Dr. Patty Pennell, PT, ScD

Dr. Pennell is running for President in the 2023 Board Elections. 

Dr. Patty Pennell has been a physical therapist for 30 years. She received her Master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Colorado 1992 and her Doctorate of Science through Texas Tech University in 2008. Patty has extensive training and experience in manual therapy of the spine and extremities. She owned a physical therapy practice for 21 years. Currently she works as adjunct faculty for Regis University and is a provider physical therapy services for the United States Tennis Association. For the last 15 years, Patty has been a primary instructor for trigger point dry needling.

Dr. Pennell has been a member of the APTA since 1992. She is committed to serving the profession and has had several leadership roles in the Colorado Chapter over the years including Private Practice SIG President, Vice President of the APTA Colorado Chapter and House of Delegates. It is her ongoing passion to work on bringing the physical therapy profession to its highest level through the work of advocacy and collaboration.

Identify and describe current or previous leadership positions and/or work experiences that make you qualified for this position:
Through out my career I have been involved in leadership through various positions on the Colorado Chapter Board, House of Delegates and a private practice network.These positions have allowed me to understand the importance of bringing different perspectives together to achieve a common goal. As president of the Colorado Chapter leading the various stake holders together to work for the lead betterment of the Chapter and it's members.
As a practice owner for 21 years I have experience in what it takes to run a successful business. Learning how to work within the constraints of a budget, putting together a marketing plan and collaborating with staff are all skills that would be of value to the President of the Colorado Chapter.

What strengths do you bring to the Colorado Chapter and what strengths would you bring to the position you are running for?
The strengths that I have are: honest and clear communication, an ability to keep the big picture in mind, building collaborative teams. As President of the Chapter these skills will help build a strong and effective Board.that has a clear understanding of the Chapter's goals and create a plan to implement those goals. Another strength is the willingness to do the work and put in the necessary time to lead a volunteer organization to meet the demands of the changing health care environment and the PT profession specifically. Lastly my passion for this profession is a strength. I am committed to helping the profession flourish. Setting a strong foundation for the future of physical therapy is a great asset for the office of President of the Colorado Chapter.

What are weaknesses of the Colorado Chapter and what improvements would you like to make?
Having been a member of the Colorado Chapter Board for a few years I feel the greatest weakness is communication. Communication amongst the leadership is fragmented and certainly communication to the members is a challenge. The Chapter is working on a new platform to address both issues. I think this platform has.a lot of potential to minimize some of the communication problems and I would like to continue to work on development of this tool. Although member's wants and needs are at the forefront of the Colorado Chapter's leadership, venues for the membership to communicate those wants and needs are difficult to navigate. Working on specific avenues for membership to bring up concerns and questions to the leadership is a high priority. Finding a effective ways to bring members together to collaborate with one another would also be beneficial. Expanding social media is one way to achieve this but also learning from other Chapters on what has been successful would be a avenue to explore for more solutions. Lastly the Chapter relies primarily on membership dues for revenue. There is a current plan to increase non-dues revenue sources and I would like to have the opportunity to continue to pursue those avenues. By increasing revenues the Chapter will be able to continue and expand membership benefits.