Dr. Lauren Hinrichs, PT, DPT, OCS

Dr. Hinrichs is running for Nominating Committee Member in the 2023 APTA Colorado Elections.

Lauren Hinrichs is PhD candidate in the Rehabilitation Science program at the University of Colorado. Prior to her doctoral program, Lauren held clinical roles in outpatient orthopedics for 10 years as well as spending a year gaining experience in inpatient rehabilitation and long-term acute care. She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Northwestern in 2008, completed the Orthopedic Residency Program at Temple University, and has been a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist since 2013. Lauren has been clinical faculty in the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program since 2015 providing instruction in the Musculoskeletal track, foundation courses, and professional development. Aside from a teaching role, she also holds service roles including active participation in the Scholarship and Awards Committee. Lauren has been a member of the Colorado Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association since 2009 and has actively participated in several committees and special interest groups. She supports the Orthopedics, Education, and Research Academies of the National Physical Therapy Association and is an active participant in the Qualitative and Mixed Methods Special Interest Group within the Research Academy. As a common thread across her clinical, teaching, service, and scholarly work she is committed to empowering individuals by understanding preferences for engagement and supporting that engagement by advocating for necessary contextual changes. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and watching her young daughter experience all the joys of life.

Identify and describe current or previous leadership positions and/or work experiences that make you qualified for this position:
I have had the good fortune of holding several leadership positions and relevant experience positioning me for success with this position. I have held a position on the Nominating Committee for 2 terms with this last year serving as co-chair. As such have become familiar with Colorado's election process, associated bylaws, and remaining election gaps. This experience has also allowed me to meet and collaborate with many board members and improve my outreach and communication skills. My teaching and research roles have enhanced project, meeting, and time management.

What strengths do you bring to the Colorado Chapter and what strengths would you bring to the position you are running for?
Being a productive member of the Nominating Committee requires effective communication, networking, and outreach skills; familiarity with the Colorado Election process; and a disposition for innovative thinking. My communication strengths come from years of clinical care, teaching, and scholarly presentations. My 15 years of working in the state of Colorado in diverse capacities have helped me build personal and professional relationships to aid with networking, outreach, and promoting awareness of and interest in board leadership roles. Spending the last 4 years in research has expanded my innovative thinking which I have brought to my current role in the Nominating Committee and look forward to the opportunity of continuing to leverage this skill.

What are weaknesses of the Colorado Chapter and what improvements would you like to make?
Engagement of all groups of Colorado Physical Therapists is a pressing challenge, specifically when it comes to representation in leadership positions. A critical part of fostering representation in leadership is engaging with diverse groups to identify and understand barriers to participation and co-creating solutions. I look forward to improvements made possible through learning from Colorado Physical Therapists how they would like to be engaged in the Chapter and more specifically leadership and then empowering them with capacity or advocating for contextual changes which may facilitate engagement.