

Peggy Blake Gleeson, PT, PhD
Peggy Blake Gleeson, PT, Ph.D. is professor emeritus in the School of Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, Texas. She served for over 35 years as the Director of Clinical Education and for 8 years as the Associate Director of the School. She is a past President of the Academy of Education and past Chair of the Texas Consortium for Physical Therapy Clinical Education, Inc. Dr. Gleeson has served on the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) task force that developed the Domains of Competence framework for physical therapist education. She has served several terms as a Texas delegate to the APTA House of Delegates and is an author of the recently published Blueprint for Excellence in Physical Therapy Education. Dr. Gleeson has been a CAPTE on-site reviewer for physical therapist programs since 1997. Since 2022, she chaired the Reimagination of CAPTE, which has made significant modifications to all processes involved in program reviews for both physical therapist and physical therapist assistant programs. She has served as the Chair of the Revision task force for the 2024 Standards and Required Elements of CAPTE. Dr. Gleeson has served on both the PT panel and the Central panel and was Chair of CAPTE from 2021-2024.

Kendra L. Harrington, PT, DPT, MS
Kendra L. Harrington, PT, DPT, MS is the Director of Residency & Fellowship Education at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). In this current position, she oversees the development and accreditation of approximately 800 physical therapist residency and fellowship programs as well as create tools and resources to support residency and fellowship education. In addition, Dr. Harrington is a clinical physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor conditions, as well as being an educator, lecturer, and researcher. From 2003 to 2009 she was the exclusive pelvic floor physical therapist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. At Walter Reed, she served as a clinical specialist to family members, colleagues, medical students, residents, and fellows. During that time, she was appointed as a faculty member of the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She is currently a published author and continues to be involved in numerous research protocols. Dr. Harrington graduated from Russell Sage College/Sage Graduate School in Troy, New York with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, later return to earn her Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Gail M. Jensen, PT, PhD, FAPTA, FNAP
Dr. Jensen is Vice Provost for Learning and Assessment, Dean Emerita, and Professor of Physical Therapy and holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Medical Humanities at Creighton University. She is known nationally and internationally for scholarly contributions in expert practice, clinical reasoning, professional ethics, and interprofessional education. Dr. Jensen is author or coauthor of over 90 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has coauthored 14 books including Educating Physical Therapists, Clinical Reasoning and Decision Making in Physical Therapy and in 2025, the fifth edition of Clinical Reasoning in the Health Professions (Higgs, Jensen, Loftus, Trede, Grace). She led the research team that completed a National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education funded by the American Physical Therapy Association and several APTA components. Findings from the research were published in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Journal) and a book (Educating Physical Therapists-Slack Pub) similar to the Carnegie studies in medicine and nursing from the Preparation for Professions Program. Key recommendations included the critical need to develop more education researchers in the profession and the development of continuum of professional performance standards as seen in competency based education. Dr. Jensen chaired the education research panel for the CBEPT work in physical therapy education. She is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, a Distinguished Scholar fellow in the Physical Therapy Academy of the National Academies of Practice, recipient of the APTA’s Rothstein Golden Pen Award, Lucy Blair Service Award and was the APTA’s 2011 Mary McMillan Lecturer and in 2022 gave the 24th Annual Cerasoli Lecture for the Education Academy. She is past chair of the APTA’s Ethics and Judicial Committee. Dr. Jensen received her PhD in educational evaluation with a minor in sociology from Stanford University. She holds a master’s degree in physical therapy from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Minnesota.

Jean Fitzpatrick Timmerberg, PT, PHD, MHS, OCS
Dr. Jean Fitzpatrick is the Director of the Programs in Physical Therapy, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Rehabilitative & Regenerative Medicine, and Assistant Dean in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York. Her prominent role in the educational research community is evident in numerous service projects and collaborations resulting in more than 20 invited and/or peer-selected presentations at regional, national or international levels. She served as the Co-Chair of the National Outcome Strategy Committee for the Education Leadership Partnership, Chair of the Entrustable Professional Activity Working Panel, Member of the Domains of Competence Working Panel, the Co-Editor and Chief of the Journal of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy and is currently the Co-Director of a competency-based educational program for licensed physical therapists working with patients with spinal muscular atrophy. In addition to her role at Columbia, Dr. Fitzpatrick is a member of the faculty of the International Ins and Outs of EPAs course. Her research has focused on student readiness and competency-based education frameworks for physical therapist education. The sum of her scholarly work has had a substantive impact in the field of physical therapist education. She is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in health education research and competency-based education.

Kimberly Varnado, PT, DPT, DHSc
Kimberly Varnado, PT, DPT, DHSc, is the founding Program Director and Associate Professor of the hybrid Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. With 19 years of experience as a physical therapist and over a decade in physical therapy education, Dr. Varnado brings extensive expertise to her leadership and teaching roles. Dr. Varnado earned a BS from Tennessee State University, a DPT from Indiana University, and a DHSc with an Education Certification from A.T. Still University. She completed orthopedic residency and manual orthopedic physical therapy fellowship programs at Kaiser Permanente in West Los Angeles, California. Dr. Varnado, a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist (emeritus) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists, exemplifies excellence in advanced clinical practice and education. Dr. Varnado graduated from the Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership Program, where she also served as a mentor from 2022 to 2024. Her research interests include hybrid learning models, inclusive teaching and learning initiatives in health professions programs, and faculty development. In addition to her academic and research responsibilities, Dr. Varnado holds several leadership positions, including President of the Board of Directors for the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT), Candidacy Review Council Member for the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE), and District Three Representative for the Arizona chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Richard Woolf, PT, DPT
Richard Woolf joined the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) in 2008 and began to serve as Chief Professional Officer at the FSBPT in 2019. Prior to joining FSBPT he worked as the Director of Rehabilitation at a hospital in Arizona. He received a Master of Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University, a Doctor of Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University-Arizona School of Health Sciences, and a Master of Business Administration from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Kathryn Zalewski, PT, PhD, MPA
Kathryn Zalewski, PT, PhD, MPA is a professor and founding Program Director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the Chair of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Dr. Zalewski has over 30 years of experience and leadership in higher education including with the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy and as an on-site team leader and commissioner for CAPTE for over 10 years. Dr. Zalewski has a commitment to developing physical therapists for primary care with a focus on readiness for clinical practice within rural communities. As part of the growth of the UWSP DPT program, the faculty has implemented a competency based model for developing primary care practice skills guided by principles of self-paced mastery. Dr. Zalewski brings to this conference a voice of an educator and academic leader with practical experience in developing competency-based education.

Stay tuned for a detailed agenda.