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The Lynda D. Woodruff Lecture is an annual lecture and is a collaborative effort by the Physical Therapy Learning Institute (PTLI), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the American Academy of Physical Therapy (AAPT), the National Association of Black Physical Therapists (NABPT), the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT), and the APTA Academy of Education (APTE).

Annual Lynda D. Woodruff Lecture
on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Physical Therapy

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The Lecture is presented annually with the goals of:

  • Ensuring that Dr. Woodruff’s legacy lives on in a format that ignites action, innovations, and solutions on issues related to DEI and social justice.

  • Creating a platform to address systemic barriers to opportunity and access for underrepresented minorities (URMs) in our profession.

  • Encouraging donations to the LDW Professional Development Sponsorship Fund to promote and grow researchers from historically marginalized and minoritized groups.
     

The lecture is held annually on or around Juneteenth in honor of Dr. Lynda D. Woodruff, a co-founder of PTLI and a pioneer in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in physical therapy education and practice.  Dr. Woodruff’s professional career had its humble beginnings at the Memorial Hospital, where she acutely recognized the devastating impact of health disparities on minority patients.  This experience inspired her to envision a broader horizon as an investigator, educator, mentor and advocate.

The LDW Professional Development Scholarship Fund is intended to stimulate academic, clinical, and community-based research in physical therapy with a focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) and social inequities that lead to health care disparities. PTLI’s goal is to raise a minimum of $2,000 per year to fund at least one sponsorship to a PT educational research workshop (GAMER or TIGERR). Donations help promote and grow researchers from historically marginalized and minoritized groups or others that are looking to conduct health disparities research.

 

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