Profiles in Leadership

T. R. Reid has become one of the nation's best-known reporters through his books and articles, his documentary films, his reporting for the Washington Post, and his light-hearted commentaries on NPR's Morning Edition.

T. R. Reid majored in Classics at Princeton University and subsequently worked as a Naval officer during the Vietnam War, a lawyer, a teacher, and assorted other jobs. At The Washington Post, he covered Congress and four presidential campaigns. He served as the paper's bureau chief in Tokyo and London. Reid has reported from 4 dozen countries on five continents.

His 2009 book "The Healing of America" became a national best-seller. PBS Frontline made two documentaries, "Sick Around the World" and "India--A Second Opinion" following Reid as he did the reporting for that book.

Pepper Burruss spent 42 1/2 years in the NFL as a Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer. He has 2 Super Bowl rings and decades of stories and memories with some of the most acclaimed athletes in professional football history. He shares insights on his journey and lessons in leadership and how he views his career now that he is retired as of July 2019.

Dave Chase has been called a Hope Merchant. He has taken his experience of a high level Microsoft Executive and an CEO of a startup he sold to WebMD and has been on a crusade to expose how broken the US healthcare system is. He feels it has all but crippled the middle class in America and if we don't get it under control it will consume over 50% of the income of Millennials and future generations. He is an author, public speaker and soon to be an executive producer of a movie that will provide the stories and facts to show the American people how bad our healthcare system is and what we can do to improve it. Listen to a visionary who believes we can do so much better.

Larry Benz is the President and CEO of Confluent Health. He has over 35 years experience in growing physical therapy and healthcare companies with a focus on developing the best clinicians and leaders in the profession. Larry served in the US Army as a Captain in the Army Medical Specialists Corps and received the Meritorious Service Medal. He was in the mountains of Colorado in a cabin in the woods as we chatted over the phone and discussed his leadership philosophy. He also has a leadership podcast so we interviewed each other and this discussion will be released on this podcast as well as through EIM.

Image you have reached most of your professional goals, you've done most things right and you are ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Then a routine MD visit delivers you news that will change your life. Stage IV pancreatic cancer is a devastating challenge to overcome and conquer, yet you must stay positive and not only fight the fight but support those who love you. Listen to how this loved father, husband, business owner and friend to many navigates what lies ahead. Raw, authentic, heartbreaking and hopeful all in the same story. He was willing to be vulnerable so we can all learn and appreciate all we have.

Every profession needs innovators. Those who have ideas and have been told they that can't do that they forge on and create new ways of doing things. Mike Eisenhart looks at the physical therapy profession from a 30,000 foot visionary view and sees PT's contributing so much more than just injury rehab. He feels physical therapy is positioned perfectly to change the lives of the greater population through prevention, education and exercise. Hear his ideas and how through leadership we can change the world.

Most agree we learn more from our failures than our successes. What if your failure is so catastrophic that you lose the 150 year old family business worth $2.25 Billion! This is exactly what happened to Warwick Fairfax at age 29! How do you recover from that and find meaning and purpose in the ashes left behind. Listen to this fascinating story of growing up with wealth and celebrity and losing it all while at the helm of an icon business as the next generation CEO who lost it all.

Mia Gonzales Dean is a healthcare executive and a physical therapist. She has lead a division in the Penn Medicine system that was the size of a company on its own. This department had a budget of $67 Million and 700+ employees. She now is an executive with Sodexo. Hear her journey through healthcare and her people first style of leadership.

Dr. Anthony Delitto is the Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. He has co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed research papers and is an icon in the research and orthopedic sections in APTA.

Lisa Saladin is an impressive leader who has risen to the position of Provost at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is regarded by many in the American Physical Therapy Association as one of the best leaders in the organizations history. She is the epitome of class and a leader to celebrate and emulate.