William G. Boissonnault Named Chair of Board of Trustees, Foundation For Physical Therapy

William G. Boissonnault, PT, DPT, DHSc, FAAOMPT

Physical therapist William G. Boissonnault, PT, DPT, DHSc, FAAOMPT, has been named chair of the board of trustees of the Foundation for Physical Therapy, Alexandria, Va. He will preside over the governance and work of the Foundation, participate in fundraising efforts, and promote the Foundation’s purpose, projects, and activities, says the Foundation.

Boissonnault is associate professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation in the physical therapy program. Boissonnault serves as chair of the task force on program history and co-chairs the fundraising task force for doctoral students; he serves on the university’s Educational Policy Council; serves as director of curriculum in the Orthopedic Physical Therapy Clinical Residency Program at the University of Wisconsin/Meriter Hospital; and holds adjunct faculty positions in numerous programs teaching medical screening and diagnostic imaging, says the Foundation.

He served as VP of the Foundation for Physical Therapy from 2007 to 2009, among other leadership roles. He is past-president of the Orthopaedic Section and currently serves on its Practice Affairs and Awards committees. A member of the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association’s task force on autonomous practice and committee on PT/PTA workforce issues, Boissonnault also serves as special liaison to the association’s legislative action committee for chiropractic issues. He is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) Research, Education, and Orthopaedic sections. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society, and fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT), where he serves on, and formerly chaired, the AAOMPT practice affairs committee.

Boissonnault has been an invited lecturer and keynote speaker at universities nationwide, has published numerous articles and abstracts, served as a contributor to many textbooks on physical therapy, and has given research and professional presentations nationally and internationally.

The recipient of numerous honors and awards, Boissonnault received the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy’s George Davies-James Gould Excellence in Clinical Inquiry Award (2008), the Foundation for Physical Therapy’s Charles Magistro Distinguished Service Award (2001), the John McMennell Service Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (2008), APTA’s Helen J. Hislop Award for Outstanding Contributions to Professional Literature (2008), and  Dorothy E. Baithke-Eleanor J. Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching (2005), among many others.

Boissonnault holds a Doctor of health science degree from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences and a transitional Doctor of physical therapy (t-DPT) degree from the Massachusetts General Institute of Health Professions, Boston. He holds a Master of Science in orthopaedic physical therapy from the Institute of Physical Therapy in St. Augustine, and a Bachelor of Science in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Foundation for Physical Therapy was established in 1979 as a national, independent nonprofit corporation aiming to improve the quality and delivery of patient care, according to the organization, which supports scientifically based and clinically relevant physical therapy research.

[Source: APTA]