NAAOP is proud to announce the election of five new members to our Board of Directors. These new board members were elected at the NAAOP Board meeting held in San Diego last month.
Rebecca Hast, the 2019 NAAOP President said, “I am pleased to let you know that NAAOP’s Board of Directors has unanimously agreed upon the addition of new board members beginning their one-year terms as of January 2020. We are particularly pleased with the varied backgrounds, rich experiences and energy each of these members will bring to our organization as we continue to strive to improve quality and fairness for patients and clinicians. Please join me in congratulating and welcoming our new board members.”
The new NAAOP Board members are:
Nathan J. Kapa, CP – Nate is presently the President of the Michigan Orthotics and Prosthetics Association and is a partner in Baranek & Kapa Prosthetics in Flint, Michigan. Nathan has been extremely active in O&P advocacy with the Michigan State Legislature and Michigan Congressional Delegation. Nathan is a graduate of Michigan Technological University and Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, NUPOC.
Nicole Ver Kuilen – Nicole lost her left leg below the knee to cancer at age ten. Nicole was the Inaugural NAAOP Fellow in 2018 and her documentary film, 1500 Miles has been honored by five international film festivals. Nicole was recently crowned National Champion at the 2019 Paratriathlon National Championships. Nicole is also the founder of Forrest Stump, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to raising the standards of care for all amputees.
Christian Robinson – Christian is Senior Vice President at Össur, responsible for the Össur Americas supplier business. Christian is a graduate from Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School. Since joining Össur in 2012, Christian has served in a number of executive positions, including General Counsel Americas and VP Finance Americas. Prior to joining Össur Christian practiced corporate law with global law firm Paul Hastings LLP with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions.
Kevin A. Symms, CO, BOCPO, LPO – Kevin is a recognized subject matter expert and educator in medical device reimbursement and in providing technical and clinical support in the form of clinical documentation, medical necessity, pre-auth, appeal and ALJ. After a successful career in both Clinical and Executive positions with Hanger, Kevin started a Minnesota based consulting firm, OandPServe LLC, and he consults with Orthotic and Prosthetic providers and manufacturers nationwide.
Regina Weger – Regina is Vice President and General Manager of SPS, Inc., a distributor of Orthotic and Prosthetic products. Regina attended Brenau University and started her career in the Orthotics and Prosthetics industry in 1992 at JE Hanger Southeast in Alpharetta, Georgia. Regina is a member of the Executive Operating Team at Hanger, Inc., a 2015 recipient of the JE Hanger Leadership Award, and a leader/mentor for Women in O&P Leadership.
George Breece, Executive Director of NAAOP said, “we are very fortunate to have these O&P leaders joining our board in 2020. They each bring a wide breadth of real-life experiences which I know will help us continue to be a strong voice for quality O&P patient care on Capitol Hill, with CMS and the VA.”