Jessica Cozine-Lehman, PT, DPT

Dr. Cozine-Lehman is running for Delegate at Large in the 2022 APTA Colorado Elections.

Jessica has been a member of the APTA since 2001. She has enjoyed volunteering for the Colorado Chapter of the APTA since 2002, and has served on the Colorado APTA Board in several capacities. As Co-Chair of the Colorado APTA Professional Development Committee for a decade, and Chair of the SE District for the past six years, Jessica is grateful for mentors and leaders around her that have made holding these positions fulfilling. She currently serves on the Colorado delegation at the National House of Delegates. She is honored to have received the Bob Doctor Service Award in 2008 and was named the Colorado Outstanding Physical Therapist of the Year in 2014 by the Colorado APTA. Jessica is a Regis University graduate (2004) and earned her undergraduate degree at Northern Arizona University (1995).

Jessica has owned a private practice in Colorado Springs since 2009 and she enjoys spending any free time she has with her husband and two teenage children. She has a lifelong background in sport; she played soccer at the collegiate level, has done triathlon, cycling, marathons and trail running. Her favorite run is Rim to Rim across the Grand Canyon, and she loves training on the trails around her home in the foothills of Pikes Peak.

What strengths do you bring to the Colorado Chapter and what strengths would you bring to the position you are running for?
My strengths for this position include:
1) past experience as a Delegate;
2) appreciation for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in many different practice environments and the challenges we face bringing quality care to our patients. I have advocated on Capitol Hill and met with Colorado legislators many times over the years, and would like to opportunity to continue to support our profession with advocacy inside and outside of the House of Delegates and Leadership Congress.

What are weaknesses of the Colorado Chapter and what improvements would you like to make?
I would like to continue to advocate for increased reimbursement, decreased administrative burden, direct access allowed by payors, and reducing student debt through the Chapter. We have worked hard, but still have much more room to grow in these areas. I believe the Chapter will get stronger if we can create more outreach and explain the critical nature of advocacy to those within our profession. If we do not understand it, it is difficult to get patients to advocate and create change as well.